Polly Holliday, the actress best known for playing the sharp‑tongued waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom Alice, has died at age 88, her theatrical agent Dennis Aspland confirmed to The New York Times. Holliday died on Tuesday at her home in Manhattan.
Holliday rose to national prominence in the late 1970s for the role that became a cultural touchstone: Flo, the gum‑snapping, deadpan waitress who delivered the oft‑quoted line "Kiss my grits." Alice, which debuted on CBS in August 1976 and was loosely adapted from Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, became a ratings mainstay after moving into the Sunday night lineup ahead of All in the Family in October 1977.
The series was among prime time’s top 10 programs in four of five seasons following the schedule shift, and has since been cited by critics as one of the most enduring workplace comedies. Holliday’s performance earned her back‑to‑back Golden Globe Awards in 1979 and 1980 and multiple Emmy nominations. She also parlayed television success into a long stage career, receiving a Tony Award nomination in 1990 for a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Holliday’s path to professional acting began in Alabama, where she was voted "most talented" in her senior class at Childersburg High School. She studied piano at Alabama College for Women, now the University of Montevallo, and participated in school theatrical productions. After earning her undergraduate degree she taught music and later pursued graduate studies in music education at Florida State University before moving into theater and screen work.
In a 1992 interview with The Tampa Bay Times, Holliday spoke about the importance of the stage to her craft, saying, "An actor is unfortunate if he doesn't get to spend a lot of time onstage. When you're onstage, you get to practice every night." She continued to act on stage and screen over the decades, demonstrating a range that reached beyond the comic persona that made Flo famous.
Holliday’s death comes less than a year after the death of her former Alice co‑star Linda Lavin, who portrayed the show’s title character. Colleagues and critics have pointed to Holliday’s Flo as a defining television character of the era, notable both for its comedic timing and its influence on portrayals of working‑class women in sitcoms.
Her agent confirmed arrangements are pending. Holliday is survived by friends and members of her theatrical community; public statements from family or a funeral home had not been released at the time of the confirmation.
Holliday’s television legacy remains tied to Alice’s run on CBS, the show’s place in late‑1970s and early‑1980s popular culture, and the enduring popularity of a catchphrase that entered everyday speech. Her awards and stage credits reflect a career that bridged popular television comedy and serious theater, earning recognition from both the Hollywood foreign press and the American theater community.