Polly Holliday, the Alabama-born actress best known for her sassy line “Kiss my grits!” on the CBS sitcom Alice and its spinoff Flo, has d**d at 88.
Her agent and friend, Dennis Aspland, told The New York Times that Holliday passed away Tuesday at her home in Manhattan.
Polly Holliday was an American actress best remembered for her quick wit, Southern charm, and her famous catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” Born on July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama, Holliday grew up in the South. “We’d eat at truck stops, and there would always be a waitress like Flo with a joke ready,” she recalled to People magazine back in 1980. “The men would say all kinds of risqué things to her, but it was understood that it wasn’t serious, just a way to make everybody’s day happier.”Her mother, Velma, was a homemaker, and her father, Ernest, worked as a truck driver. During summer vacations, she often joined him on the road.
She later studied at Florida State University before beginning a career in teaching. Eventually, her love for the stage led her to acting, where she started with theater work before moving to television and film.
Her breakthrough role came in 1976 when she joined the cast of the hit CBS sitcom Alice. Playing Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry, a bold and outspoken waitress at Mel’s Diner, Holliday became a fan favorite. Her character’s sass and signature line quickly made her one of the most recognizable TV personalities of the late 1970s. The role was so popular it led to her own spinoff, Flo, which aired from 1980 to 1981.
Beyond her sitcom fame, Holliday built a respected career as a character actress. She appeared in movies such as Gremlins (1984), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and The Parent Trap (1998). In Joe Dante’s Gremlins (1984), Holliday took on the role of Ruby Deagle, a wealthy and mean-spirited widow who meets a sudden end when her stair-lift chair is sabotaged. On television, she had recurring roles on shows including Home Improvement and The Golden Girls, often displaying her sharp comedic timing and warm presence.
Holliday’s talent earned her critical recognition. She received two Golden Globe Awards for her role on Alice and multiple Emmy nominations.
