Why didn't the character FLO return to Alice after her Spinoff was canceled?

[marvin g]

A Enormous ego is a awful thing to have when you have a t.v show with rich characters. It's like picking feathers off of a bird. Pick off to many feathers and the bird can't fly!

I liked Flo and thought her own show was but another bad idea! Belle came off like a Flo replacement. Jolene was good because she was different.

[douglasjc]

Apparently Linda had a very Big Ego! I watched the final episode of Alice and their was no knowlegement of Polly Holiday at all. She was cut out of the cuts that were shown from early shows on the final episode. It is sad someone denied some else's work

Alice, Kiss my Grits: Flo

[TALLguyinKY]

Man, this sucks...I had no idea Linda had any kind of ego, or that there was tension between her and Polly!

I love Linda's episode of "The Muppet Show", and always enjoyed her on "Alice" (though Vera was my fav'rite)...does anyone know how Polly and Linda get along nowadays? If at all?

I sure hope they don't wind up like Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt or others...

[Spats]

I saw an interview with Polly when she was doing the Flo show and they asked her if the show failed would she go back to Alice. She said no. I think we know the reason.lol

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Spats

I saw an interview with Polly when she was doing the Flo show and they asked her if the show failed would she go back to Alice. She said no. I think we know the reason.lol

Maybe Polly was already told by producers that if the show failed she couldn't come back-lol

[sm95fan]

Originally Posted by douglasjc

Apparently Linda had a very Big Ego! I watched the final episode of Alice and their was no knowlegement of Polly Holiday at all. She was cut out of the cuts that were shown from early shows on the final episode. It is sad someone denied some else's work

Alice, Kiss my Grits: Flo

Egos can be tamed with enough $$. I'm surprised Flo didn't come back, even if she just dropped into the diner for a couple episodes during sweeps month. It would have been the ratings bonanza the last few seasons needed.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by sm95fan

Egos can be tamed with enough $$. I'm surprised Flo didn't come back, even if she just dropped into the diner for a couple episodes during sweeps month. It would have been the ratings bonanza the last few seasons needed.

Flo was in plenty of the flashbacks in the final episode, however Belle was not.

I wish Flo had popped in unexpectedly in the final episode as they were all reminiscing, that would have been EPIC!

[TVFactFan]

Now that I think about it, it would have been hard to come back after having your own show for almost 2 years. In marla gibbs case her show only lasted 30 days so it was a little easier for her to come back

[BestTVever]

It was no secret that Linda and Polly did not get along. Linda resented that Flo's catchphrase was making her the star of the show which was supposed to revolve around the Alice character. No way Polly was coming back. Polly did not even finish the season and was gone before season 4 ended.
Dianne also could not wait to jump ship. She also did not finish season 5 and it was announced towards the end she had already left.

[opus]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

It was no secret that Linda and Polly did not get along. Linda resented that Flo's catchphrase was making her the star of the show which was supposed to revolve around the Alice character. No way Polly was coming back. Polly did not even finish the season and was gone before season 4 ended.
Dianne also could not wait to jump ship. She also did not finish season 5 and it was announced towards the end she had already left.

Makes Lavin sound like a terror. But she continued to work continually right up to her recent death. So either the stories are overblown or she mellowed as the years went by.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by opus

Makes Lavin sound like a terror. But she continued to work continually right up to her recent death. So either the stories are overblown or she mellowed as the years went by.

Until someone can post a video or article about her not liking Polly its false information. I havent come across no information about it

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Until someone can post a video or article about her not liking Polly its false information. I havent come across no information about it

OMG I was 10 when Flo left and I knew then. Its the same reason Diane left in a rush. Just because people are not back stabbers and needed to run to the trashy media to complain does not mean its not true. Having said that the circumstantial evidence says so. Flo was not even mentioned in the final. Its exactly the reason why there never was an Alice reunion. You just take that at face value with no explanation?
Linda was given this show. She never had to audition. Imagine that? The show was created and someone at the network saw her on Broadway and offered her the job. She was the star of the show.
There is enough written about the tension on the set. I am not talking about the glossy puffy stuff. Linda and Polly were not getting along when Polly's character started to outshine Linda. You do realize that these tensions exist on most sitcoms. Why do you think Diane left almost immediately after joining?
Bea Arthur could not stand Betty White and left the Golden Girls after her contract was up. There were not articles written about it.

This is cut and paste from Polly's biography on IMDb

Holliday's success as the brassy, cynical, gregarious Flo on Alice (1976) (for which role she wore a red wig) reportedly did not endear her to the titular star of the show, Linda Lavin. The friction between the two actresses was such that Holliday left for her own short-lived spin-off series, Flo (1980). Alice (1976) remained on the air for several more seasons but Holliday never returned, even to make a guest appearance. Holliday's successor, actress Diane Ladd (who had played "Flo" in the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), on which the television series was based but adopted the role of "Belle Dupree" for the series), also did not get along with Lavin, and left. Ladd was succeeded by Celia Weston, who remained until the series ended. Both Holliday and Ladd were both unsuccessfully nominated for the highest awards in their respective media for playing "Flo": Ladd for the Oscar and Holliday for an Emmy.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

It was no secret that Linda and Polly did not get along. Linda resented that Flo's catchphrase was making her the star of the show which was supposed to revolve around the Alice character. No way Polly was coming back. Polly did not even finish the season and was gone before season 4 ended.
Dianne also could not wait to jump ship. She also did not finish season 5 and it was announced towards the end she had already left.

I kinda wish Belle had had a better send off or a farewell instead of just a phone call lol. That whole episode was more of a Jolene episode than a Belle episode, I'm kinda surprised Belle was in the opening credits lol

[sm95fan]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Now that I think about it, it would have been hard to come back after having your own show for almost 2 years. In marla gibbs case her show only lasted 30 days so it was a little easier for her to come back

That is why I suggested a limited engagement. You are right, it would have been hard to see her return as a regular. Instead of coming back as a waitress she would have had to buy the Diner from Mel.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

OMG I was 10 when Flo left and I knew then. Its the same reason Diane left in a rush. Just because people are not back stabbers and needed to run to the trashy media to complain does not mean its not true. Having said that the circumstantial evidence says so. Flo was not even mentioned in the final. Its exactly the reason why there never was an Alice reunion. You just take that at face value with no explanation?
Linda was given this show. She never had to audition. Imagine that? The show was created and someone at the network saw her on Broadway and offered her the job. She was the star of the show.
There is enough written about the tension on the set. I am not talking about the glossy puffy stuff. Linda and Polly were not getting along when Polly's character started to outshine Linda. You do realize that these tensions exist on most sitcoms. Why do you think Diane left almost immediately after joining?
Bea Arthur could not stand Betty White and left the Golden Girls after her contract was up. There were not articles written about it.

This is cut and paste from Polly's biography on IMDb

Holliday's success as the brassy, cynical, gregarious Flo on Alice (1976) (for which role she wore a red wig) reportedly did not endear her to the titular star of the show, Linda Lavin. The friction between the two actresses was such that Holliday left for her own short-lived spin-off series, Flo (1980). Alice (1976) remained on the air for several more seasons but Holliday never returned, even to make a guest appearance. Holliday's successor, actress Diane Ladd (who had played "Flo" in the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), on which the television series was based but adopted the role of "Belle Dupree" for the series), also did not get along with Lavin, and left. Ladd was succeeded by Celia Weston, who remained until the series ended. Both Holliday and Ladd were both unsuccessfully nominated for the highest awards in their respective media for playing "Flo": Ladd for the Oscar and Holliday for an Emmy.

I have Alice book and subscribed to newspapers.com and there is no mention of no friction between them. That is false information on imdb