CLEBURNE, Texas — If you’re in Cleburne this Christmas season, you just might bump into an old, robed friend: a mannequin version of Cousin Eddie, the goofy, beloved character from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
“Let's face it, everybody loves Cousin Eddie,” said Sandy Blunck, who originally built the mannequin years ago.
When Blunck moved away from Cleburne, he left Cousin Eddie with his next-door neighbor Cody Long, who continued the tradition of putting Eddie at the end of his driveway so people could stop to take pictures. It was a years-long tradition — that is, until last year, when Eddie was snatched from Long’s front yard, days before Christmas.
Despite a massive social media response and a “Justice for Cousin Eddie” movement, the mannequin was never found.
“We had some hot tips,” Long said.
Turns out, Cousin Eddie had a lot more fans than either Long or Blunck knew. The city was devastated.
“I mean, I still get it a year later, ‘Oh, you're the Cousin Eddie guy!’” Long said.
Long and Blunck felt they had no other option than to build a new Cousin Eddie this year, just in time for Christmas. Outfitted with a robe, loafers and a beer, they call him Cousin Eddie 2.0.
“He wasn't out 30 minutes and we already had cars stopped on the road,” Long said.
“The 2.0 version actually came with a face and some really long eyelashes,” Blunck laughed, saying they got the mannequin on eBay. “People find it a little creepy but, you know, it is what it is.”
And this year, they have security cameras protecting Cousin Eddie.
Trisha Bundock pulled over Thursday when she saw Cousin Eddie back out, not knowing if someone had returned the original mannequin.
“It’s a great thing to see,” she said. “Nothing has been the same this year, at all. So it's good to see maybe things can be normal again.”
In a year like this, the mannequin might just be the hero we need.
“As long as it brings a smile to people's faces, that's the main thing,” Blunck said.