Florence Halop was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress. Best known for her role as the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom Night Court

Night Court

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...

, Halop was the sister of Billy Halop

Billy Halop

William "Billy" Halop was an American actor born in New York City.He came from a Jewish theatrical family: his mother was a dancer, and his sister Florence Halop was a child actress, who later worked on radio and in television...

, one of the original Dead End/East Side Kids

East Side Kids

The East Side Kids were characters in a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The Bowery Boys....

.

Career

Born in Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Halop had a long career on radio and got her start at age 4 when she appeared on Orson Welles

Orson Welles

George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...

' Mercury Theatre

Mercury Theatre

The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...

. She transitioned to television in the early-1950s with a role in the series Meet Millie

Meet Millie

Meet Millie, a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secretary from Brooklyn, made a transition from radio to television in the early 1950s. In the live television version, Mom and Millie were living in Jackson Heights, Queens...

. After the series ended in 1956, Halop guest starred on various television series during the late 1950s and 1960s including roles in Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...

, Going My Way

Going My Way (TV series)

Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series starring dancer and actor Gene Kelly. Based on the 1944 film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, the series aired on ABC with new episodes from October 3, 1962 to April 24, 1963. The program was Kelly's first and only attempt at a weekly television...

, and I Spy.

Between 1976 - 1982, she played six different characters on the TV series Barney Miller

Barney Miller

Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...

. In 1984, she had a guest stint on St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...

. Halop’s character, Mrs. Hufnagel, was originally intended to be a one-episode spot, , but her role was so well received the writers found a way to get her into 15 more episodes over the course of the season.

In 1985, Halop succeeded Selma Diamond

Selma Diamond

Selma Diamond was a Canadian-born American comic actress and radio and television writer, and is known for her high-range, raspy voice and her portrayal of Selma Hacker on the first two seasons of the NBC television comedy series Night Court.-Life and career:Diamond was born in Montreal, Quebec,...

 as a female bailiff on Night Court after Diamond's death from lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

. Halop herself also developed lung cancer and died during the series run, . (She was replaced on Night Court by Marsha Warfield

Marsha Warfield

Marsha Warfield is an American actress and comedienne best known for her 1986–1992 role of Roz on the popular NBC sitcom Night Court. Roz, a tough, no-nonsense bailiff in Judge Stone's court, acted primarily as a straightwoman to the other bailiff character, Bull . She also starred in the sitcom...

, who played Roz Russell until the series ended in 1992.

Family

Halop was married to George Gruskin, who died in 1976. They were the parents of two daughters, Georgeanna and Benita. She is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery

Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery

Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.The cemetery has a special section called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for a number of aviation pioneers — barnstormers, daredevils and...

.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1939	Nancy Drew... Reporter	Phyllis Gimble, Journalism Student	Uncredited
1940	Junior G-Men Junior G-Men (serial) Junior G-Men is a Universal film serial. It was Universal's 116th serial of their total of output of 137. It is one of the three serials starring "The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys" who were under contract to Universal at the time...	Mary
1966	The Glass Bottom Boat The Glass Bottom Boat The Glass Bottom Boat is an 1966 American romantic comedy movie directed by Frank Tashlin; it is also considered by some people to be musical entertainment. This movie features Doris Day and Rod Taylor as the main entertainers, with assistance from actors Arthur Godfrey and Paul Lynde...	Lady on Telephone	Uncredited Alternative title: The Spy in Lace Panties
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Goodyear Television Playhouse Goodyear Television Playhouse The Goodyear Television Playhouse produced live television dramas from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television".Sponsored by Goodyear, the hour-long anthology series was telecast Sundays at 9pm on NBC...		1 episode
	Holiday Hotel		Unknown episodes
1952	I Love Lucy I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...	Woman on Phone	1 episode
1952–1956	Meet Millie Meet Millie Meet Millie, a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secretary from Brooklyn, made a transition from radio to television in the early 1950s. In the live television version, Mom and Millie were living in Jackson Heights, Queens...	Mrs. Bronson	Unknown episodes
1958	Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...	Mrs. Laurie	1 episode
1959	The Untouchables The Untouchables (1959 TV series) The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...	Flora Weinberg	1 episode
1962	Saints and Sinners	Ruth Melton Foss	1 episode
1963	Going My Way Going My Way (TV series) Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series starring dancer and actor Gene Kelly. Based on the 1944 film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, the series aired on ABC with new episodes from October 3, 1962 to April 24, 1963. The program was Kelly's first and only attempt at a weekly television...	Mrs. Kravitz	1 episode
	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...	Jenny, Mr. Crawford's maid	1 episode
1965	The Dick Van Dyke Show The Dick Van Dyke Show The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....	Mrs. Spaulding	1 episode
	Hank	Mrs. Wallace	1 episode
1967	Captain Nice		1 episode
1967–1968	That Girl That Girl That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...	Clerk Librarian	2 episodes
1968	I Spy	Clara	1 episode
1970	The Mod Squad The Mod Squad The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...	Nurse	1 episode
	But I Don't Want to Get Married!	Mrs. Green	Television movie
1971	Allan	Blanche Fisher	Television movie
	The Chicago Teddy Bears The Chicago Teddy Bears The Chicago Teddy Bears is an American sitcom that aired on CBS. The series was part of the network's 1971 fall lineup, premiering on September 17, 1971.-Synopsis:Unlike other shows set in Prohibition-era Chicago, The Chicago Teddy Bears was a sitcom...	Mrs. Krausmeyer	1 episode
	Love, American Style Love, American Style Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...		2 episodes
1972	Insight		1 episode
	Wait till Your Father Gets Home Wait Till Your Father Gets Home Wait Till Your Father Gets Home was an animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera that aired in first-run syndication in the United States from 1972 to 1974...	Voice	1 episode
	The New Scooby-Doo Movies The New Scooby-Doo Movies The New Scooby-Doo Movies is the second incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for two seasons on CBS as the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series...	Voice	2 episodes
1974	Here's Lucy Here's Lucy Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...	Old Woman	1 episode
1975	Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Queen of the Stardust Ballroom is an American television movie directed by Sam O'Steen and produced by Roger Gimbel. It was broadcast by CBS on February 13, 1975...	Sylvia	Television movie
	Police Woman Police Woman (TV series) Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...	Hannah Victor	1 episode
1976	Gemini Man Gemini Man Gemini Man is an American action/adventure drama series that aired on NBC in 1976. This is the third of four weekly television series based on the H. G. Wells science fiction novel, The Invisible Man.-Synopsis:...	Miss Evans	1 episode
	All in the Family All in the Family All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...	Martha Linfoot	1 episode
1976–1982	Barney Miller Barney Miller Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...	Various roles	6 episodes
1977	The Love Boat The Love Boat The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...	Millie Lindsay	1 episode
	CHiPs CHiPs CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...	Mrs. Abel	1 episode
	The Betty White Show The Betty White Show The Betty White Show is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 12, 1977, to January 2, 1978. Fourteen episodes were transmitted. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises.-Synopsis:...	Marian	3 episodes
1977–1983	Alice Alice (TV series) Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...	Annie Old Lady	2 episodes
1978	Soap Soap (TV series) Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...	Aunt Esther	1 episode
1979	Archie Bunker's Place Archie Bunker's Place Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...	Aunt Gussie	2 episodes
1979–1980	Angie Angie (TV series) Angie is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast by the ABC network from February 1979 until October 1980.-Premise:Philadelphia coffee shop waitress Angie Falco starts a romance with customer Bradley Benson...	Ceil	2 episodes
1980	This Is the Life This is the Life (TV series) This Is the Life is an American Christian television dramatic series. This anthology series aired in syndication from the 1950s through 1980s. The series was originally produced by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and distributed by the International Lutheran Laymen's League.-Format:This Is...	Old Woman	1 episode
1982	Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...	Mrs. Falkenberg	1 episode
1983	Condo		1 episode
	It Takes Two	Florence	1 episode
	Hill Street Blues Hill Street Blues Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...	Fish Store Customer	1 episode
1984	Diff'rent Strokes Diff'rent Strokes Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...	Mrs. Gruber	1 episode
	Brothers Brothers (TV series) Brothers is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division and...	Mrs. Veltnelman	1 episode
1984–1985	St. Elsewhere St. Elsewhere St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...	Mrs. Hufnagel	18 episodes
1985	Joanna	Mrs. Benson	Television movie
	Anything for Love	Claire	Television movie
1985–1986	Night Court Night Court Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...	Bailiff Florence Kleiner	22 episodes

External links

• New York Times Florence Halop page
• Great Character Actors webpage