Polly Holliday, Who Played Flo on ‘Alice,’ Dies at 88

Polly Holliday, a prolific stage and screen actress known for playing the gum-smacking waitress Flo who popularized the phrase “Kiss my grits!” on the long-running CBS sitcom “Alice,” died Tuesday at her home in Manhattan. She was 88. Holliday’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by her longtime agent and friend Dennis Aspland.

Holliday was a supporting player on “Alice,” which starred Linda Lavin as a widowed Mel’s Diner waitress, but her performance as the redhead Florence Jean Castleberry was one the brightest, funniest turns on the series. Featuring in the show’s first four seasons, she…