Polly Holliday, Emmy-Nominated Actress From Alice, Dead at 88
Polly Holliday, the Tony-nominated stage and screen actor best remembered for her sharp-witted waitress Flo on the CBS sitcom Alice, died Tuesday, September 9, at her home in New York City. She was 88. Her death was confirmed to The New York Times by her agent, Dennis Aspland.
Holliday’s passing marks the end of an era for Alice. She was the last surviving member of the show’s original ensemble, which included Linda Lavin, Vic Tayback, Beth Howland, and Philip McKeon.
A Television Breakthrough
Born Polly Dean Holliday on July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama, she studied theater at the Alabama College for Women and Florida State University before beginning her professional acting career at the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida. Moving to New York in the early 1970s, Holliday caught the attention of audiences with her Off-Broadway work at the Public Theater.
She soon landed a role on Broadway in All Over Town (1974), directed by Dustin Hoffman, before reuniting with him in the Oscar-winning film All the President’s Men (1976), where she played a secretary guarding a crucial Watergate source. That same year, her career-changing opportunity arrived: the role of Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry in Alice, a sitcom adapted from Martin Scorsese’s 1974 drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
As Flo, Holliday became a television icon. With her gum-chewing sass and thick Southern drawl, she was the perfect foil to Tayback’s gruff diner owner, Mel. Her biting retorts often ended with a now-legendary phrase: “Kiss my grits.” The line quickly became a cultural catchphrase, referenced across TV, print, and late-night comedy.
Life Beyond Mel’s Diner
Holliday remained with Alice until 1980, when she left to star in her own spin-off, Flo. The show only lasted a single season, but it cemented Holliday’s status as a household name. She went on to join CBS’s Private Benjamin in 1983, stepping in for Eileen Brennan after the actress was seriously injured.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Holliday made memorable television appearances. She played Lily, the blind sister of Betty White’s Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, had recurring roles on Tim Allen’s Home Improvement, and appeared in The Client, a legal drama based on the John Grisham novel. Her final television role came in 1996 with an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.
A Film Career in Supporting Roles
Though best known for her television work, Holliday had a long list of film credits. She appeared in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), Joe Dante’s cult classic Gremlins (1984), and Robin Williams’s family hit Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). In 1998, she played a supporting role in the remake of The Parent Trap, followed by a part in The Heartbreak Kid (2007). Her final film was Doug Liman’s Fair Game (2010), a political drama based on the Valerie Plame affair.
Accomplished Stage Actor
Holliday’s success was not limited to screen roles. She earned critical acclaim on Broadway, most notably with her Tony-nominated performance as Big Mama in the 1990 revival of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She also starred in the 1986 revival of Arsenic and Old Lace, appeared in a 1994 revival of William Inge’s Picnic, and took part in Lincoln Center Theater’s 2000 production of The Time of the Cuckoo.
Her ability to balance comedic timing with dramatic depth made her a versatile performer admired by critics and audiences alike.
The Legacy of Flo
While Holliday’s career stretched across stage, film, and television, she will always be most closely associated with Flo, the gum-smacking waitress who made “Kiss my grits” a phrase embedded in American pop culture. For many, Holliday represented a type of woman rarely seen on television at the time — unfiltered, sharp-tongued, and unapologetically herself.
Her performance on Alice earned her two Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in 1979 and 1980, as well as four consecutive Emmy nominations.
Closing a Chapter
With Holliday’s death, all of Alice’s original stars have now passed away: Linda Lavin in 2023, Vic Tayback in 1990, Beth Howland in 2015, and Philip McKeon in 2019. Holliday leaves behind no immediate survivors.
Though her life ended quietly in New York, Holliday’s work continues to echo on stages, screens, and in the memories of those who grew up with Mel’s Diner on their TV sets. To millions of viewers, she will always be Flo — cracking jokes, tossing sass, and delivering the unforgettable punchline: “Kiss my grits.”
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