Report: Jerry Stiller Left Money to Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement in his Will
Legendary actor-comedian Jerry Stiller, raised on the Lower East Side, bequeathed funds to the Henry Street Settlement in his will.
According to the New York Post, the late comedian, who died last May at 92, left behind an estate valued at $5 million. It’s reportedly divided amongst children Ben and Amy, as well as several New York organizations and former employees.
Notably, an undisclosed sum to the Abrons Arts Center (née Henry Street Playhouse) and the Boys & Girls Republic, a youth program run out of the Henry Street Settlement.
That he donated part of his estate to the local nonprofit is generous, albeit not surprising. Stiller began his decades-running career on stage there while still a student at nearby Seward Park High School.
The elder Stiller – best known for playing Frank Costanza on Seinfeld – was a product of the Lower East Side. Born in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn on June 8, 1927, he was the oldest of four children. The family later moved to the then recently-unveiled, 24-building Vladeck Houses, where he spent his teenage years.
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