Polly Dean Holliday (July 2, 1937 – September 9, 2025) was an American actress of stage and screen. Holliday was best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom Alice, winning two Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress on the series. Her character's catchphrase "Kiss my grits!" enjoyed widespread popularity, and she reprised the role on Flo, a short-lived spin-off. Holliday won the 1984 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress portraying Ruby Deagle in Gremlins.
Early life
Polly Dean Holliday was born in Jasper, Alabama, on July 2, 1937, the daughter of Ernest Sullivan Holliday, a truck driver, and Velma Mabell Holliday (née Cain). She grew up in Childersburg; her brother Doyle was a boyhood friend of Jim Nabors, who lived in nearby Sylacauga.
Holliday attended the Alabama College for Women at Montevallo (now known as the University of Montevallo) in the late 1950s where she excelled in the theater department, playing the lead roles in The Lady's Not for Burning and Medea. She graduated in 1959 with a degree in piano. She made appearances on television shows, including in The Golden Girls as 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.
Personal life
Holliday was an Episcopalian who sang in the St. Andrews Episcopal Choir in Montevallo, Alabama. In January 2010, she appeared as herself in an official advertising campaign for the Episcopal Church. In New York City, she sang in the Episcopal Grace Church Choral Society in Greenwich Village and ran a chamber music series there.
Death
After a decline in her health, Holliday died from an apparent bout of pneumonia at her home in Manhattan, New York City, 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, with her mother.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
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|rowspan=3|1975
|W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
|Mrs. Cozzens
|
|-
|Pittsville - Ein Safe voll Blut
|Miss Pearson
|<br>Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series