Florence Halop (January 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American actress. Best known for her roles as surly patient Mrs. Hufnagel on the drama '' St. Elsewhere'' and the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...

''. Halop was the sister of

Billy Halop William Halop (February 11, 1920 – November 9, 1976) was an American actor. Early life Halop was born to Benjamin Cohen Halop and Lucille Elizabeth Halop on February 11, 1920. Halop came from a theatrical family; his mother was a dancer, and ...

, one of the original Dead End/

East Side Kids The East Side Kids were characters in a series of 22 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 B ...

Early years

Halop was from a theatrical family. She was born in Jamaica, New York. Her mother was a dancer, and her brother,

, was an actor who worked on radio, in films, and in television.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 118.

Radio

An item in a 1931 newspaper reported that Halop was "the youngest star of the National Broadcasting Company -- only 7 and broadcasting for the last three years." She first appeared on ''Coast-to-Coast on a Bus''. Later, she was heard on ''Wheatenaville''. Halop was the second of many to play Miss Duffy, the owner's man-crazy daughter in ''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured ...

''. She was Hot Breath Houlihan on ''

The Jimmy Durante Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''.

Television

John Sweeney applies makeup to Florence Halop 1953

Halop transitioned to television in the early 1950s with a role in the series ''

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. The ...

''. 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'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

'', ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ta ...

'', and ''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...

''. Between 1976 and 1982, she guested six times on the TV series ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

'', each time playing a different character. In 1984, she had a guest stint on '' St. Elsewhere''. 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 17 more episodes over the course of the season. In 1985, Halop succeeded

Selma Diamond Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 – May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actress, and radio and television writer, known for her high-range, raspy voice and her portrayal of Selma Hacker on the first two seasons of the NBC televisio ...

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

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. Halop, who was also a heavy smoker, had similarly developed lung cancer and died during the series run. She was replaced on ''Night Court'' by

Marsha Warfield Marsha Francine Warfield (born March 5, 1954) is an American actress and comedian. She grew up on Chicago's South Side, graduating from Calumet High School. She is best known for her 1986–92 role of Roz Russell on the Top 10 rated NBC 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 is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cemetery has an entrance called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for aviation ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
''New York Times'' Florence Halop page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halop, Florence 1923 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American child actresses American film actresses American radio actresses American television actresses Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Jewish American actresses Deaths from lung cancer in California People from Jamaica, Queens 20th-century American Jews