Actors Fund Home
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Description
For nearly a century, the Actors Fund Home has been one of Englewood's most distinctive institutions, serving as a refuge and community for generations of performers and entertainment professionals. Operated by the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), the organization was founded in 1882 to provide assistance and support to actors and other members of the performing arts community during times of hardship.
The Fund opened its first retirement home on Staten Island in 1902. In 1928, it relocated the facility to Englewood, purchasing the former estate of famed financier Hetty Green. Situated on a wooded hilltop property, the home quickly became a nationally recognized residence for retired entertainers. Newspaper accounts from the 1930s and 1940s described it as a vibrant community where aging actors, musicians, vaudeville performers, and stage veterans continued to share stories, friendships, and a lifelong love of the theater.
The home became closely associated with legendary theatrical producer Daniel Frohman, who served as president of The Actors Fund and was frequently celebrated for his commitment to caring for aging performers. A 1933 newspaper profile on Frohman highlighted his belief that happiness came through helping others and noted his long involvement with the Fund and its residents.
By the mid-twentieth century, the Actors Fund Home had become a cherished institution within the entertainment industry. A 1948 feature in The Boston Sunday Globe described the Englewood residence and its companion facility on Long Island as examples of how performers cared for their own through mutual aid and philanthropy. The article emphasized that the homes were supported largely through benefit performances and donations from members of the theatrical community.
Throughout its history, the home welcomed hundreds of notable entertainers. Among its most famous residents were Joseph Sultzer ("Joe Smith") and Charles Marks ("Charlie Dale"), the celebrated vaudeville comedy team Smith and Dale. Their decades-long partnership inspired The Sunshine Boys and the earlier Broadway play of the same name by Neil Simon. Smith continued performing and speaking at schools even while living at the Englewood home, preserving the traditions of vaudeville for younger generations.
Other residents included former Ziegfeld Follies dancer Marguerite St. Clair, actress Mary Hari, television performer Harriett Sappington, and countless stage actors, musicians, dancers, and technicians whose careers had helped shape American entertainment. Newspaper profiles often noted that while many residents had once appeared on Broadway, in vaudeville theaters, or in early motion pictures, they found companionship at the home among peers who understood the unique experiences of life in show business.
The home also benefited from the support of prominent entertainers and philanthropists. In 2003, a major donation from Lillian Booth, widow of philanthropist Ferris Booth, helped strengthen the institution during a difficult period for nursing facilities. The Englewood campus was subsequently renamed in her honor, becoming the Lillian Booth Actors Home.
Over the decades, the facility evolved to meet changing needs. The original Green mansion was replaced in 1961 by a modern care facility. Subsequent expansions included the Percy Williams Wing (1975), the Edwin Forrest Wing (1988), the Natalie Schafer Enhanced Care Unit (1993), major renovations in 2009, the Shubert Pavilion rehabilitation center (2017), and the Friedman Pavilion memory-care facility (2019).
Today, the Actors Fund Home remains a cornerstone of the Entertainment Community Fund's mission. The 169-bed facility provides rehabilitation services, assisted living, skilled nursing care, and memory care while continuing a tradition that began more than 140 years ago: ensuring that performers and entertainment professionals who spent their lives bringing joy to others have a community that will care for them in return.
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nov. 9, 1947 ("Stage Career in Richmond Recalled by Mary Marble")Boston Sunday Globe, June 13, 1948 ("How Actors Take Care of Their Own With Two Comfortable Houses")
Hartford Courant, June 17, 1979 ("Vaudeville Still Flourishes Inside Actors Fund Home")
The Record (Bergen County), Feb. 16, 1982 ("Curtain Still Up on Actors' Home")
Daily Sentinel, May 20, 2003 ("$2 Million Donation Big Help for Actors' Home in Tough Times")
Source
“History.” Actors Fund Home.
