City Tales; Santa Claus is Alive & Well and Living in Detroit

<v Announcer>This special holiday story is a co-production of WTVS Public <v Announcer>Television in Detroit and WDIV, a post Newsweek station. <v Bookstore Employee>Well, I'll put this in the bag for you, it's snowing out there. <v Bookstore Employee>Here you go, Merry Christmas. <v Bernie Marquis>Hi, do you have any books on Santa Claus or Christmas?

<v Bookstore Employee>Yea, those would be all under the Christmas heading and they're on the chart there around <v Bookstore Employee>the corner. Thank you. <v Bernie Marquis>I'm Bernie Marquis. Some people are hooked on jogging. <v Bernie Marquis>Other people are hooked on stamp collecting. <v Bernie Marquis>I'm hooked on anything with Santa Claus. <v Bernie Marquis>Third floor. <v Bernie Marquis>Pile 80. <v Bernie Marquis>I suppose you could call me a devotee of the old guy, an aficinado um-uh <v Bernie Marquis>Santa groupie. I don't know about that, but uh I've always admired him. <v Bernie Marquis>Oh! Miracle on 34th Street. <v Bernie Marquis>That's an old classic. Hmm, let's see here.Oh, <v Bernie Marquis>this is a real gem, "The History of Santa Claus". <v Bernie Marquis>It's a collection of various images of St. Nicholas over the centuries. <v Bernie Marquis>Here's a man that comes from the frozen north, once a year, delivers

<v Bernie Marquis>toys all over the world and goes back again. <v Bernie Marquis>But we know very little about him, and yet he's affected millions upon <v Bernie Marquis>millions of lives. So I guess part of my interest is finding out what <v Bernie Marquis>makes this guy tick and also uh where does he come from? <v Bernie Marquis>What do we really know about Santa Claus? <v Bernie Marquis>Who is this fella? Who is he? <v Bernie Marquis>You know, makes me kind of wonder. <v Santa>Are we ready to go? ?Lets go up this way here? Hi! Hi there. How you doing? Merry Christmas to you. Thank you. <v Bernie Marquis>Being the world's most famous senior citizen isn't easy. <v Bernie Marquis>The world is interested in personalities, people want to have their pictures taken with <v Bernie Marquis>Santa. You know, it's just like any other famous person. <v Bernie Marquis>With Santa Claus, everything isn't simply gift giving, Christmas Eve, and

<v Bernie Marquis>presents. Sometimes there's PR <v Bernie Marquis>and little bit of politics as well. <v Bernie Marquis>Being a world famous figure, I guess that's part and parcel with the job. <v Bernie Marquis>My job here is to do the restoration work, I might uh rebuild a new face. <v Bernie Marquis>So if I want to impress people, I tell them I'm a mannequin doctor M.D. <v Bernie Marquis>It's so you can get a little status that way, but you have to have <v Bernie Marquis>a sense of humor. You know, I think the trouble is a lot of people, they take themselves <v Bernie Marquis>too darn seriously. You know, for their own good, and um little <v Bernie Marquis>sense of humor, I think, goes a long way. <v Bernie Marquis>Now, here's a little something that I find personally fascinating.

<v Bernie Marquis>Be careful, you don't bump into anything now. <v Bernie Marquis>These were heads that appeared in local theater houses in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. <v Bernie Marquis>And compared to the figures you saw downstairs, rather than being made of fiberglass, <v Bernie Marquis>these are all made of wax, way here at the top we have Charlie Chaplin <v Bernie Marquis>and down here. You'll recognize Marie Chevallier. <v Bernie Marquis>This is Joe Lewis, the Brown bomber. <v Bernie Marquis>Dracula, also known as Bela Lugosi. <v Bernie Marquis>W.C. Fields. And oh, down here we have Albert Einstein and of course, <v Bernie Marquis>Santa Claus, probably two of the greatest minds of this century. <v Santa>Well hello everyone! It's Santa!Ho <v Santa>ho. Oh my, oh my. <v Santa>How are-I like your whiskers there. <v Santa>Well, it looks distinguished and everything. <v Santa>Well, hello everyone. <v Santa>How many-how many Santa's helpers do we have here today?

<v Santa>Raise your hand. <v Bernie Marquis>Santa has got quite a workload during the Christmas season and occasionally <v Bernie Marquis>in case of an emergency. I know that he has to be called up. <v Bernie Marquis>So his problem is dilemma is what do I do while I'm gone? <v Santa>You're going to find out this is the most difficult job you ever worked, <v Santa>and at the same time the most rewarding because we don't realize <v Santa>how our lives affect other people. <v Santa>Maybe the way we are, the way we carry ourselves in daily life okay, but it's even <v Santa>worse when you're betraying the spirit of Christmas. <v Santa>And they all know you okay? <v Santa>We all have to represent what's that, the spirit of Christmas, right? <v Santa>All you got to have is a big ticker, a big heart. <v Santa>That's the language they all understand. <v Santa>Just a little bit of caring. <v Santa>And maybe, you know, be yourselves. But don't be ?like me?, you know, I'm a little <v Santa>withdrawn. [laughter]But I mean, don't be afraid to ham it up a little <v Santa>bit. <v Santa>Well, I remember one time this little boy wanted a pet gorilla for Christmas. <v Santa>You know, what does a 5 year old want with a pet gorilla? I say, he might get hurt.

<v Santa>He said, that's not the idea. <v Santa>Tommy's a bully down the street. I want him to get hurt. <v Santa>So I had to give him a little lesson on Christmas spirit. <v Santa>You know, that wasn't easy. <v Santa>Are there any other questions? <v Man>Santa, what do you do when they tell you they just seen you at another mall and that you <v Man>couldn't possibly be the real one? <v Santa>Uh huh.MOK. <v Santa>You know, what's interesting? <v Santa>Love can do a lot of seemingly impossible things can it? <v Santa>It's amazing, I see that a lot in life. <v Santa>People give up hope, things fall apart, and all of a sudden love enters into the picture. <v Santa>And what seemed to be absolutely impossible on a human level all of a sudden became <v Santa>possible, isn't that true? And so, that's my answer, <v Santa>love can do a lot of seemingly impossible things. <v Bernie Marquis>Probably one of the most difficult breakthroughs in American society

<v Bernie Marquis>is the creation of the shopping mall. <v Bernie Marquis>I guess it can only be likened to the cattle stalls in Chicago back in the 1800s. <v Bernie Marquis>You know, you're shoving people in and shoving them out, everybody's tired, everybody's <v Bernie Marquis>irritable. And poor Santa has got to be there with a ready smile and a pleasant word <v Bernie Marquis>for everyone. <v Santa>Merry Christmas to you. Now, remember, keep a stiff upper lip. <v Santa>It ain't all easy, but anything that's worth anything cost you something you know. <v Santa>Merry Christmas to you now. <v Audience>Merry Christmas Santa. [applause] <v Bernie Marquis>I don't know how Santa does it. <v Bernie Marquis>You know, really, when you really think about it, you seem to be burning the Christmas <v Bernie Marquis>candles at both ends sometimes, you know. <v Bernie Marquis>I don't know how he fits this onto his schedule. <v Bernie Marquis>Uh, I think it's something, it's a resource for us, comes from the inside, like a well,

<v Bernie Marquis>like it springs up from within, and that's where he gets that second wind. <v Santa>Who knows how to sing Jingle Bells? Raise your hand. <v Santa>Here we go! Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open <v Santa>sleigh, over the fields we go. <v Santa>Laughing all the way. <v Santa>Everybody clap! Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits <v Santa>bright, what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight [audience sings along]I <v Santa>can't hear you. <v Bernie Marquis>There's no question that Santa works in a shopping facility, it's very grueling <v Bernie Marquis>work, number one, because it's warm, it's a lot warmer than it is up <v Bernie Marquis>at the North Pole where he's used to cold climates in a shopping facility. <v Bernie Marquis>He is dressed with the wool, he's got the fur, and of course, his long beard and his hair <v Bernie Marquis>make things very hot, to say the least. <v Santa>How ya doing? Hello there, how ya doing?Can <v Santa>you say Merry Christmas Santa? Merry Christmas.

<v Santa>Well, merry Christmas, sweetheart, and look what we got here. <v Santa>And that's for you. What do you say? Say thank you, Santa. <v Santa>I'm overwhelmed by your generousity. <v Santa>There you go, sweetheart. Now who <v Santa>we got next now? Come on, lets keep that line moving, you got to keep people happy. <v Bernie Marquis>I think that a lot of people believe that love is always fun <v Bernie Marquis>or enjoyable. <v Santa>Well, no coloring books. <v Bernie Marquis>And I think the true measure of love isn't when everything's going great. <v Bernie Marquis>It's when things are difficult. <v Bernie Marquis>Let me see a few more kids here because I get nervous. <v Bernie Marquis>Get some books in and I'll see that-the next few here. <v Bernie Marquis>OK. Laurie, Laurie. Gotta keep that line moving. <v Bernie Marquis>Get it. Get ?everyone in that line?. Keep the line moving. <v Bernie Marquis>[Lady talks in the background]

<v Bernie Marquis>My personal relationship with Santa began in December of 1952. <v Bernie Marquis>My dad and mom took my twin brother Richard, myself uh to see <v Bernie Marquis>Santa Claus at a local department store. <v Bernie Marquis>And little did we know that the following Christmas dad wouldn't be with us, <v Bernie Marquis>and I would say about him. <v Bernie Marquis>Well, a month and a half after he was in the hospital,

<v Bernie Marquis>we learned that mom was going to have a baby. <v Bernie Marquis>And it wasn't too terribly long after that where she was developing complications and <v Bernie Marquis>she was uh um told <v Bernie Marquis>in no uncertain terms that she would probably die giving birth to the child. <v Bernie Marquis>Christmas Eve of 1953, mom was taken to the hospital. <v Bernie Marquis>She was hemorrhaging badly. <v Bernie Marquis>The next day, got up. Like all good kids do on Christmas morning. <v Bernie Marquis>Looked down the tree and there was one car for myself, <v Bernie Marquis>one car for my brother, and that was it, basically that was all we had. <v Bernie Marquis>And um it's kind of a contrast to the year before when we each had electric train <v Bernie Marquis>and lots of goodies. And uh the question came to mind, what did we <v Bernie Marquis>do wrong? You know um, until later <v Bernie Marquis>on, we got word that my mom had survived. <v Bernie Marquis>She-She had some serious problems, but she survived and that we had a baby

<v Bernie Marquis>brother. <v Bernie Marquis>I've never met any individual that was one dimensional, somewhere heroic in the attempt, <v Bernie Marquis>but I've never met an individual that was simply one dimensional. <v Bernie Marquis>I think everyone is kind of like an onion with several <v Bernie Marquis>levels in their personality.

<v Bernie Marquis>You know, peel one skin off, you have another one ?and another one? <v Man>Get up here Santa. <v Santa> Yes sir! <v Man>Get up here. <v Bernie Marquis>Santa does charity with pizzazz, I must say. <v Bernie Marquis>You know, he turns uh labor into uh a festive occasion. <v Bernie Marquis>I think one of the beautiful characteristics of Santa Claus is the fact that he's <v Bernie Marquis>childlike, not childish, which is very easy for many adults to

<v Bernie Marquis>slip into being childish, but he's childlike. <v Bernie Marquis>He comes to you with open hands, with no angles <v Bernie Marquis>to be played. Some people give as a way of manipulating people. <v Bernie Marquis>You know, there's always a kind of a little angle to the gift you <v Bernie Marquis>see down the road that this person ends. Some people express that fear that, well, maybe <v Bernie Marquis>down the road they're going to want something from me. <v Bernie Marquis>And his is unconditional. He gives for the sake of giving. <v Bernie Marquis>You know, Santa, that's just the way things you know. <v Bernie Marquis>Santa's idea of uh giving is without any strings attached. <v Speaker>[Singing "Silent Night"]. <v Santa>?You have a Merry Christmas? Got a lot of work to do ya know. How ya doing? Hi. <v Santa>Merry Christmas to you. We're raising money for the poor kids, can you spare any change?

<v Santa>?That's good.? Can you spare some change Mr. Bus Driver? <v Santa>Oh yeah. <v Santa>All right sir, God bless you. Merry Christmas to you. <v Santa>?inaudible? You're fine, that's your role. <v Santa>Now put yourself over so you're not behind that tree ?inaudible conversation?. <v Santa>How many kiddies do we have today? <v Santa>You're feeling a little puny, ?inaudible conversation? <v Speaker>Santa always shows up where he's needed. <v Speaker>And uh hospitals, a lot of people like to avoid them, they avoid them like the plague. <v Speaker>Contrary to the way, ya know many of us, we tend to avoid things like, "Yech!

<v Speaker>Hospitals, get me out of here. I don't even want to be around them." Santa just seems to <v Speaker>transcend all that. <v Santa>Oh ho! James? <v Santa>Do we have the-hello James! <v Man>Look who came to see you? <v Santa>How you doing ol' buddy, how old are you now? <v Santa>You're 4 years old already? <v Santa>Are you shaving yet? Let's see if you got any ?nubs?. No, I guess you're gonna have to <v Santa>pass on the Norelco this year. [Conversation goes into the background]. <v Bernie Marquis>Santa believes that this is really a beautiful world we've been given. <v Bernie Marquis>The whole notion of naughty and nice that if you're bad, you're <v Bernie Marquis>not going to get any gifts. Well, I know from my experience as a child, that doesn't <v Bernie Marquis>happen that way. <v Bernie Marquis>Everyone is important in their own way, and-and he sees that. <v Bernie Marquis>And he-he sees it like a Christmas package. <v Bernie Marquis>I think we're all Christmas packages, really. <v Bernie Marquis>And he-he sees something beautiful inside each person, it's just <v Bernie Marquis>gotta be brought out somehow. <v Santa>[inaudible conversation] Hello children! Oh look at that, I think I'll wear my dark glasses you're blinding me here. [laughter] Merry Christmas everyone.How <v Santa>are you today? ?Are you always in the Christmas spirit?.

<v Santa>?What is the christmas spirit here? [Conversation fades to the background] <v Parade Announcement>Just another reminder, if you are not wearing a paper-mache head, you <v Parade Announcement>will need makeup for the parade. <v Parade Announcement>If you are not wearing a paper-mache head, you will need makeup for the parade, so please <v Parade Announcement>report to the makeup area behind the stage. <v Santa>Hello there, good morning.

<v Parade Goers>Hey man, he arrives in style. <v Parade Goers>You're gonna have to get out of the way, Santa Claus is trying to come through. Make room! Make room! ?Get out of the road, make room? Come on, move! <v Bernie Marquis>I remember when I was a kid, we had the Lone Ranger and Superman and somehow the <v Bernie Marquis>children today. I think uh there's a loss of real heroes. <v Bernie Marquis>We learn about baseball stars or basketball or football, maybe they're involved <v Bernie Marquis>in drugs or other things and uh we get jaded. <v Bernie Marquis>And yet here's an image that's given us of someone <v Bernie Marquis>who represents an ideal. <v Santa>OK. Here we go. Here we go. Watch your step, right this way. <v Santa>Right this way. I know, watch the tow bar. Yep, watch it. <v Santa>Watch the everything. The icicles are murder. <v Santa>All right. <v Bernie Marquis>For many people, Santa represents the earliest joys <v Bernie Marquis>of their [Santa talks in the background] childhood. <v Santa>Merry Christmas to <v Santa>ya now!

<v Bernie Marquis>A hero that somehow never really became tarnished. <v Santa>Where's the TV this year, by the way? <v Parade official>Uh it's downtown, I'll let you know. I'll wave at you to let you know. <v Santa>OK Bill, I was wondering you said the media may be down there because it got that island <v Santa>ya know? <v Bernie Marquis>I think I see Santa as-as a teacher

<v Bernie Marquis>in many respects, I think he's taught me a lot about life, about <v Bernie Marquis>priorities in life, and the message that he's trying to, <v Bernie Marquis>I guess, impress upon us is the fact that the spirit of <v Bernie Marquis>love and peace is within us. <v Bernie Marquis>But we have to release that. And when that happens, there will truly be goodwill <v Bernie Marquis>to all people everywhere. <v Santa>Thank you. Here we go. Thank you. How ya doing there? Well Merry Christmas everyone. Hello there. [Small conversations and greetings in the background] [Credits]