Polly Holliday, the Alabama-born actress who charmed audiences as the sassy waitress Flo on the CBS sitcom “Alice” with her iconic line, “Kiss my grits!” has passed away at the age of 88.
Holliday died Tuesday at her Manhattan home, her theatrical agent and longtime friend, Dennis Aspland, told The New York Times.
Fans Remember Polly’s TV Legacy
Holliday became a household name in the 1970s for her portrayal of Florence Jean Castleberry on “Alice,” a version of the character first introduced in the 1974 film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” directed by Martin Scorsese.
Sporting her signature bouffant red wig, Holliday appeared on the show for four seasons. She left the series during the 1979-80 season finale amid reported tension with star Linda Lavin.
She reprised the character in her own spinoff, “Flo,” which aired in 1980. Flo became the owner of a roadhouse in Cowtown, Texas, though the show lasted only two seasons.
For playing Flo, Holliday won Golden Globes in 1979 and 1980 and received four Emmy nominations, including two in 1980 for “Alice” and “Flo.”
Flo & the Rise to Fame: From Alabama to National Stardom
Hollywood Reporter states that Holliday was born July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama. Her mother, Velma, was a housewife, and her father, Ernest, was a trucker. She often joined him on summer trips, where she watched waitresses whose wit and charm would later inspire her iconic Flo character.
“We’d eat at truck stops, and there would always be a waitress like Flo with a joke ready,” she told People magazine in 1980. “The men would say all kinds of risqué things to her, but it was understood that it wasn’t serious, just a way to make everybody’s day happier.”
After graduating from Alabama College for Women and spending a year at Florida State, Holliday taught piano before turning to acting in the 1960s. She spent about seven seasons with the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida, honing her craft on stage.
Broadway & Big Screen Highlights: From “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” to “Gremlins”
Holliday earned a Tony nomination in 1990 for playing Big Mama in a revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” She also starred opposite Jean Stapleton in a Broadway revival of “Arsenic and Old Lace” in 1986.
Her film credits include “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings” (1975), “Gremlins” (1984), “Moon Over Parador” (1988), “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993), “Mr. Wrong” (1996), “The Parent Trap” (1998), and “The Heartbreak Kid” (2007). In “Gremlins,” she played Ruby Deagle, a wealthy widow who meets a grisly end on a tampered stair-lift chair.
Polly Holliday’s legacy lives on through her iconic role as Flo on “Alice,” her memorable film performances, and the joy and laughter she brought to audiences for decades.
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