The Actors Fund history

Funds raised at the 1892 Fair, held at Madison Square Garden, enabled the charity to provide individuals and families with assistance, including burial plots in a Brooklyn cemetery and accommodations in the Actors' Fund Home.

The 1907 Fair opened by President Theodore Roosevelt raised $63,941.60.

In 1916 the Motion Picture Campaign for The Fund created a “Roman Spectacle” production of Julius Caesar in the natural amphitheater in Los Angeles.

The 1917 Fair was opened by President Woodrow Wilson, who pressed a button in Washington, D.C. The button unfurled flags of the United States and its Allies.

The Actors’ National Memorial Day was organized in 1919 to thank the entertainment profession for giving so freely of their time and talent to sell war bonds, and $400,000 was donated to The Fund.

1927 brought the first Fund benefit under the Actors’ Equity Contract.

1928: The Actors Fund Home moves to the former mansion of millionaires Hetty Green, located on a six-acre estate in Englewood, New Jersey.

After a series of benefit performances at the Crest Theatre, the Fund was incorporated on May 27th, 1958.

By 1959 The Home needed to be expanded.

1961: The Green mansion is replaced by a newly constructed Actors Fund Home.

In 1975, The Home merged with the Percy Williams Home, which had been located on Long Island, and the Percy Williams Wing was constructed at the Assisted Living Care Facility.

When the AIDS crisis hit in the 1980’s, The Fund was there to help people in the industry who were affected.

By the mid-70s, the Fund was dispensing around $50,000 per annum, a sum that by 1981 had more than doubled.

Jane Mallett, to whom the Fund and its beneficiaries owe an enormous debt of gratitude, remained its President until her death in 1984.

It helped found Broadway Cares in 1988, and established its own HIV/AIDS Initiative.

In 1990 the third edition of "Night of 100 Stars" raised $390,000 to help meet the needs of those suffering with HIV/AIDS. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS remains The Fund’s strongest partner in caring for people with this devastating disease and other health issues.

In 1993, a wing was named in honor of film and television star Natalie Schafer, who left over $1.5 million to The Actors Fund through her estate.

In 1997, the Actors' Work Program (AWP) was incorporated into the Actors Fund's full spectrum of services.

The Palm View, opened in 1998, is a 40-unit apartment complex that provides homes to low-income people with HIV/AIDS. The Palm View is a collaborative project between the Actors Fund, the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, Housing for Entertainment Professionals and various funders.

2001: Curtain Call, a highly acclaimed documentary on the stories and lives of Actors Fund Home residents, is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.

In 2003, The Actors Fund launched the Looking Ahead program to advise younger performers on how to plan for their future.

The Dancers' Resource, a program founded by Trustee Bebe Neuwirth in 2007, provides services that address the distinctive needs of dancers facing health problems and injuries.

In 2008, The Howl Emergency Life Project (HELP) was created to provide emergency financial assistance and social service support to artists who have participated in the annual Howl Festival or who make their careers in New York City’s East Village and Lower East Side arts community.

2009: The Home completes a $12 million renovation and expansion, adding more beds and a new rehabilitation wing.

In 2014, Fund President and CEO Joseph P. Benincasa received the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre for outstanding contribution to the theatrical community for 25 years service to the Fund.

In 2015, the services of Career Transition For Dancers were integrated into the ongoing programs of The Actors Fund, further enhancing the services available to dancers across the country.

In 2017, The Home opened The Shubert Pavilion, a new short-stay rehabilition center.