Polly Holliday, known as waitress Flo on 'Alice' TV show, dies at 88
By Anthony Robledo (USA TODAY)Golden Globe winning actress Polly Holliday, arguably best known for her role as Flo on the 1976 sitcom "Alice," has died at age 88, according to her manager.
The Alabama-born stage actor and TV star died in her Manhattan home on Sept. 9, theatrical agent Dennis Aspland told USA TODAY.
Holliday played the sassy waitress Florence Jean Castleberry in the comedy series "Alice," where she coined the iconic catchphrase "Kiss my grits." She played the beloved character in four seasons of the show before exiting to star in a spin-off series titled "Flo," which ran for two seasons.
Throughout her sitcom run, she landed two Golden Globes in 1979 and 1980. She also received four Emmy nominations throughout her stint as Flo on both the original and spin-off "Flo," which ran for two seasons.
Outside her TV accolades, Holliday also achieved success on Broadway with theatrical roles on productions like "All Over Town," "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "Marco Polo Sings a Solo."
In 1990, she received a Tony nomination in the best featured actress category for playing the poignant "Big Mama" in a revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
"An actor is unfortunate if he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time onstage," she told The Tampa Bay Times in 1992. "When you’re onstage, you get to practice every night."
She also took some time to appear on the big screen with feature film roles like the egotistical Mrs. Deagle in the 1984 "Gremlins" and stern camp director Marva Kulp, Sr. in 1998's "The Parent Trap" as well as Florida secretary in 1976 "All the President’s Men."
Holliday was born in Jasper, Alabama on July 2, 1937 as the daughter of truck driver Ernest Sullivan Holliday and Velma (Cain) Holliday, according to IMDb.
She graduated from Childersburg High School before attending Alabama College for Women (now the University of Montevallo) as a piano major before graduating in 1959 and becoming a music teacher, according to the New York Times. She later studied music education at Florida State University before joining the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Florida in 1962.
Her death comes after her co-star Linda Lavin, who played the titular role in "Alice," died last December due to complications from lung cancer.