Polly Holliday, beloved Flo From ‘Alice’ and Broadway star, dies at 88

Polly Holliday, famed for her role as Flo and her legendary catchphrase “Kiss my grits!,” has died at 88.

Polly Holliday, the actress best known for her role as the sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the hit CBS sitcom Alice, has died at the age of 88. Her death was confirmed by her agent and longtime friend Dennis Aspland, who told The New York Times that Holliday passed away Tuesday at her home in Manhattan.

Born July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama, Holliday rose to national fame in the late 1970s with her portrayal of Flo, whose signature catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” became a pop culture staple. She played the character for four seasons on Alice, which was based on Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. When Holliday left the show in 1980, the character was spun off into her own sitcom, Flo, which aired for two seasons.

Despite the popularity of Flo, the spinoff failed to match the success of Alice, which continued airing until 1985. Holliday won two Golden Globe Awards for her performance and received four Emmy nominations, two of them in the same year for both Alice and Flo.

Beyond her television fame, Holliday had a successful stage and film career. In 1990, she received a Tony nomination for her performance as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She also starred on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace alongside Jean Stapleton. Her film roles included a memorable turn as the villainous Ruby Deagle in Gremlins (1984), and appearances in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), The Parent Trap (1998), and The Heartbreak Kid (2007).

Before acting, Holliday worked as a piano teacher after studying at Alabama College for Women and Florida State University. She later joined the Asolo Theatre Company in Florida, performing for several seasons. Her Broadway debut came in 1974 in All Over Town, directed by Dustin Hoffman.

Reflecting on her iconic role, Holliday once said she based Flo on waitresses she met while traveling with her truck driver father during childhood. “She was a Southern woman — not well-educated but very sharp,” she said in a 2003 interview.

Though she leaves behind no immediate survivors, Polly Holliday’s legacy lives on through her unforgettable performances and timeless characters.