“I feel embraced by this place.” Albert Poland.
Albert Poland and Judy Garland in 1957. The then-26-year-old was president of the star’s fan club.
Photos courtesy of Albert Poland
It’s a scary and sometimes heartless world, but there are blessed beacons of generosity, compassion and hope, and one of them is the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly known as The Actors Fund). It has provided a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals, not just actors, (that’s why they changed the name) but also stagehands, costumers, managers and publicists, among many others, since 1882. Their help includes counseling, jobs, financial help and health care. Its New Jersey branch, The Actors Fund Home in Englewood, is set on a lovely 6-acre campus off West Hudson Avenue and is a state-of-the-art, 169-bed facility that includes short-stay rehabilitation, assisted living, skilled nursing and accredited dementia care. The Fund opened its first retirement home in Staten Island in 1902 and then moved to Englewood in 1928. The home and its residents are a gold mine of show business history and pizazz. For me, it redefines the term “senior moment” to one of resilience, experience, grit and charm.
Albert Poland and Liza Minnelli leave the Promenade Theatre on their way to Studio 54.
I wanted to visit the Actors Fund Home because I heard that Albert Poland, a famous and adventurous theater producer, lives there and loves it. Poland’s string of hits includes “The Fantasticks,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and the plays of his friend, Sam Shepard, among many other successes. His wonderful memoir, “Stages,” (available on Amazon) traces his career from his Indiana childhood where he started a branch of the Judy Garland fan club. (He cold called her and got her permission.) When he came to New York, he took chances and backed the right ponies. That kind of producer doesn’t exist anymore. Ironically, one of the last shows he managed was “The Boy from Oz,” the musical about Peter Allen, Judy’s one-time son-in-law, starring Hugh Jackman. I think “Stages” is right up there with Moss Hart’s “Act One,” essential reading if you want a life in the theater.
One of the last shows Albert Poland managed was ‘The Boy from Oz,’ the musical about Peter Allen, Judy Garland’s one-time son-in-law, starring Hugh Jackman.
When I went to the Actors Fund Home, I was surprised by its bright, open layout. It was nothing like nursing homes I had seen. I talked with Jordan Strohl, who started at the home in 2000 as an intern and became its administrator in 2006. Vibrant and charismatic, Strohl’s involvement with geriatric care began early with his love for his grandparents, Harry and Frances Edelstein, Holocaust survivors who owned and operated the famed Café Edison on 47th Street in Manhattan from 1980 to 2005. It was popular with tourists and showbiz insiders who dubbed it the Polish Tea Room, and it was “a bastion of matzoh brei, borscht and corned beef served in generous portions,” according to The New York Times.
On weekends, from the age of 5, Strohl was dressed and ready by 3:30 a.m. to accompany his father on the drive from New Jersey to the restaurant. Surrounded by “blintzes, potato pancakes, latkes,” he listened to his grandfather’s vivid stories of the Holocaust” while his beautiful grandmother took a maternal interest in her customers. “The last 12 years of the business, I did Sunday mornings,” he said.
At 16, Strohl became a nationally certified EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). His friends called him a trauma junkie. He would often be out all night, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., get home then head to the Actors Fund and crash when he got home. Now with three sons, coaching baseball and running the Actors Fund Home, he is on a break as an EMT, but he will go back to it when his kids get older. He was raised in Marlboro and lives there now. When we met,his upbeat energy was contagious. “I love what I do. It’s easy to be as happy as I am. I love this organization; I love this facility.”
The home spent $35 million on renovations in 2016 and opened a 25-bed sub-acute rehab for residents who needed extra care while recovering from an injury.
Writer Truman Capote and theater producer Albert Poland in the ‘80s. Photo courtesy of Albert Poland
“People come to us when their loved one has had an incident, is hospitalized and is ready to be discharged but not ready go home. Under the gun, people have to make hasty decisions about which facility to go to. I love it when people plan ahead, think about the future and have a game plan,” Strohl said. “Then it’s not a crisis issue. Most people in health care are dealing with putting out fires.”
Jordan Strohl, administrator, The Actors Fund Home
Photo courtesy pf DCKnews
One of Strohl’s favorite stories is about a hospitalized actor who wanted to be discharged to the home. Some of Strohl’s medical team thought he was too ill to come to the home. But he did come and when he arrived, smoking a cigarette, he exclaimed, dramatically, “I’ve arrived! I’ve arrived!” “For him, the home was his Graceland. He died a day later but he made it to Graceland.”
When the Actors Fund changed its name to the more inclusive Entertainment Community Fund, Strohl lobbied to keep the home The Actors Fund Home because “when hospitals are discharging patients who need additional care, the all-important “A” in the Actors Fund keeps us at the top of the list.”
I met Albert Poland in his spacious, sunny room filled with mementos from his exceptional career. When I got there, he was being interviewed by a film crew working on a story about Judy Garland. “I feel embraced by this room,” Poland said. “I’ve always followed the road signs, and they were pointing me toward The Actors Fund Home.” After he retired, he moved to a lovely house in upstate New York. “I have thought of my house for about 11 seconds. And I loved my house. But I’m now in the next chapter and there’s plenty going on to pull me into the present,” he said.
Poland has a steady stream of showbiz pros visiting. He asked his old friend, Oscar and Tony award-winning composer Alan Menken (“Little Shop of Horrors,” “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast”) to come perform at the home and he said, “Yes” immediately. Other guests have included Seth Rudetsky of Sirius XM’s “On Broadway.”
In 1993, Albert Poland joined Steve Martin during rehearsals of ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’ at the Promenade Theatre in New York City.
Photo courtesy of Albert Poland
“I think one of the keys to my happiness is I make my universe small. I try to stay aware of what is going on, but I don’t immerse myself in it. I had a lucky career, and I don’t know that anyone could have my career now. Like when we did ‘The Fantasticks,’ I was really flying by the seat of my pants.” He’s still flying by the seat of his pants, only a little slower. “The response to the book, along with many other things in my life, have made a coda at this point in my life that is just filled with joy and abundance and love and support and care, and it’s a wonderful last act.”
I met Philip Carlson, a dapper and youthful man who started as an actor and became a well-known agent. After retiring, he moved to Seattle, where his wife passed away. He returned to New York and eventually decided to move into the home in July. He’s still finding his way there. “It was a shock to the system.” He spends his time catching up on his reading and he writes. His book “Breaking and Entering” is considered indispensable to actors learning the ropes.
Joseph P. Benincasa, president and CEO, Entertainment Community Fund
Photo courtesy pf DCKnews
Trusting his instincts, Carlson discovered and nurtured talents including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kyra Sedgewick, Liev Schreiber and Idris Elba, whom he heard about from an acquaintance. “I met him, and he was magical.” Though Elba didn’t know much about theater or Shakespeare, Carlson submitted him for a prestigious production of “Troilus and Cressida,” directed by Sir Peter Hall, and Elba’s career was launched.
“Philip Carlson was my guide in shining armor. Smart, honest and hardworking. ‘Breaking and Entering’ is his experience on a shelf,” Elba has said of the book. Another discovery was an unknown 13-year-old Claire Danes, who sent her pictures to his office. “I met her and fell in love with her,” he said.
I was introduced to another resident, Gene Bertoncini, one of the greatest jazz guitarists on the planet. “There are only a handful of legendary jazz guitarists today who can demand the respect and admiration due them after a lifetime of majestic devotion to the art of jazz guitar. Gene Bertoncini is just such an artist and like Segovia, his name should be synonymous with all that is virtuous in the world of jazz,” Jazz Guitar Life has said.
Bertoncini began playing guitar at age 7 and by age 16 was appearing on television. He was in “The Tonight Show” band and has worked with most of the greats: Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Paul Desmond, Benny Goodman, Lena Horne, Michel Legrand, Carmen McRae and Nancy Wilson, among many others. His discography as a front and side man is extensive. He told me that he still performs in New York City, and at the Actors Fund Home regularly.
The Actors Fund Home, a residence of the Entertainment Community Fund, provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals.
Photo courtesy of Don Pearse Photographers Inc.
The New York offices of the Entertainment Community Fund have been closed since the pandemic and most business is conducted virtually for the time being. I loved going to the office on Seventh Avenue, a block north of the TKTS booth. In a business filled with rejection, it was the opposite: welcoming, respectful and most of all, helpful. From its simple origins in 1882, The Fund has expanded to include offices in Chicago and Los Angeles, and housing in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Its atmosphere is set by President and CEO Joe Benincasa, who started there in 1989. A dedicated, unpretentious but brilliant man, I had the feeling that he, like Jordan Strohl, was from New Jersey. “Yes, I was born and raised in New Brunswick and now live outside of Lambertville.”
Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and Albert Poland during rehearsals of the 1979 revival of ‘The Price.’ Photo courtesy of Albert Poland
Benincasa started with the organization in 1989. “They had started to build a nursing home, and my first job was the fundraising campaign to build the nursing home.” His mission has expanded exponentially, as have the needs of the community.
“There are lot of stories attached to the home’s development. I remember bringing Celeste Holm out there and having her solicit Pittsburgh Paints. We got 300 cans of paint for the place. Dina Merrill helped us with the flooring there.” We created assisted living in 1995 and we continue to improve the facility. Our greatest find was Jordan Strohl.”
Acclaimed performer Brian Stokes Mitchell was a dedicated and charismatic president of the board of directors for 19 years. He has just been succeeded by Annette Bening (yes, that Annette Bening), who got her start in New York theater. Between the pandemic and the writers’ strike, things are tougher than ever for the arts community.
If you’re interested in knowing more about the Fund and all its services or to donate to this organization, visit: entertainmentcommunity.org
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.
