GOSSIP & RUMORS: Polly Holliday, ‘Alice’ star, dead at 88 after pneumonia battle

Polly Holliday, known for her role as Flo in “Alice,” has died at age 88.

The actress was the last surviving star of the beloved CBS sitcom, which ran for 9 seasons from 1976 to 1985.

Holliday passed away at her home in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 9, following years of health issues, her agent Denise Aspland told The New York Times.

It’s believed her death is the result of pneumonia, according to People.

The Post has reached out to Aspland for comment.

The actress played Flo, the sassy character in “Alice” for four seasons alongside Linda Lavin (Alice), Vic Tayback (Mel), Beth Howland (Verna) and Philip McKeon (Tommy).

Holliday left the sitcom, based on Martin Scorsese’s film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” in 1980, but Flo’s famous catchphrase “Kiss my grits” made her a breakout star.

She continued playing Flo in her own spinoff series the following year, but it was short-lived, only lasting two seasons.

Holliday earned four Emmy nominations for the role.

The Alabama native’s other notable acting gigs included playing Mrs. Deagle in the 1984 flick “Gremlins” and Marva in the 1998 classic “The Parent Trap.”

She also had parts in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Home Improvement,” among others.

Holliday graduated from Alabama State College for Women (now known as University of Montevallo) with a piano degree. She later became a grade school music teacher, but always had the acting bug.

“I started acting long before I knew what I was doing,” she told Actors’ Equity. “At age 19 and a junior in college, I joined the cast of a summer outdoor theatre 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.”

Dustin Hoffman gave Holliday her first big break in 1974 when he directed her in her Broadway debut, “All Over Town.”

The actor even helped her get a part in “All the President’s Men,” in which the 1976 movie’s casting director later suggested she audition for “Alice.”

Holliday later returned to Broadway in “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1986) and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Big Mama in a 1990 revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

In 1980, Holliday revealed how playing Flo reminded her of her roots.

“After I discovered theater, I became very abrupt with my people back home,” she said in 1980. “But Flo helped me fall in love with my roots. She’s so honest. I became honest, too.” 

Following her stint as Flo, Holliday landed a role on CBS’ “Private Benjamin” as Major Amanda Lee Allen when star Eileen Brennan suffered injuries in a car accident.

“I was assured I’d come on as a guest star, not as Eileen’s replacement,” the star shared with People at the time. “I hated to get a job at the expense of someone’s misfortune, but a lot of other people’s jobs were at stake. I didn’t want to see the show fold.”

Holliday never married or had any children, revealing in the ’80s that “my work is my life.”

Her death comes just months after her “Alice” co-star Linda Lavin’s passing.

The Emmy-winning actress died on Dec. 29 at age 87.

Lavin’s death certificate revealed she suffered cardiopulmonary arrest with lung cancer listed as the underlying cause.

Cardiopulmonary arrest prevents blood from pumping into the heart, which keeps oxygen from being delivered to vital organs, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Their other original “Alice” co-stars have all passed, making Holliday the last to go.

Tayback died in 1990 from a heart attack at 60, while Howland passed away in 2015 from lung cancer. McKeon, who played Alice’s son, died unexpectedly in 2019 at age 55.