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Polly Dean Holliday, an Alabama-born actress known for her erudition, soft-spoken nature, and good manners, is the daughter of a truck driver who built a substantial theater background before gaining fame as the sassy, blue-collar waitress Florence Jean Castleberry on the popular 1970s sitcom Alice (1976).
After studying at Alabama College for Women—where she performed in productions like "Medea" and "The Lady's Not for Burning"—and Florida State University, Polly began her professional stage career in outdoor drama in North Carolina. She later joined the Asolo Repertory Company in Sarasota, Florida, becoming a long-standing and respected member. From 1962 to 1972, she appeared in classic and contemporary plays such as "The Way of the World" (1962), "Major Barbara" (1967), "As You Like It" (1967), "Look Back in Anger" (1968), "Joe Egg" (1970), "Candida" (title role, 1971), "The Subject Was Roses" (1971), and "House of Blue Leaves" (1971). She returned for later roles in "Hay Fever" (1974) and "Free and Clear" (2004). During this period, Polly worked diligently to mask her Alabama accent while establishing a solid classical reputation, supplementing her income by teaching piano and elementary school music.
Polly made her off-Broadway debut in "Orphee" in 1964. After moving to the East Coast in 1972, she appeared in New York productions such as "Wedding Bond" and "The Girl Most Likely to Succeed" before making her Broadway debut in "All Over Town," directed by Dustin Hoffman, in 1974. She then took on small roles in films including The Catamount Killing (1974), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and All the President's Men (1976).
Her breakthrough TV role came in 1976 when she portrayed Flo, the Southern waitress who redefined trailer park trash with a bold performance that earned her two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy nomination. The character’s catchphrase, "Kiss mah grits!" became iconic, leading to the spin-off series Flo (1980), which, despite another Emmy nomination, lasted only one season.
To avoid being typecast, Polly stepped back from television and returned to theater, gaining renewed acclaim on Broadway and regional stages. Her credits include "A Sense of Humor" (1983), "Black Coffee" (1985), the eccentric Martha Brewster in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1986), Amanda Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie" (1988), and a Tony-nominated performance as Big Mama in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1990). Other notable roles included "A Quarrel of Sparrows" (1993), Veta in "Harvey" (1993), spinster schoolteacher Flo Owens in "Picnic" (1994), and off-Broadway in "Marco Polo Sings a Solo" (1998).
Polly occasionally appeared in both comedic and dramatic films, such as the irritable old woman who meets a grim fate in the box-office hit Gremlins (1984). On television, she briefly replaced Eileen Brennan as Captain Amanda Allen in the series Private Benjamin (1981) after Brennan’s serious car accident in 1982.
Though she never again matched the brash popularity of her Alice years, Polly maintained a steady career, often portraying wise, opinionated mothers and grandmothers on shows like "Stir Crazy," "The Golden Girls," "Amazing Stories," "The Equalizer," and "Homicide: Life on the Streets." She also had recurring roles as Momma Love in the short-lived crime series The Client (1995) and as Patricia Richardson’s mother on the hit sitcom Home Improvement (1991).
Entering the new millennium, Polly continued to appear sporadically in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Mr. Wrong (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Stick It (2006), The Heartbreak Kid (2007), and Fair Game (2010). Her stage work during this period included performances in "The Time of the Cuckoo" (2000), "Dividing the Estate" (2007), "A Christmas Carol" (2013), and "The Old Friends" (2014).
