‘Alice’ star Polly Holliday dead at 88
Actor Polly Holliday, best known for her role in the hit television show Alice, has died aged 88.
Holliday’s death was confirmed by her theatrical agent Dennis Aspland, who told The New York Times that she died at her home in Manhattan on September 9th.
The actor was best known for her role as the beloved diner waitress, Flo, in Alice, which not only provided laughter to millions of viewers but also introduced her character’s catchphrase, “Kiss my grits,” into the national vernacular.
After attending Florida State University, Holliday began her acting career at the Asolo Theatre Company in the area, and eventually moved to New York to move on to Public Theater Off Broadway in 1972. She soon began working on Broadway, with her first play being All Over Town, directed by Dustin Hoffman.
Holliday and Hoffman worked together again on the 1976 movie, All the President’s Men. That same year, she was cast in Alice as Flo, a role which would lead to her winning two Golden Globes and securing a short-lived spin-off series.
She lovingly said of her character during an interview with The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2003: “She was a Southern woman you see in a lot of places. Not well educated, but very sharp, with a sense of humour and a resolve not to let life get her down.”
Other notable films that she appeared in include Gremlins, The Parent Trap, Mrs Doubtfire, Stick It and The Heartbreak Kid. Her final acting credit came in the 2010 movie, Fair Game, starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.
Holliday was the last surviving member of the main cast of Alice, following the death of Linda Lavin, who played the titular character in 2024.
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