|
IT SEEMS hard to believe that a family as talented and popular as The Cowsills could have ever been in a really serious jam. But it's true! And it wasn't all that long ago either. In fact, it was shortly before this singing family made its sky-rocketing jump to the top of the pop world. They were in such a pickle, they didn't know where to turn! This is how it happened . . .
The Cowsills had been putting all their money into tools of the trade — instruments, sound systems, amplifiers, etc. They were spending just about every cent they had and not getting anything back for it. They had loads of equipment. .. but were unknown and thus unsuccessful! And the situation got worse and worse! In fact, at one point they were close to losing everything they had in the whole world! They had no money, the phones had been disconnected, there wasn't any oil for the furnace and it had been bitter cold all winter.
There is still a little wire cage, which used to house a miniature Monkey, in John's room. This is perhaps the saddest reminder of those hard days.
"I saved my allowance for six weeks to get Clyde," John said with great tears in his huge brown eyes. "I waited for him to come and then, the next day after I got him I woke up in the morning and there he was — lying in the bottom of the cage — frozen!"
Clyde's grave is on the Cowsill property and is marked
|
|
with a little white headstone. This was the most tragic incident. . . but there were more to come. Mrs. Cowsill recalls how her sons, Bob and Bill, had to chop up their dressers to make fire wood. And the whole family, all nine Cowsills, huddled around the fireplace to keep warm.
Finally, the worst catastrophe of all struck. Their mortgage was almost foreclosed! This meant that they'd be separated from the house that was so much a part of all their lives. Practically penniless . . . The Cowsills came to New York.
That was when their luck changed. Their first real break came when they were introduced to producer-writer Artie Kornfeld. He recognized their giant-sized potential and introduced them to talent manager Leonard Stogel. He, in turn, led them to MGM records. And in the space of just a few short weeks, before they even knew or understood what had hit them, The Cowsills came to be considered one of the hottest properties in the industry. It was like a miracle!
The Cowsills are now popular, successful and beseiged with numerous wonderful offers. They will never
be poverty-stricken or worry-worn again. Their beloved
house is safe and their future is secure. But still. ..
there is Clyde's little white headstone resting on their
property . . . reminding them of how close to catastrophe
they really were!
|
