Los Angeles may be Tinseltown . . . but New York City, the Big Apple, is the ultimate stargazer"s heaven. What had been a long-kept secret, we may now declare with certainty: More stars make their home in Manhattan than in any other city in the world. Gotham is home not only to major movie stars but also to rock-and-roll greats, soap-opera personalities, su­perstar sports heroes, operatic divas and prima ballerinas, and even notorious criminal masterminds.In fact, this tiny island off the East Coast of North America boasts more celebrities per square inch than any other town, district, state, or kingdom on the face of the globe. You may find it hard not to bump into world-class performers-dining in splendor at their favorite French restaurant or picking up coleslaw at the comer deli, trying on imported shoes at a trendy boutique or buying socks from a street vendor, stepping out of a limousine or hopping onto a bus.Movie stars like Tom Cruise, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Hepburn, and Michael J. Fox are among the thousands of actors who are inspired and in­vigorated by residing in this city that never sleeps.Rock and rollers flock to New York to catch the energy and excitement that emanates from life here. Madonna, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Wonder are among the stars who make music in soundproof studios just above the noisy streets.It"s not surprising that ballet stars such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and the late Rudolf Nureyev and opera favorites such as Beverly Sills and Luciano Pavarotti all have or have had homes within a small radius of Lincoln Center.If you happen to be a news or talk-show aficionado, New York City is your mecca. Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings, and Phil Donahue are among the numerous personalities who live here.Comedians often cite the bustling mosaic that is New York as inspiration for their best material.