The Emmy-nominated actress best remembered as the wisecracking waitress Flo on the sitcom Alice and for scene-stealing roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and The Parent Trap, has died at 87.
Her longtime agent and friend Dennis Aspland confirmed she died on September 9 at her Manhattan home following pneumonia and several years of health struggles.
Tributes From Hollywood
Director Nancy Meyers, who cast Holliday as camp director Marva Kulp Sr. in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, led the tributes.
“So sad to hear of her passing,” Meyers wrote on Instagram. “She was so kind and game and just wonderful in every moment in The Parent Trap. She was fantastic in that film. My condolences to her loved ones and friends.”
Her co-stars also shared their grief. Lindsay Lohan posted: “Oh my goodness. What a beautiful woman inside and out. God bless and RIP.”
Lisa Ann Walter, who played housekeeper Chessy, admitted she had only just realized Holliday had been in the film: “Oh my gosh, I’m just now putting together that it was her in that film. She was wonderful. RIP.”
Rise to Fame
Born in Jasper, Alabama, in 1937, Holliday trained as a pianist before turning to acting in the 1960s. She rose to stardom in the 1970s with her breakout role as Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry on CBS’s Alice.
Flo’s sass and trademark catchphrase — “Kiss my grits!” — turned Holliday into a household name. The role earned her three consecutive Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes, and later led to a spinoff series, Flo.
“We’d eat at truck stops, and there would always be a waitress like Flo with a joke ready,” Holliday said in 1980. “The men would say all kinds of risqué things to her, but it was understood that it wasn’t serious, just a way to make everybody’s day happier.”
Film and Television Career
Though television made her famous, Holliday also carved out a notable film career. She appeared in All the President’s Men (1976), played the greedy Mrs. Ruby Deagle in Gremlins (1984), and charmed family audiences as Gloria Chaney, Robin Williams’ nosy neighbor in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993).
In The Parent Trap (1998), she brought warmth to the role of camp director Marva Kulp Sr., helping shape the film’s nostalgic opening act.
On TV, Holliday had memorable guest turns as Rose Nylund’s blind sister Lily on The Golden Girls and as Jill Taylor’s mother on Home Improvement.
Later Work and Legacy
Holliday’s stage work was equally distinguished. She earned a Tony Award nomination in 1990 for her performance as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and appeared in productions of Arsenic and Old Lace, Picnic, and The Time of the Cuckoo.
She continued acting into the 2000s, with her final film appearance in 2010’s Fair Game.
Though she never married or had children — once telling People magazine, “Work is my life” — Holliday left behind a legacy of warmth, humor, and resilience.
In 2000, she was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame, cementing her place as one of the state’s most beloved entertainers.
Feature image credit: Disney
