Neal Holman
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From Neal's college newspaper, 4/06/02:
It was a beautiful spring morning – you know the kind. The kind where everyone is either on North Campus hanging out on the lawn or at 5 star day having lunch – basically anywhere but class. The flowers are just beginning to wake up from the winter slumber and the kids are too… its springtime. It was on this particular spring morning that I got the chance to meet up with Neal Holman, artist, cartoonist, and campus celebrity. It was a short drive to Neal’s house. He makes his magic in a very charming house in quaint neighborhood past East Campus. I walked in the door and he greeted me in his underwear. “Ahhh….errrr… .uhhh… I thought you weren’t coming until noon?” I had obviously woken him up. He scratched his chest which, as any Spider Monkey fan would know, was covered in a thick coat of fur and said “Well,aahhhh….lets do this then, eh?”
We sat down and he told me all about himself. Neal grew up in the backwoods of South Carolina where he grew his own mint garden so he could make his own mint juleps which he began drinking every morning since he was 2 years old. Despite his alcoholism, Neal succeeded in his schooling enough to be able to pay his way into the University of Georgia. Neal’s mother always told him he had an artistic eye, but it wasn’t until his days at UGA where Neal figured out he could draw grapes …then make them talk. This creative mind combined with his sense of humor and wild ways (probably brought on by his alcoholism as well) lead him to audition for a role in the “Silly Spider Monkey Fiasco”. This audition lead Neal to become one of the founding cast members of the show and thus his road to stardom began.
Neal's characters always steal the scene, and they make the show what it is. He has portrayed with elegance characters such as the science fair judge in "It's About Time," The Terminator, and Star.” I love what I do," says Holman. "And no man alive will ever stop me from doing it." He clearly is the best actor on the show…. But then again he is always drunk.
Neal will be at the Tate Center today signing autographs today at Tate. Come early, because Happy Hour begins at 1pm sharp.
UPDATE: After taking a solid 10 ½ years to graduate from the University of Georgia, Neal went on to make cartoon magic on Cartoon Network’s “Sealab 2021”. Since the cult classic lived out its welcome last year, Neal has been in the process of developing a new cartoon for the network which is set to premiere this Fall.
