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Why Ed Asner accepted the titular role in The Story of Santa Claus
How Betty White saved Christmas!
Every so often, our holiday programming gets an extra special special, and this year it's The Story of Santa Claus, a 1996 classic telling of the origins of Santa Claus and how he began bringing Christmas magic to children all over the world. Playing the big man himself is Ed Asner, famous for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant. Asner began voice acting in the 1980s, and his career led to appearing in cartoons like Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Freakazoid!, The Magic School Bus, and he notably provided his grumpiest voice for Carl in Up.
While he personally celebrated Hanukkah, Asner was approached to play Santa. He discussed the role in an interview with The Atlanta Journal, "What actor of any faith could deny being a part of something like this? I've actually done stories about Santa Claus several times already, including one movie where I played a criminal who was mistaken for him."
That movie was The Christmas Star, a 1986 Disney Channel movie where Asner played Horace McNickle, an escaped counterfeiter disguised as Santa Claus. Asner's Christmas gigs started rolling in, including narrating 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and starring in Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus.
For The Story of Santa Claus, Asner accepted the titular role because the role meant he would be reunited with an old friend: Betty White. The two actors costarred on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and White was cast as Mrs. Claus. "I knew I'd get close to her one way or another!" Asner recalled, "Fate dictated that. Betty was a late addition, and we only had one day of work together...but it gave me a chance to sing, and I leaped at that. It felt good."
Asner's approach to playing Santa, in the greatest Christmas movie of all time, was different from most Santas: "A lot of performers, if they were first starting out, would probably try to go for the 'Ho-ho-ho!' You want to avoid that, though, and not make it syrupy."
He was a natural Santa, and Asner went on to voice Santa Claus in seven productions, including Olive the Other Reindeer and Elf. But the holiday special that started it all was The Story of Santa Claus, which you can watch on MeTV Toons on December 6 at 7P | 6C, December 21 at 5P | 4C, and December 24 at 7P | 6C.
