Polly Holliday, the stage and screen actor who was best known for her Emmy-nominated role in the long-running CBS series “Alice,” has died. She was 88.
Holliday’s theatrical agent Dennis Aspland said the actor died Tuesday at her home in New York. A cause of death was not revealed. Holliday was the last surviving principal cast member of “Alice.” Linda Lavin, who starred in the title role, died in December 2024 of complications from lung cancer at age 87.
“Alice” aired on CBS from 1976 to 1985 and featured Holliday, Lavin and Beth Howland as a trio of waitresses working at the roadside Mel’s Diner in Phoenix. Vic Tayback portrayed the diner’s eponymous owner. The series was based on Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” The film’s screenwriter Robert Getchell created the series.
Holliday portrayed Florence “Flo” Jean Castleberry, a wisecracking waitress who coined the show’s popular catchphrase, “Kiss my grits.” She earned three Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe awards for her work on “Alice.”
The actor, born in Alabama on July 2, 1937, left “Alice” during the series’ 1979-1980 season and went on to star in “Flo,” the short-lived spinoff based on her memorable character. “Flo” premiered on CBS in 1980 and was canceled the next year. She earned additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for that starring role.
Holliday’s screen career began in the 1970s and included stints as Tim Allen’s mother-in-law in “Home Improvement,” the sister to Betty White’s character in “The Golden Girls” and Momma Love in the legal drama “The Client.” She also appeared in the films “Gremlins,” “The Parent Trap” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
Beyond the screen, Holliday took her talents to the stage. She appeared in Broadway productions of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “All Over Town,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Picnic.” Those productions led to collaborations with Kathleen Turner, Dustin Hoffman and Kyle Chandler, among other stars.
Though her portrayal of Flo resonated most with audiences, she told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2003 that her famous line “was pure Hollywood.” Despite this, Holliday said, Flo was still a “Southern woman you see in a lot of places.”
She added: “Not well educated, but very sharp, with a sense of humor and a resolve not to let life get her down.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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