Countless movies and TV shows have been filmed there including "North by Northwest, " ''The Cotton Club" and "Gossip Girl.

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One staple venue is the dark and smoky Cotton Club.

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He was a great observer too, taking the myriad impressions of a life constantly in motion as his inspiration, from the Harlem of his youth, where he reigned as musical king of the celebrated Cotton Club, to the international tours of his later years.

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At a private club in downtown Manhattan, Ms. Sarandon, wearing skinny jeans, combat boots and a striped cotton top, sipped tea as her fluffy dog, a Pomeranian mix named Penny who has her own Twitter account, cuddled up by her feet.

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