Polly Holliday, the actress beloved by classic TV and film fans for her roles as a sassy waitress in the sitcom Alice and the cold-hearted Mrs. Deagle in Gremlins, has died.
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Holliday passed away on Tuesday in Manhattan after years of health challenges, her agent and longtime friend Dennis Aspland confirmed to The New York Times. The cause of death is believed to be pneumonia, per PEOPLE.
Holliday gained fame with her role as Flo on the sitcom Alice, which she starred in from 1976 to 1980. Her character, which earned her multiple Emmy nominations, became iconic for the catchphrase “Kiss my grits.” She later reprised the role in a short-lived spinoff series.
Meanwhile, generations of horror fans and ’80s kids will remember Holliday as Ruby Deagle, the rich, mean-spirited, Christmas carol-hating widow whose greed took a sudden “downturn” thanks to a tampered stair-lift chair in Joe Dante’s Gremlins (1984).
Born in Jasper, Alabama, in 1937, Holliday earned a piano degree from Alabama State College for Women (now University of Montevallo) and briefly taught music before pursuing her passion for acting.
Polly Holliday Lands Her Signature Role
Her career began in 1974 when Dustin Hoffman directed her in the Broadway play All Over Town. He later helped her secure a role in his 1976 film All the President’s Men. The movie’s casting director then recommended her for Alice, a TV adaptation of Martin Scorsese’s film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
Linda Lavin starred as Alice, but Holliday’s portrayal of Flo, based on Diane Ladd’s film character, gained more popularity with TV viewers. Holliday earned three Emmy nominations for Alice and one for its spin-off, Flo, which aired for a single season starting in 1980.
Elsewhere on television, Holliday appeared in 1986 on The Golden Girls as Lily, the blind sister of Betty White’s character, Rose. She also had a recurring role on Home Improvement and was a main cast member of The Client.
She appeared in the ’90s films Mrs. Doubtfire and The Parent Trap and earned a Tony nomination in 1990 for her performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Holliday never married or had children, saying in the ’80s, “My work is my life.”
She passed away just months after her Alice co-star, Linda Lavin, who died last December at age 87.