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Even near end, Phil Holman inspired others Family, friends honor showman's spirit at Ashland memorial service By JONEL ALECCIA ASHLAND - Phil Holman's last performance was a private one. Sick with cancer, the showman who enlivened Rogue Valley television and radio for decades gathered his family last Monday and called for his harmonica. "He started playing it, a jazz tune," his daughter, Michelle Holman, recalled at a memorial service Sunday. "His favorites really were jazz standards." But then her father began a piece she'd never heard him play before. With breath his family didn't know he had, Phil Holman offered up "Amazing Grace." "He'd sit up and play a burst, then lie down, then sit up again," Michelle Holman said. "It was like his soul song." By Friday, Phil Holman, 79, was gone. But dozens of friends, family members and former broadcast associates gathered for a reprise of his life at Temple Emek Shalom. They recalled the bright spark of the born performer who gained national attention broadcasting from atop a San Francisco flagpole. They recalled the wry wit of the man who brought Catskills humor to Southern Oregon through "Phil's Philms," a late-night movie show. They recalled the unflagging energy of the writer, producer, promoter and artist who always had a new idea. They recalled the passion of the artist who let his soul speak through wood. "In him you could see the man and the little boy inside saying 'Will you be my friend, will you play with me?' " recalled Rabbi David Zaslow of Ashland. Holman, who came to Medford in 1959 to work for the first of several radio stations, was remembered by several area broadcast professionals who worked with him through the years. Holman was a comic personality in the area for much of the 1960s and 1970s. Garth Harrington, who worked with him at KOBI-TV in Medford, recalled Holman's lively sense of humor. "Phil could talk to no one and amuse himself immensely," said Harrington, who now hosts a popular Rogue Valley radio show with his wife, Rosemary. However, Holman was not universally popular, family and associates agreed. "There were plenty of people who didn't get him and didn't like him," Michelle Holman acknowledged. "That's their sorrow." Father of three, grandfather to five, Holman was a proud if quirky family man. His son, Marshall Holman, who would become a star bowler and broadcaster, said it wasn't easy growing up with a local celebrity for a dad. "He'd take over the intercom at Safeway and do one of his routines," Marshall Holman told Rabbi Marc Sirinsky. "I'd say, 'Dad, we only came for a quart of milk.' " Holman was married for 50 years to Marge Miller Holman. The pair celebrated their anniversary in May, two months after Phil Holman was diagnosed with cancer. "It was one hell of a ride," Marge Holman told the assembled crowd. "He really wasn't just another guy." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.