Not Seeing Stars: J.K. Rowling? Who’s that?

Jennifer Landes reports on the South Fork tradition of ignoring the media gorillas in our midst.

J.K. Rowling left the Hamptons a week ago after a two-week vacation. She came, she swam in the ocean, and she made little impression.

The creator of the fabulously popular Harry Potter children’s books rented an ungated house on Hedges Lane just east of Sagg Main Street in Sagaponack that was estimated to cost $150,000 for two weeks. The location and its cost are known because New York and British papers and magazines reported them breathlessly. British reporters, including one from The Sunday Times of London, called The Star to ask about the house and the frenzy Ms. Rowling was causing across the pond. Weren’t there photographers stationed outside? How did her house relate to the other ones in the area?

With no frenzy apparent or high-speed paparazzi car chases reported, it was time to take the question to the streets. Did anyone care that J.K. Rowling was in their midst, staying in a house that looked like every other shingled McMansion sprouting from the cornfields?

Those who live, weekend, summer, or regularly visit in the Hamptons have a complicated relationship with fame and the famous. Certainly many of them imagine themselves to be notable persons or at least meriting boldface type when mentioned in the media. Many came here because they could move their city lives here by the sea, and live them mostly uninterrupted.

They tend to be the ones aware of everyone of note here and to pretend not to care — they are, after all, from New York. Then there are those who truly don’t know and don’t care. They tend to be the ones serving them.

At the Gibson Lane beach, Sharon Friedman described the philosophy. “People in the Hamptons are blasé about all the celebrity sightings. It’s a learned behavior to give people space.” She said she had not seen Ms. Rowling and would not have pursued a chance to meet her.

Ms. Friedman or anyone else could have seen Ms. Rowling in the water at least once during her stay. A photographer captured her boogie boarding and toweling off at an unnamed beach. The pictures appeared in The Sun and the Daily Mail in England. If she appeared at Loaves and Fishes, however, she was not noticed. Anna Pump, an owner of the store, said she was not aware that Ms. Rowling had been in town and had to be told why she was famous, even though she had heard of Harry Potter.

With Sarah Jessica Parker and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg standing in line with the rest of the customers, Ms. Pump said, her clientele is “used to it.” If Ms. Rowling had called the store, Ms. Pump said she “would have told her there would be no one harassing her.” Ms. Pump makes traditional British scones with raisins once a week for her British customers and would have been happy to do so for Ms. Rowling.

Down the road at the Pike farm stand, Chris Frawley, who was manning the cash register during the postbeach rush hour, said, “I live down the street, but I’ve never seen her” and didn’t know what she looked like. None of the customers had asked about the visit either.

At Gibson beach, Jamie H. Gregor, whose carpentry business, Hampton Home Estate Management, has kept him too busy this summer to be aware of much of anything besides work, said he knew who she was, but didn’t care.

Mick Hargreaves, who lives in Southampton and has a boat in Sag Harbor, said, “I had no idea; I spend most of my time here in the water.”

A South African transplant, Robert Lobel has been spending the last two weeks of August in Sagaponack for 22 years. He said his vacation was “total downtime and relaxation before the mayhem of New York City sets back in.” During that time, he prefers peace and quiet and that celebrities stay away.

John Peterson, a composer who lives in Sagaponack year round, said he also tried to avoid celebrities rather than seek them out.

At Sagg Main Beach, Jessica Rauscher, who was working at the Golden Dog concession stand, said she had not seen Ms. Rowling, but that it was a popular spot with celebrities. She served Kelly Ripa and her children ice cream several times last summer and had a long exchange with Jon Stewart about the contents of a tuna wrap before he bought it. She was pretty sure she had seen Kelsey Grammer from far away.

This summer, however, has been “slow with stars,” she said.

Even some children were immune to the charms of Ms. Rowling, but one 11-year-old fan would have been thrilled to meet her. Julia Schiavoni from Sag Harbor has read all the Harry Potter books and is looking forward to the next one.

“I love her books,” she said. “I don’t know how she comes up with them.” Her younger sister, Meg, said she liked to watch the movies. Matthew, her brother, said he liked the spells and would have said, “Hi, I like your books,” if he’d had the chance.

Julia said she would have liked to ask Ms. Rowling if she picked the actors in the Harry Potter movies herself. If so, she said, “she did a good job.”