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Polly Holliday
Age: 72
Height: 5' 8"
Birth Place: Jasper, Alabama, USA
Born: Jul. 2nd, 1937
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Polly Holliday's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: The normally erudite, soft-spoken and well-mannered Alabama-born actress Polly Holliday had accumulated quite an extensive theater background by the time she hit it big on 70s TV as the brash, uninhibited, gum-cracking waitress Florence Jean Castleberry (Flo for short) on the popular sitcom "Alice" (1976).
As a long and respected member of the Asolo Repertory Company in Sarasota, Florida, Polly had toiled long and hard to disguise her Southern twang while building up a sturdy classical reputation. At the same time, she taught music in the city's elementary schools. When she won the role of Flo in 1976, however, she let all four burners out as the scene-stealing Southern-baked hash-slinger who delightfully redefined trailer park trash. The two-time Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated actress hit it so big with fans (she introduced the catch phrase, "Kiss mah grits!" to the American vernacular) that she earned her own spin-off, aptly titled "Flo" (1980). The show barely lasted one season despite another Emmy-nomination for her.
Polly lost major clout after the show's cancellation and, to avoid typecasting, she stayed out of the television limelight while appearing in regional theater. She won renewed respect and critical notice for her Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, her Tony-nominated turn as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and for her part as the lonely small-town schoolteacher in Picnic in 1994. From time to time she has taken on flashy roles in both comic and dramatic films, such as the old crank who meets a freakish end in Gremlins (1984), and on TV wherein she briefly replaced Eileen Brennan (I) in the series "Private Benjamin" (1981) after Ms. Brennan's near-fatal car accident in 1982. Though Polly never recaptured the dazzling success of her "Alice" (1976) years, she has continued at a healthy pace -- primarily in guest spots where she plays wise and opinionated mothers and grandmothers.
TRIVIA:
- Polly's huge, award-winning success as Flo on _"Alice" (1976)_ (qv) did not endear her to the titular star of the show, 'Linda Lavin' (qv), who was increasingly irritated at having the attention and the show stolen from under her. It was reportedly due to this friction that Polly was encouraged to leave for her own spin-off series _"Flo" (1980)_ (qv), which did not succeed. _"Alice" (1976)_ (qv) remained a hit for many years after.
- Close friends with actor 'Dustin Hoffman' (qv). They worked together in _All the President's Men (1976)_ (qv) and Hoffman tried to get her cast as a producer in _Tootsie (1982)_ (qv).
- Played Flo on the tv show _"Alice" (1976)_ (qv), which was based on 'Diane Ladd' (qv)'s character from the movie _Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)_ (qv) Both were nominated for the highest awards in their medium for playing Flo, Polly for an Emmy and Diane for the Oscar. They both lost.
- Was nominated for Broadway's 1990 Tony Award as best actress (featured role - play) for playing Big Mama in a revival of 'Tennessee Williams' (qv)' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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