Posted on: September 14th, 2025

She stole the show in 1984’s Gremlins, so we’re devastated to learn that actress Polly Holliday has passed away.

Born in Jasper, Alabama on July 2nd 1937, Polly Holliday began her professional career as a piano teacher. After a move to Florida, Holliday decided to nurture a love of acting she’d had since college by joining The Asolo Theatre Company. Holliday would remain with the company for over a decade, appearing in countless theatre productions.

Theatre would take Holliday to New York in 1972, where she would dominate Broadway in plays such as Wedding Band and All Over Town.

Her work in All Over Town would see Holliday directed by Dustin Hoffmann, who would later cast her in his film All the President’s Men.

1976 would see Holliday reach mainstream recognition when she was cast as sassy waitress Flo Castleberry in the female-led sitcom Alice. For this role, Holliday would win two Golden Globes before leaving the show at its peak.

In 1980, Holliday was given an Alice spin-off entitled Flo, owing to her character’s popularity. Although it only lasted fifteen months, she would receive a further Golden Globe nomination.

Whilst remaining steadily active in television, Holliday only occasionally appeared in feature films. It wouldn’t be until 1984 that Holliday bagged her most memorable big screen role. She memorably played the town grump Mrs. Ruby Deagle in Joe Dante’s Christmas creature feature Gremlins. Of course, being mean to everyone she encounters inevitably comes back to “bite” Holliday’s character, when the mischievous Mogwai decide to tamper with her stair lift.

Other memorable work over Holliday’s sixty-year career included roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, The Parent Trap, and guest stints on shows such as The Golden Girls, Home Improvement, and The Client.

Polly Holliday passed away on September 9th 2025. Her cause of death was given as pneumonia following a recent decline in her health. She never married or had children and left no immediate survivors or a will. She was 88 years old.

Rest easy, Polly.