The late Florence Stanley was born Florence Schwartz, July 1, 1924, Chicago, Illinois, to Hanna (née Weil) and Jack Schwartz. She already had a prolific career on theater, film and television broadcasts before she skyrocketed to fame as Abe Vigoda's wife on Barney Miller (1974), and later, as Bernice Fish in it's short-lived spinoff Fish (1977). Other notable performances include small roles in, Robert Mulligan's Up the Down Staircase (1967), Mike Nichols's The Day of the Dolphin (1973) and The Fortune (1975).