Actor Danny DeVito Donates $500K To Jersey Shore Medical Center

NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP, NJ — Danny DeVito was spotted in Neptune and Belmar this week, and that's because he was in the area to make a sizeable donation to Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

DeVito donated $500,000 to Jersey Shore, part of the Hackensack Meridian health network.

DeVito chose Jersey Shore because he was born there: The Emmy-award winning actor grew up in Asbury Park and was born at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, back when it was known as Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial.

DeVito was born there in 1944; he is 78 years old.

You can watch DeVito currently playing the role of Frank Reynolds in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and he also appears in the Jersey Mike’s Subs commercials.

In fact, Pete Cancro, founder and CEO of Jersey Mike's, was at the donation event Tuesday in Neptune.

“Danny DeVito, a great friend of mine, truly understands how important quality healthcare is and how philanthropy can make all the difference,” said Cancro. “It’s been such a pleasure to reintroduce Danny, a fellow New Jerseyan, to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. This very community is the same one that supported both of us growing up, and we both believe in giving back to the communities that support you.”

Jersey Shore University Medical is widely considered to be one of the best hospitals in the state, and it is the main trauma hospital that serves the entire north and central Jersey Shore. It is where anyone suffering from a drowning, boat accident or severe car accident is immediately rushed to. For the third year in a row, Jersey Shore was named to Healthgrades' "250 Best Hospitals in America" in 2023.

DeVito's half-a-million-dollar donation will go through the hospital's foundation, and will be used to provide funding for the hospital's most urgent needs for patients today, and in the future.

“We are so grateful to Danny DeVito for his confidence and support in the high-quality innovative care we provide at Jersey Shore University Medical Center,” said Hackensack Meridian CEO Robert Garrett Tuesday. “Danny truly understands the powerful impact that philanthropy has on healthcare, and for him to give back to the community where he grew up — and to the hospital he was born at — means so much."