Polly Holliday facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Polly Holliday
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Polly Dean Holliday
July 2, 1937 Jasper, Alabama, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Alabama College, State College for Women Florida State University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1963–2010 |
| Awards | Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame |
Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937) is an American actress who is now retired. She acted in plays, on television, and in movies. She is most famous for playing the lively waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry in the TV show Alice during the 1970s. She also starred in her own show, Flo, playing the same character. Her character's famous saying, "Kiss my grits!", is still well-known today. Polly Holliday is the last living main cast member from the original Alice show.
Early Life and Education
Polly Holliday was born in Jasper, Alabama. She grew up in towns like Childersburg and Sylacauga.
She went to the Alabama College for Women (now called the University of Montevallo) in the late 1950s. She was very good at theater there, playing main roles in plays like "The Lady's Not for Burning" and "Medea". She finished college in 1959 with a degree in piano. Later, she studied at Florida State University.
Polly Holliday first worked as a piano teacher in Alabama and Florida. She started her acting career at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, where she worked for 10 years.
She is also a member of the Episcopal Church and has sung in church choirs. She even appeared in an advertisement for the Episcopal Church in 2010.
Acting Career Highlights
In 1973, Polly Holliday moved to New York City to act. She appeared in a play called Wedding Band. A year later, she was in a popular Broadway play called All Over Town. While working on this play, she became friends with the director, Dustin Hoffman. He later worked with her on the 1976 movie All the President's Men.
A big moment in her career happened in 1976 when she was chosen to play Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry in the TV show Alice. Flo was a bold and fun waitress. Her catchphrase, "Kiss my grits!", became very popular in America. Polly Holliday was on Alice from 1976 to 1980.
After Alice, she got her own show called Flo. In this show, her character Flo left Arizona and went back to her home in Texas. The show did well at first, but its ratings dropped later, and it was canceled in 1981.
Polly Holliday also appeared in other TV shows. She was in The Golden Girls as Rose Nylund's blind sister, Lily. She played Jill Taylor's mother on Home Improvement. She also had a regular role on The Client.
She acted in many movies too. Some of her notable film roles include All the President's Men, Moon over Parador, Mrs. Doubtfire, and The Parent Trap (1998). In the 1984 movie Gremlins, she played Ruby Deagle and won an award for Best Supporting Actress. Her final film role was in Fair Game in 2010.
On Broadway, she performed in famous plays like Arsenic and Old Lace (1986), where she played one of the sweet but quirky aunts. She was also nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1990).
In 2000, Polly Holliday was honored by being added to the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame.
Images for kids
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Polly Holliday as Flo Castleberry
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Polly Holliday (right) with Beth Howland and Linda Lavin on Alice
See also
In Spanish: Polly Holliday para niños
