So much has been said about "Cousin Cliff" Holman in the past few days after his death. For those of you who may not know, he was a very well known figure in Birmingham TV who hosted a cartoon show for kids in the afternoon. For those of us who only had 3 channels(and one of them educational), it was such a treat to watch Popeye, especially on weekdays, and Cousin Cliff did a great job. I was fortunate to have my birthday on the show once, and be on it with some neighbors another time or two. I remember going with the Glasgows on one occasion and having a fender bender coming down Red Mountain from the station.
My most recent contact with Cousin Cliff came several years ago when I was at home one afternoon and answered the phone. The voice on the other end said, "This is Cliff Holman," and I immediately recognized who it was. How exciting! He was trying to locate a young man who had no phone, but had an address that was close to the church building.He said he wanted to find the guy who had done some yard work cutting trees for him and he had promised to do a birthday party for his child as a favor. I knew the boy(who didn't have 2 nickels to rub together) and was able to tell him how he could contact him. That was Cousin Cliff- larger than life on the screen and off.
Now that is a blast from the past. I haven't thought of Cousin Cliff in years and years. He was a very neat guy! I used to love his show. I remember going with dad to tape some of his shows, was it channel 6. Up that steep road (Red Mountain), past the Vulcan (where I eventually proposed to Melanie) and seeing the "set" that the Cousin Cliff Show was done at! It was so neat. Those old risers where the children sat and all...wow. Thanks for the memory. I had not heard he had died.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe original show was on 13 but it later made a short comeback on 6. There is a great website that has more info on Cousin Cliff and other Birmingham memories at:
ReplyDeletewww.birminghamrewound.com