Birmingham to Screen HBO Film on Alzheimer’s Disease Featuring Late TV Host Cousin Cliff

Birmingham will host a screening of “The Memory Loss Tapes,” part of an HBO documentary series called THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT. Popular Birmingham children’s TV host Cousin Cliff Holman, who succumbed to Alzheimer’s in September 2008, is featured in the film.

April 9, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Birmingham will host a screening of "The Memory Loss Tapes," part of an HBO documentary series called THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT. Popular Birmingham children's TV host Cousin Cliff Holman, who succumbed to Alzheimer's in September 2008, is featured in the film.

The screening will take place Wednesday, May 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, 1200 10th Ave. S., Birmingham. Screening begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Alzheimer's experts and audience questions. Video clips of the series will be available for media.

HBO, Bright House Networks, UAB's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Alzheimer's Association of the Mid-South and Alzheimer's of Central Alabama.  Filmmakers Shari Cookson and Nick Doob will attend the screening along with Alzheimer's experts from UAB and the community.

One of the most devastating forms of memory loss is Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible and progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.  Today, Alzheimer's may affect as many as 5 million Americans.  As the Baby Boom generation reaches retirement, that number could soar to more than 11 million by 2040 and have a huge economic impact on America's already fragile healthcare system.

While there is no cure for the disease, THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future. Debuting on HBO on May 10, executive produced by Maria Shriver and created by the award-winning team behind HBO's acclaimed "Addiction" project, this multi-platform series takes a close look at groundbreaking discoveries made by the country's leading scientists, as well as the effects of this debilitating and fatal disease both on those with Alzheimer's and on their families.

THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT is a presentation of HBO Documentary Films and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health in association with the Alzheimer's Association®, Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund and Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer's Initiative.

UAB's Alzheimer's Disease Center provides comprehensive treatment and promotes research for the prevention and/or cure of Alzheimer's disease and other related disorders with memory loss and impaired cognition. The center's staff is dedicated to making the quality of life the best possible for patients and their families while the search for a cure continues.