MovieChat Forums > Alice (1976) Discussion > Why didn't Polly Holliday return after F...

Why didn't Polly Holliday return after Flo was cancelled?

posted 9 years ago by kerprice
11 replies | jump to latest

She didn't work much after that, just some bit parts. It would have been a better show for her to come back after Diane Ladd left. The show was never the same without her.

[–] sjbradford 9 years ago

She said when she left that even if her spinoff failed, she wouldn't return "it's like a bird leaving the nest - you don't go back". And I'm sure her relationship with Linda Lavin didn't help.

[–] TMC-4 (20150) 7 years ago

http://discussion.femalefirst.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=234248

Name-Linda Lavin

Dirt-turns every work situation into misery (poor thing can't help it; she's a neurotic mess). Very nasty, plays twisted games. acted nasty to everyone while working on Tale Of The Allergist's Wife; described by former co-workers as the one person they'd never work with again;

[–] tinkerbell_jonna 9 years ago

I heard she was asked to but turned it down b/c she felt it would be a "step backward" in her career.

Also at that point Jolene had already joined, so I don't guess they would feel right about firing Celia.... I wonder how 4 waitresses would have worked out, OR maybe kept Jolene on in some other capacity like maybe as Flo's hairdresser?

[–] jackbnimbleharvardblue 9 years ago

This show was only good with Flo. I'm surprised it lasted until 1985, It should have been cancelled in 82!

[–] tinkerbell_jonna 9 years ago

I thought Jolene had some funny moments, I liked her better than Belle, mainly b/c she was different and did her own thing. I felt Belle imitated Flo a lot, even though Dianne did create the character, I realize.

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 9 years ago

Flo never even got a single mention after she left the show, except the next episode when Mel complained they were short of a waitress

[–] tinkerbell_jonna 9 years ago

Yeah that's usually what happens when a character leaves. .... Though Flo was shown in flashback clips in the final episode. However Belle was not even known in that.

[–] chasrich-1 9 years ago

Agree!

[–] pickriot 9 years ago

I met Polly many years ago in new york and at a dinner someone mentioned the show. her reaction was one of not being too amused. I talked to one of her friends and Polly has a love/hate relationship with the show due to the fact she felt it type cast her and hurt her career. That is why for much of her time she did lots of plays

[–] kerprice 8 years ago

I met Polly many years ago in new york and at a dinner someone mentioned the show. her reaction was one of not being too amused. I talked to one of her friends and Polly has a love/hate relationship with the show due to the fact she felt it type cast her and hurt her career. That is why for much of her time she did lots of plays

It probably helped her career a great deal more than it hurt it, especially since she was about 40 when the show started. It's much harder for a woman to get meatier roles at that age in Hollywood.

She's a good actress, I remember seeing her in a small bit in the Golden Girls where she played Rose's blind sister and she was a completely different un-Flo-like character.

[–] papermoonfan 8 years ago

Flo and the Ropers got screwed.