Polly Holliday

Polly Dean Holliday (July 2, 1937 – September 9, 2025) was an American actress whose work spanned the stage, television, and film across more than four decades. Born in Jasper, Alabama, she grew up in Childersburg, where her brother Doyle was a boyhood friend of Jim Nabors, who lived in the nearby town of Sylacauga. She attended the Alabama College for Women at Montevallo, now the University of Montevallo, in the late 1950s, where she took lead roles in productions of The Lady's Not for Burning and Medea. She graduated in 1959 with a degree in piano and subsequently enrolled at Florida State University. Before pursuing acting professionally, she worked as a piano teacher in Alabama and Florida.

Holliday launched her professional acting career as a member of the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida, where she remained for ten years. In 1972 she relocated to New York City, making an early appearance in Alice Childress's play Wedding Band at the Public Theater. She subsequently joined the Broadway production All Over Town, during which she formed a friendship with the show's director, Dustin Hoffman. That connection led to her appearing alongside Hoffman in the 1976 film All the President's Men, in which she played Martin Dardis's secretary.

Her most widely recognized role came in 1976, when she was cast as Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry, a sassy waitress on the CBS sitcom Alice. The character's catchphrase, "Kiss my grits!," became embedded in American popular culture. Holliday remained with Alice from 1976 to 1980, earning two Golden Globe Awards for the performance. She then headlined the spin-off series Flo, in which the character returned to Texas from Arizona. The show performed well in its first season but was canceled in 1981 following a ratings decline attributed to a time-slot change. In 1983, Holliday joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Private Benjamin as a temporary replacement for Eileen Brennan, who was recovering from injuries sustained after being struck by a car. She also made notable television appearances on The Golden Girls, playing Rose Nylund's blind sister Lily, in a recurring role as Jill Taylor's mother on Home Improvement, and as a regular character on The Client.

Her film credits include Moon over Parador (1988), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and The Parent Trap (1998). In the 1984 film Gremlins she portrayed ruthless miser Ruby Deagle, a role that earned her the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her final screen credit was the 2010 film Fair Game, in which she played Diane Plame, the mother of Valerie Plame.

Holliday's Broadway career extended from 1974 to 1994. She appeared in the play All Over as well as a revival of Arsenic and Old Lace in 1986, in which she played Martha Brewster. In 1990 she portrayed Big Mama in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a performance that earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She returned to Broadway in 1994 to play Flo Owens, the neighbor, in a revival of Picnic. In 2000 she appeared at Lincoln Center in a revival of Arthur Laurents's The Time of the Cuckoo. That same year she was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame.

An Episcopalian throughout her life, Holliday sang in the St. Andrews Episcopal Choir in Montevallo, Alabama, and in New York City participated in the Episcopal Grace Church Choral Society in Greenwich Village, where she also ran a chamber music series. In January 2010 she appeared as herself in an official advertising campaign for the Episcopal Church. She never married and had no children. Following a decline in her health, Holliday died of an apparent bout of pneumonia at her Manhattan home on September 9, 2025, at the age of 88. She was the last surviving member of the original cast of Alice. She is buried at Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Childersburg, Alabama, alongside her mother.