Polly Holliday

Polly Dean Holliday

July 2, 1937 – September 9, 2025

In 1976, Polly Holliday was cast—in what would be her major break—as sassy, man-hungry waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the U.S. CBS sitcom Alice. Her character coined the popular catchphrase "Kiss my grits!" The phrase became part of the American vernacular. Holliday starred in Alice from 1976 to 1980, and then moved to her own short-lived spin-off show, titled Flo, in which Flo left Arizona and moved back home to Texas. The show was successful during its abbreviated first season, but ratings declined during the following season due to a time change, and it was canceled in 1981.

In 1983, Holliday joined the cast of the CBS-TV sitcom Private Benjamin as a temporary replacement for series regular Eileen Brennan, who was recovering from serious injuries after being struck by a car.

Holliday also made appearances on television shows such as The Golden Girls, where she played Rose Nylund's blind sister Lily, in a recurring role as Jill Taylor's mother on Home Improvement, and a regular character on The Client.

Holliday's notable film roles include appearances in All the President's Men, Moon over Parador, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Parent Trap (1998), and the 1984 hit Gremlins, in which she played Ruby Deagle and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

On the Broadway stage, she appeared in revivals of Arsenic and Old Lace (1986) as Martha Brewster, one of the dotty, homicidal, sweet old aunties; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1990), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Big Mama; and Picnic (1994). In 2000, she appeared at Lincoln Center in a revival of Arthur Laurents's The Time of the Cuckoo.

In 2000, she was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame.

Holliday's final credit was in the 2010 film Fair Game, in which she played Diane Plame, the mother of Valerie Plame.

Good Night Polly

Stay Tuned 

Tony Figueroa