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Polly Holliday

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Polly Holliday
Holliday in Flo (1980)
Born
Polly Dean Holliday

(1937-07-02)July 2, 1937
Jasper, Alabama, U.S.
DiedSeptember 9, 2025(2025-09-09) (aged 88)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materAlabama College, State College for Women
Florida State University
OccupationActress
Years active1963–2010
AwardsAlabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame

Polly Dean Holliday (July 2, 1937 – September 9, 2025) was an American actress who appeared on stage, television, and in film. She was best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom Alice, a role for which she earned two Golden Globe Awards, and would also later reprise for its short-lived spin-off, Flo. Her character's catchphrase of "Kiss my grits!" remains the most memorable line associated with the series Alice. In 1984, Holliday won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Ruby Deagle in Gremlins.

Early life

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Polly Dean Holliday was born in Jasper, Alabama, on July 2, 1937, the daughter of Ernest Sullivan Holliday, a truck driver, and Velma Mabell Holliday (née Cain).[1] She grew up in Childersburg; her brother Doyle was a boyhood friend of Jim Nabors, who lived in nearby Sylacauga.[2]

Holliday attended the Alabama College for Women at Montevallo (now known as the University of Montevallo) in the late 1950s where she excelled in the theater department, playing the lead roles in The Lady's Not for Burning and Medea. She graduated in 1959 with a degree in piano.[1] She went on to Florida State University, and spent the first phase of her career earning respect on the classical stage.[1]

Holliday worked as a piano teacher in her native Alabama, and then in Florida. She began her professional acting career as a member of the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida, where she stayed for 10 years.[1]

Career

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In 1972, Holliday moved to New York City and appeared in Alice Childress's play Wedding Band at the Public Theater.[1] More than a year later, she was cast in the Broadway hit All Over Town.[1] While working on All Over Town, she befriended the play's director, Dustin Hoffman, with whom she later appeared in the 1976 movie All the President's Men.[1]

(L–R): Beth Howland as Vera, Linda Lavin as Alice, and Polly Holliday as Flo on Alice (1976)

In 1976, Holliday was cast—in what would be her major break—as sassy, man-hungry waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on Alice, a sitcom airing on CBS.[1] Her character coined the popular catchphrase "Kiss my grits!", which became part of American vernacular. Holliday starred in Alice from 1976 to 1980, and then moved to her own short-lived spin-off show Flo, in which Flo moved back home to Texas from Arizona.[1] The show was successful during its abbreviated first season, but ratings declined during the following season due to a time change, and it was canceled in 1981.[3]

In 1983, Holliday joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Private Benjamin as a temporary replacement for series regular Eileen Brennan, who was recovering from serious injuries after being struck by a car.[3] She made appearances on television shows, including in The Golden Girls as Rose Nylund's blind sister Lily, in a recurring role as Jill Taylor's mother on Home Improvement, and as a regular character on The Client.[1]

Holliday's notable film roles include appearances in All the President's Men (1976, as Martin Dardis' secretary), Moon over Parador (1988), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and The Parent Trap (1998). In the 1984 hit Gremlins she played ruthless miser Ruby Deagle, winning the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her final credit was in the 2010 film Fair Game, in which she played Diane Plame, the mother of Valerie Plame.[1]

On Broadway, she appeared in revivals of Arsenic and Old Lace (1986) as Martha Brewster, one of the dotty, homicidal, sweet old aunties; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1990), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Big Mama; and Picnic (1994) as neighbor Flo Owens.[1] In 2000, she appeared at Lincoln Center in a revival of Arthur Laurents's The Time of the Cuckoo.[1]

In 2000, she was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame.[4]

Personal life and death

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Holliday was an Episcopalian who sang in the St. Andrews Episcopal Choir in Montevallo, Alabama.[5] In January 2010, she appeared as herself in an official advertising campaign for the Episcopal Church.[6] In New York City, she sang in the Episcopal Grace Church Choral Society in Greenwich Village and ran a chamber music series there.[7]

After a decline in her health, Holliday died from an apparent bout of pneumonia at her home in Manhattan, New York City, on September 9, 2025, at the age of 88.[1][8] She was the last surviving member of the original cast of Alice.[1] She never married or had children.[9][10] She is buried at Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Childersburg, Alabama, beside her mother.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1975 W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings Mrs. Cozzens [11]
Pittsville - Ein Safe voll Blut Miss Pearson [11]
Distance Mrs. Herman [11]
1976 All the President's Men Dardis's Secretary [11]
1978 The One and Only Mrs. Crawford [11]
1984 Gremlins Mrs. Ruby Deagle Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress[11]
1988 Moon Over Parador Midge [11]
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Gloria Chaney [11]
1996 Mr. Wrong Mrs. Alston [11]
1998 The Parent Trap Marva Kulp Sr. [11]
2006 Stick It Judge Westreich [11]
2007 The Heartbreak Kid Beryl [11]
2010 Fair Game Diane Plame [11]

Television movies

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Year Title Role Notes
1974 Wedding Band Annabelle [1]
1975 The Silence Mrs. Watson [11]
1976 Bernice Bobs Her Hair Mrs. Harvey [11]
1979 You Can't Take It with You Miriam Kirby [11]
1981 All the Way Home Aunt Hannah [11]
1982 Missing Children: A Mother's Story Mary Gertrude [11]
1983 The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story Aunt Minerva [11]
1985 Lots of Luck Lucille [11]
Konrad Berti Bartolotti [11]
1991 A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story Ruth Weidner [11]
1996 A Loss of Innocence Christina Eriksen [11]
2004 It Must Be Love Mama Bell aka Surviving Love[11]

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes
1974 Search for Tomorrow Prison Inmate Leader 6 episodes[11]
1976–1980 Alice Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry Main role, 90 episodes
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1979–1980)[12]
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1978–1980)[11]
1980–1981 Flo Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry Main role, 29 episodes
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy[12]
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series[11]
1982 American Playhouse Mrs. Wooster Episode: "The Shady Hill Kidnapping"[11]
1982–1983 Private Benjamin Capt. Amanda Allen 3 episodes[11]
1985 Stir Crazy Captain Betty Episode: "Pilot"[11]
1986 The Golden Girls Lily Lindstrom Episode: "Blind Ambitions"[11]
Amazing Stories Elma Dinnock Episode: "The Pumpkin Competition"[11]
1988 The Equalizer Sister Sara Episode: "Regrets Only"[11]
1993–1999 Home Improvement Lillian Patterson 5 episodes[11]
1995–1996 The Client Momma Love Main role, 21 episodes[11]
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street Mrs. Rath Episode: "The Heart of a Saturday Night"[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gates, Anita (September 10, 2025). "Polly Holliday, a Sassy Waitress on the Sitcom 'Alice,' Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  2. ^ McDonald, Marlene (May 13, 1979). "'Kiss my grits' explained by Mom". Selma Times-Journal. p. C5. Retrieved September 11, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "While Injured Eileen Brennan Mends". People. 1982.
  4. ^ "Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame". theatretusc.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  5. ^ "The History of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church from 1860–Present". Montevallo, AL: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  6. ^ "I am Episcopalian". Episcopal Church. August 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Adam (September 10, 2025). "Polly Holliday, a brassy waitress on TV's 'Alice,' dies at 88". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  8. ^ Edel, Victoria (September 10, 2025). "Polly Holliday, Actress Known for Playing Flo on Alice and Marva in The Parent Trap, Dies at 88". People. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  9. ^ Vasquez, Whitney (September 10, 2025). "Polly Holliday, Last Surviving 'Alice' Star, Dead at 88 After Bout with Pneumonia". New York Post. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  10. ^ Barnes, Mike (September 10, 2025). "Polly Holliday, Flo, the 'Kiss My Grits' Waitress on 'Alice,' Dies at 88". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj "Polly Holliday List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Polly Holliday". Golden Globes. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
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