7 Classic ‘Poughkeepsie’ Mentions from TV, Movies and Music

Poughkeepsie has appeared in some big name productions from The French Connection to Friends and even a classic Bing Crosby song. How many of these Poughkeepsie references do you remember?

The French Connection
Probably the most noteworthy mention of Poughkeepsie comes from The French Connection. Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle famously questions a suspect about picking their feet in our humble little city. (scene is at 49 seconds into the clip)

Friends
In the episode titled "The One With the Girl from Poughkeepsie" Ross starts dating a girl that lives in Poughkeepsie and winds up falling asleep on the train to see her, eventually waking up in Montreal.

Sex and the City
Poughkeepsie being refrenced as a euphemism for poop is probably not our greatest moment, but it is a pretty big mention. In the movie version of the HBO series Charlotte winds up drinking the water in Mexico, causing her to "Poughkeepsie" in her pants.

There's a Fellow Waiting in Poughkeepsie
Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters perform this song in the 1944 film, "Here Come the Waves". This is possibly the first of many times a songwriter has cleverly rhymed the word Poughkeepsie with tipsy.

Ally McBeal
The popular 90s legal show features a character named John Cage that suffers from stuttering. To help control his speech, Cage uses the word Poughkeepsie. (clip begins at 13:29)

Something Corporate: "I Woke Up in a Car"
Those who grew up in the 90s probably remember the alt-rock hit that mentions taking a train to Poughkeepsie.

Poughkeepsie City of Sin
While not a huge hit by any measure, "Poughkeepsie City of Sin" is the only song that was written entirely about Poughkeepsie. With lyrics like "In Poughkeepsie there's nothing to do. Aw, Poughkeepsie, I love you" how could you not sing along?

I'm sure there's a few references we missed. If you've got a great Poughkeepsie mention, let us know in the comments section below so we can add it to the list.