Now, That’s Entertainment

The roster of residents at the Actors’ Fund Nursing and Retirement Homes reads like the stage bill for a Broadway show. Sitting on six rolling acres in Englewood, N.J., the complex houses more than 100 retired actors, dancers, musicians, producers, set designers, sound technicians, and stagehands who have been professionals in the entertainment industry for at least a third of their working lives.

The homes are operated by the Actors’ Fund, a New York group that offers numerous services to help entertainment professionals in times of need.

The group is in the midst of a five-year campaign to raise $10-million for the renovation and expansion of the New Jersey facility. It also plans to use the money to cover the costs of a new building in New York City that houses working professionals, the elderly, and people with AIDS, as well as to help build and operate a Los Angeles residence for people with AIDS.

If the new facilities are anything like the New Jersey homes, there will surely be waiting lists. Some people even travel across the country to live where they can continue to pursue their passion for the performing arts. Among the amenities in the New Jersey complex is a theater that seats about 70.

Residents also are provided with opportunities to attend shows in New York as the guests of Broadway producers. “When we went to the opening for Guys and Dolls a few months ago, we took people from the residence who had been in the original production,” says Joseph Benincasa, executive director of the Actors’ Fund.