Florence Stanley

Florence Stanley
Stanley in 1977
Born
Florence Lenore Schwartz

(1924-07-01)July 1, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 3, 2003(2003-10-03) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materNorthwestern University
OccupationActress
Years active1940–2003
Spouse
Martin Newman
​
(m. 1951)​
Children2
Websitewww.florencestanley.com

Florence Stanley (born Florence Lenore Schwartz;[1][2] July 1, 1924[3] – October 3, 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in Barney Miller (1975–1977) and its spinoff Fish (1977-1978), My Two Dads (1987–1990), and Nurses (1991–1994), and the voice of Wilhelmina Bertha Packard in the franchise of Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Early life and career

Born in Chicago, Illinois,[3] to Jacob Schwartz and Hanna Weil,[2][4] Stanley attended Senn High School and Northwestern University.[5]

Stanley began performing professionally in the 1940s. Her earliest theatrical performances include The Importance of Being Earnest with the Touring Players, Bury The Dead at New York's Cherry Lane Theatre, and Machinal. She began using the stage-name Florence Stanley at some point in her career.

During the 1950s, Stanley appeared in numerous live TV shows, and gave an acclaimed performance as Clytemnestra in the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1964 production of Electra, opposite Lee Grant, who played the title role.[6] Stanley began her long career on Broadway as Maureen Stapleton's understudy in a 1965 revival of The Glass Menagerie.

In 1966, she took over the role of Yente in Broadway's Fiddler On The Roof from Bea Arthur, leaving in 1971 (after more than 2,000 performances) to open in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue, directed by Mike Nichols. In 1972, she went on to tap dance in the Broadway production of The Secret Affairs Of Mildred Wild, and in 1981 went back to work for Neil Simon in the Broadway production of Fools.

Film roles

Her film roles began in 1967 with Up the Down Staircase starring Sandy Dennis. In 1973, she was asked by director Mike Nichols to play a small role in his film The Day of the Dolphin starring George C. Scott. She recreated her role in the film version of The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), and was again cast by Nichols for The Fortune (1975), starring Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Stockard Channing. She went on to appear in the television series Joe and Sons for CBS in 1975;[7]: 536  that same year Barney Miller producer Danny Arnold cast Stanley as Bernice Fish, the wife of Detective Fish (played by Abe Vigoda). Vigoda's and Stanley's characters were spun off in 1977 - Fish.[7]: 345-346  She also appeared in the 1994 film Trapped in Paradise starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. Stanley played Edna "Ma" Firpo in the movie.

Later roles

In 1966 she was a voice actress on the gothic inspired soap opera Dark Shadows voicing the supposed ghost of a sobbing woman in the basement.[citation needed]

On television, Stanley portrayed Margaret Wilbur, a family court judge who assigned custody of a twelve-year-old girl to two former boyfriends of the girl's late mother on My Two Dads,[7]: 736-737  and directed several episodes of the series.[8] She made two guest appearances on the TV series Night Court: an uncredited one in the season 4 episode "Murder" in which she plays a woman who cheerfully confesses to her husband's murder but may be hiding something, and another, credited, role in the season 6 episode "The Game Show" where she played Judge Wilbur. She later played Dr. Amanda Riskin on Nurses.[7]: 776  She portrayed Elsie Engelhoff on Drexell's Class[7]: 287  provided the voice for Grandma Ethyl Phillips on Dinosaurs[7] and made guest appearances on such television series as Mad About You (which reunited her with her former My Two Dads co-star, Paul Reiser), Malcolm in the Middle, Mr. Belvedere and Cybill. Later film roles include Trouble Bound (1993), The Odd Couple II and Bulworth (both in 1998) and Down With Love (2003). Stanley also provided the voice for Peter Griffin's mother, Thelma on Family Guy. In 1998, she played Muriel on The Simple Life.[9]

In 2001, she provided the voice of Wilhelmina Packard in Disney's animated film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, for which she was nominated for an Annie Award for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production,[8] and the direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return, in 2003.[10]

Death

On October 3, 2003, at age 79, Stanley died of complications from a stroke at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[8]

Partial filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1967 Up the Down Staircase Ella Friedenberg
1970 Jenny Woman at Playground Uncredited
1973 The Day of the Dolphin Women's Club
1975 The Prisoner of Second Avenue Pearl
1975 The Fortune Mrs. Gould
1987 Outrageous Fortune Ticket Agent
1991 Dinosaurs Ethyl Hinkleman Phillips Voice
1993 Trouble Bound Grandma Martucci
1994 Trapped in Paradise Ma Firpo
1995 A Goofy Movie Waitress Voice
1998 The Odd Couple II Hattie
1998 Bulworth Dobish
2000 The Brainiacs.com Grandma Tyler
2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire Mrs. Packard Voice
2001 According to Spencer Grandma
2003 Down with Love Dry Cleaner's Wife
2003 Atlantis: Milo's Return Mrs. Packard Voice, final film role

References

  1. ^ Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed.. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-7864-4373-4.
  2. ^ a b "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K3Y-GFV4 : 10 February 2023), Florence Lenore Schwartz, .
  3. ^ a b Benjamin, Ruth (2006). Who Sang What on Broadway, 1866-1996: The Singers (L-Z). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 711. ISBN 0786421894.
  4. ^ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPC-ZLCX : Wed Nov 15 09:46:36 UTC 2023), Entry for Florence Lenore Schwartz and Jacob Schwartz, 8 Jul 1924.
  5. ^ "Our Town". Chicago Tribune. March 2, 1947. pt. 3, p. 2. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Theater: 'Electra' Presented at the Delacorte; Lee Grant in Title Role of Sophocles Play; Production Is Staged by Gerald Freedman". New York Times. August 12, 1964.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  8. ^ a b c Kamzan, Josh (October 20, 2003). "Florence Stanley". Variety. p. 58. ProQuest 236336681. TV, pic and legit thesp Florence Stanley died Oct. 3 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from complications after a stroke. She was 79. [...] Stanley's TV roles included [...] Judge Margaret Wilbur on "My Two Dads." She also helmed numerous episodes of the latter skein. [...] In 2001, she was nominated for an Annie Award for voice acting in an animated feature for her role as Mrs. Packard in Disney's 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire.'
  9. ^ Joyner, Will (June 3, 1998). "The Simple Life (1998 TV series)". The New York Times. p. E 8. ProQuest 109865641. Retrieved November 25, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ Florence Stanley: Filmography. TCM.
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