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Monty Philip Holamon

24 Feb 1946 – 12 Apr 2012

Birth24 Feb 1946
Death12 Apr 2012
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/217617197

Bio

The Monty Holamon Tribute-Dallas Texas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjy1dOaZ428 Dallas Morning News - Article Monty Philip Holamon marched to the beat of a different drummer, something he encouraged his students at Woodrow Wilson High School to do — sometimes on painter’s stilts. The former Army musician-singer, Ringling Bros. clown and playwright used his life experiences to inspire students at the Dallas high school, where he was an award-winning French teacher and director of one-act plays. Mr. Holamon, 66, died April 12 of cancer in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he had lived since 2008. He was known for his benevolent severity, said Knox Peden, a 1996 Woodrow graduate who is now a research fellow at the University of Queensland in Australia. “He didn’t suffer fools,” Dr. Peden said. “He appreciated that it was valuable for a student to experience not always winning, or not always being right.” After Mr. Holamon’s death, one former student commented online that his classes were “an education in life, not just French,” Dr. Peden said. Mr. Holamon was born in Brownwood, where his father was the produce manager at Safeway. One day in 1953, his family of five — along with an aunt and three cousins — packed up and moved to Arkansas, where they lived on a 40-acre farm for two years. The family later lived in Brady, Texas, before returning to Brownwood, where Mr. Holamon graduated from high school in 1964. He attended Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University, where he was befriended by Ramsey Yelvington, the college’s playwright in residence. It was the height of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Mr. Holamon left the university to sing and play the oboe and clarinet with the 4{+t}{+h} Army Band based at Fort Sam Houston. Based there for three years, he was able to spend free time back in San Marcos, where he continued to work with Mr. Yelvington. He also acted in plays in San Marcos and at Fort Sam Houston. He met and married Karen, a fellow actor and singer. They later divorced. Less than three months after he left the Army, Mr. Holamon decided to join the circus. He was attending a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the San Antonio Coliseum and noticed that clown auditions were scheduled three weeks later in Houston, according to a memoir he was preparing for publication. His wife also joined the circus, as a private tutor for legendary animal trainer Gunter Gebel Williams’ children. Mr. Holamon pushed the envelope as a clown during his more than 2,000 performances in 48 states. He used blue face paint, a color that was forbidden by the profession’s unwritten rules. His successes as the blue-faced clown, however, included getting his photograph in Life magazine and The New York Times, and performing twice on CBS network programs. After the curtain fell on his clown career, Mr. Holamon returned to Southwest Texas State, where he received his bachelor’s degree. In 1980, his play Paradise was performed at Houston’s Alley Theater, where he was playwright in residence. He taught English as a second language in San Antonio before joining the Woodrow faculty in 1982. Mr. Holamon also broke with convention when he started teaching French at Woodrow. “Your first two years of French, you would be learning French, but once you hit French III or maybe late in French II … he would say, ‘OK, today we’re going to start learning the Russian alphabet,’” Dr. Peden said. “He wanted us to know there was an alphabet that had different sounds.” Mr. Holamon was a semifinalist for a Dallas Independent School District Golden Apple Award in 1988 and he received the district’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1994. Many of his lessons were rooted in the value of other cultures “and learning to see the world differently,” Dr. Peden said. Mr. Holamon also put together amazing productions of costumes and scenery for the one-act plays he directed at Woodrow from 1987 to 1995, he said. “You could tell his background in the circus,” Dr. Peden said. “He would have people walking on painter’s stilts and doing all kinds of crazy things.” Mr. Holamon retired in 1999 and moved to Costa Rica in 2001 and Uruguay in December 2008. He is survived by his sister, Jae Holamon Nelson of Brownwood; a brother, Terry Holamon of Brownwood; and his companion, Betty Mayes of Montevideo. Memorials may be made to the Monty Holamon Memorial Fund at the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation, P.O. Box 140062, Dallas, Texas 75214. Monty Phillip Holamon obit - Brownwood News Story Monty Philip Holamon was born in Brownwood and passed away on Apr 12 2012 at his home at the age of 66, after a short illness. He was living in Montevideo, Uruguay where he resided since 2008. Philip was a former Brownwood High School band drum major and actor who graduated in 1964. Receiving his bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas State University, he became an Army musician playing the oboe and clarinet with the 4th Army Band based at Fort Sam Houston. He was a playwright and also traveled with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as a clown during 2000 performances in 48 states. His blue-faced clown was photographed in Life magazine and The New York Times and performed twice on CBS network television programs. He taught English as a second language in San Antonio before joining the Dallas ISD at Woodrow Wilson High School in 1982 where he was an award-winning French teacher and director of one-act plays. Philip designed costumes and scenery for the one-act plays he directed at Woodrow from 1987 to 1995. Mr. Holamon was a semifinalist for a Dallas Independent School District Golden Apple Award in 1988 and he received the district’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1994.Philip retired in 1999 from teaching and moved to Costa Rica in 2001 then to Montevideo, Uruguay in December 2008. He is survived by his sister, Jenny Holamon Nelson of Brownwood; a brother, Terry Holamon of Brownwood; a niece, Wendy Huggins of Brownwood; a nephew, Jason Studdard of Brownwood; and his beloved companion, Betty Mayes of Montevideo, Uruguay. Philip was succeeded in death by his parents, Ivin and Dorothy Holamon of Brownwood. Memorials may be made to the Monty Holamon Memorial Fund at the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation, P.O. Box 140062, Dallas Texas 75214.

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