Polly Holliday, who played Flo on ‘Alice,’ dead at 88

Polly Holliday, best known for her role as Flo on the beloved sitcom “Alice,” has died. She was 88. 

“I can only confirm that Ms. Holliday passed away on the 9th of September comfortably at her home in Manhattan,” her talent manager, Dennis Aspland, told Fox News Digital. 

Born in Jasper, Alabama, on July 2, 1937, Holliday found her passion for acting at an early age. While attending the University of Montevallo in the late 1950s, she took to theater and landed her first leading roles in “The Lady’s Not for Burning” and “Medea.”

‘ALICE’ STAR LINDA LAVIN DEAD 87

Polly Holliday, who portrayed Flo on the CBS sitcom “Alice,” died at 88 years old. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

Polly Holliday, Linda Lavin and Beth Howland shown in an episode of “Alice.” (CBS via Getty Images)

“I started acting long before I knew what I was doing,” she previously told Actors’ Equity, per People. “At age 19 and a junior in college, I joined the cast of a summer outdoor theater in North Carolina called Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama Center. I was a choir singer, a square dancer and understudied a lead role. . . . That job paid room and board and about $40 a week.”

Holliday moved to New York in the 1970s and got her first Broadway role in “All Over Town,” which was directed by Dustin Hoffman. 

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It wasn’t until 1976 that the aspiring actress landed her breakthrough role as the sassy waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry in the CBS sitcom “Alice,” where she coined the popular catchphrase, “Kiss my grits.” Holliday starred in “Alice” from 1976 to 1980 and then portrayed the character in the show’s spin-off, “Flo,” for two seasons. 

Holliday portrayed her beloved character in the short-lived sitcom “Flo” for two seasons in 1980. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

“She was a Southern woman you see in a lot of places,” she told The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2003 of her character, according to The Associated Press. “Not well-educated, but very sharp, with a sense of humor and a resolve not to let life get her down.”

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The actress earned three Emmy nominations for “Alice” and one for “Flo.”

Holliday had a recurring role on “Home Improvement.” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

After saying goodbye to Flo, Holliday had roles in various television shows, including “Private Benjamin,” “The Golden Girls” and “Home Improvement.” She also appeared in several films, including “The Parent Trap,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and more. 

“I used to think I preferred drama,” she 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.”

Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this post.