Biography

Florence Halop was born on January 23, 1923 in Jamaica Estates, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for St. Elsewhere (1982), Night Court (1984) and George Burns Half-Hour Comedy Hour (1985). She was married to George Gruskin. She died on July 15, 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The daughter of Benjamin and Lucille (Halop) Cohen and sister of actor Billy Halop (with whom she appeared in "Junior G Men", a Dead End Kid/Little Tough Guy film from 1940), Florence Halop worked on radio from the age of four. She later found television to be her preferred medium, drawing laughs alone with her short stature, feisty demeanor and unmistakable rasp. She also continued her career on radio. On television, she appeared on episodes of Playhouse 90 (1956), Cavalcade of Stars (1949), The Jimmy Durante Show (1954), and, years later, Alice (1976) and Barney Miller (1975) (making numerous appearances in both 1970s series). She also was frequently seen in television commercials. At one point, she briefly worked as a Beverly Hills real estate agent. Late in life, in 1985, she replaced Selma Diamond as the deadpan bailiff on Night Court (1984). Diamond, a lifelong chain smoker, had died of lung cancer. In a grisly coincidence, Halop, also a heavy smoker, died less than a year later, also of cancer (breast and lung), after only one season on the show.

Halop and husband George Gruskin had two daughters: Georgianna and Benita.