By Bianca Sierra

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Polly Dean Holliday (July 2, 1937 – September 9, 2025) was an American actress who appeared on stage, television, and in film. She was best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom Alice, which she reprised in its short-lived spin-off, Flo. Her character’s catchphrase of “Kiss my grits!” remains the most memorable line associated with the series Alice. In 1984, Holliday won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Ruby Deagle in Gremlins.

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 and Sylacauga, where her brother Doyle’s boyhood friend, Jim Nabors, lived.

Holliday died from 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 left no immediate survivors. Her death was confirmed unto the New York Times per Dennis Aspland, her theatrical agent and friend.