Cliff Holman
James Clifton Cousin Cliff Holman, Jr (born June 29, 1929 in Mobile) is a magician and former television kid's show host best remembered for his "Tip-Top Clubhouse" and "The Popeye Show" on WABT-TV.
Early years
Holman was the only child born to the family of Mobile sign-painter Clifton Holman, Sr. They moved to Birmingham's Fountain Heights neighborhood in 1933. Clif, Jr attended Alburto Martin School where he painted a lunchroom mural featuring popular cartoon characters and participated in the school's drama club.
Later, at Woodlawn High School, Holman took art classes and became president of the Art Club. Inspired by a give-away book of magic tricks he began doing magic acts under the stage name Clifton the Mystic while also earning money as an usher at the Alabama Theatre. Through amateur performances at school and for friends he developed a comedy routine around his magic act and began getting evening bookings at local supper clubs. He toured in a 1932 Chevrolet which his father painted with playing cards, magician's hats, rabbits and wands. The car, first painted black and dubbed "The Black Widow", then painted green and re-named "The Green Hornet", was broadsided on graduation night in 1948.
After high school, Holman added comedy pantomime routines which he performed to silly popular songs of the day. For a change of pace he formed The Novelaires vocal quartet, which often wore unusual costumes while performing gospel or barbershop favorites. He took a day job in the Loveman's department store's credit department and his high school sweetheart and fellow Loveman's employee Ann Kyle.
TV debut
Holman made his television debut as a puppeteer, giving life to the Birmingham version of Mr Bingle, a snowman character used to advertise for Loveman's parent company, City Stores, Inc. The 15-minute program was little more than an infomercial for products available at the store during the Christmas season, but attracted a big audience when it aired from November 20 to December 22, 1950 on WABT-TV.
Korean War
During the Korean War Holman served in the U. S. Army, spending nine months as a gunner on an infantry mortar team in North Korea. At every opportunity, however, Holman entertained his fellow servicemen with his well-practiced comedy and pantomime routines. He earned a special commendation for improving morale on the voyage from Seattle to Yokohama aboard the U. S. S. Gen. A. E. Anderson and was assigned to manage an R&R station at Camp Gifu in Japan. Returning to Alabama he was stationed at Fort Rucker. He was given his discharge on July 29, 1953.
Tip-Top Clubhouse
A month later Cliff and Ann Holman opened the First Avenue Creamery in East Lake. In December of that year he auditioned for a new kid's show sponsored by Ward Baking Company's "Tip-Top" brand sandwich bread. While waiting for an answer he appeared as Benny Carle's guest on the "Breakfast in Birmingham" program. Meanwhile the creamery closed and Holman went to work full time as a production assistant at WABT.
In early 1954 Ward Baking Company approved Holman and began producing the "Tip-Top Clubhouse" on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:15 to 5:30 PM. He adopted the name Cousin Clifton (soon shortened to Cousin Cliff). He wore a trademark outfit with a magician's long tailed coat and top hat over a striped shirt and accented with an oversized bow-tie and flower, and a stuffed rabbit emerging from the top of his hat. He also introduced the hand-puppet characters "Corky" and "Kim", loosely based on Edgar Bergen's Charlie McArthy and Mortimer Snerd.
Holman, Sr constructed a set painted to look like a kid's back-yard clubhouse and the new show debuted on March 15, 1954. Butter-Nut Candy Bars took up sponsorship of the same format on Tuesdays and Thursdays, airing as "Cliff's Comics" with an expanding cast of puppet animals. Other features included "Crayon Capers" during which Holman would draw a mystery doodle, "Tip the Topper", a salute to a different small Alabama town in each episode, and cartoon shorts starring Jay Ward's Crusader Rabbit. The show ranked as high as #8 against all other programming, network or local, in the Birmingham market. In 1955 the Magic City Toy Company produced the Cousin Cliff Magic Set as a special promotion.
Along with the Clubhouse show, Holman served as floor manager for the noon newscast, appeared in the "Music Makers" program with several local musicians, and hosted the "Cliff's Roundup" variety/talent show on weekends. In early 1956 a labor strike at the local Tip-Top bakery led the company to reduce its investment in the show, which continued as "Cliff's Clubhouse", with a growing membership of 5,000 viewers who had filled out free applications. Ward Baking Company pulled its sponsorship altogether, leading the station to plan its cancellation that fall. With the departure of Bill Wright, then host of the "Circle Six Ranch" program, however, the way was cleared for Cliff's Clubhouse to expand to an hour-long program with multiple sponsors and a live audience of children. He also inherited the use of Bounce-A-Lot, a 1921 Model-T Ford that Holman, Sr painted in bright yellow with the show's name and station.
The Popeye Show
In 1958 the name of the show was changed to "Cartoon Clubhouse" as Little Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost and various Terrytoons shorts replaced Crusader Rabbit. On September 15 of that year WABT secured the rights to Terrytoons' popular "Popeye the Sailor Man" cartoons as well as a library of Three Stooges shorts. The show was re-dubbed "The Popeye Show" and Holman traded in his trademark magician duds for a short-sleeved sportshirt and sailor's cap.
The Flying G Savers' Club promotion debuted in 1959, sponsored by Guaranty Savings and Loan. Kids who came on the show on their birthdays were treated to an Electrick Maid Bake Shop "Wham Doodle" cake and one of owner Ralph Levy's tumbled "rubbing rocks".
At first Holman and his audience appeared in front of a minimally-decorated flat, which was later dressed up with nautical-themed props. In 1962 Holman, Sr completed an expansive Trompe-l'oeil backdrop featuring a seascape with a large fishing boat and cut-out figures of Popeye, Olive Oyl, Wimpy and Swee'Pea which could be positioned around the set.
Holman took on hosting of a daily talk show and also took over Bill Wright's "Snicker Flickers", in which he ad-libbed dialogue over old silent movies with Huel Murphy accompanying on piano. Numerous famous guests joined him on the talk show, the Popeye show, or both. Among them were Shari Lewis, Liberace, Richard Scarry, Burt Ward, Clarence Nash, Mamie Van Doren, Jayne Mansfield, Bob Denver, Jim Nabors, Robert Goulet and numerous beauty queens.
As WABT's ambassador to kids Holman helped establish the "Muscular Dystrophy Carnivals" nationwide program by promoting them on his show. In 1963 his show spread the "Popeye's Physical Fitness" campaign. In addition to his television schedule, Holman made personal appearances all over the state and emceed Birmingham's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Woodrow Wilson Park.
On April 3, 1967 the Popeye Show appeared for the first time in a color broadcast. The set, which had been painted in shades of gray, was repainted by Holman, Sr in bright colors. Toward the end of the decade the show was moved from its live early-evening slot to a tape-delayed slot in the mornings (when most of its audience was at school), and later compressed into a 90-minute weekend format.