Sat Sep 13 20:50:00 UTC 2025: **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
**”Kiss My Grits” Actress Polly Holliday Passes Away at 88**
**NEW YORK, NY -** Polly Holliday, the actress beloved for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry on the hit sitcom “Alice,” has died at the age of 88. Her talent manager, Dennis Aspland, confirmed to Fox News Digital that Holliday passed away comfortably at her home in Manhattan on September 9th.
Born in Jasper, Alabama, on July 2, 1937, Holliday discovered her passion for acting early, participating in theater productions while attending the University of Montevallo. She moved to New York in the 1970s and made her Broadway debut in Dustin Hoffman’s “All Over Town.”
Holliday’s breakthrough came in 1976 when she landed the role of Flo on “Alice,” where she coined the iconic catchphrase, “Kiss my grits.” She starred in “Alice” until 1980 and then led the spin-off sitcom “Flo” for two seasons.
“She was a Southern woman you see in a lot of places,” Holliday told The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2003, describing her character. “Not well-educated, but very sharp, with a sense of humor and a resolve not to let life get her down.”
Holliday received three Emmy nominations for her work on “Alice” and one for “Flo.” Following her departure from the spin-off, she continued to work steadily in television, with recurring roles on “Home Improvement,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Private Benjamin,” and appeared in films such as “The Parent Trap” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
“I used to think I preferred drama,” Holliday told the Tampa Bay Times in 1992, “but I kept getting cast in comedies, and realized I was sort of good at it. Now I think I would like to do comedy more. It’s hard to do, but in a way it doesn’t take as much of an emotional toll.”
Holliday’s memorable performances and enduring legacy as Flo will undoubtedly be remembered by fans for years to come.
First Piper 