The Man in the Santa Claus Suit

• Director: Corey Allen
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Fantasy
• Movie Type: Adventure Drama
• Release Year: 1979
• Country: US
• Run Time: 96 minutes

Plot

Made for TV, The Man in the Santa Claus Suit jumped the gun a bit by premiering December 23, 1979. The title "character" is threefold: John Byner, Gary Burghoff and Bert Convy all don Santa suits for various reasons. Byner is a fugitive tramp, Burghoff a lonely schoolteacher, and Convy a divorced father estranged from his young son. Unifying their three stories is top-billed Fred Astaire, who pops up in eight different roles (or seven different roles, if you don't count his "surprise identity") and sings the title song. The moral, as ever, is that Christmas is what you make of it: if you're merry, then you'll have a merry Christmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Majel Barrett - Ms. Forsythe; Eddie Barth; Tara Buckman; Brooke Bundy; Gary Burghoff; John Byner; Nanette Fabray; Ron Feinberg; Harold Gould; Andre Gower - Terry; David Greenan - Rod Sanborn; Eddie Ryder - Hans; Ted Thurston - Clerk; Ray Vitte - Eddie; Danny Wells - Chandler; Fred Astaire; Bert Convy; Debbie Lytton - Melissa; Sasha von Scherler - Shopper

Credit

Judy Taylor - Casting, Al Schwartz - Co-producer, Corey Allen - Director, Dick Clark - Executive Producer, Peter Matz - Composer (Music Score), Woody Omens - Cinematographer, Lee Miller - Producer, Michele Guiol - Set Designer, George Kirgo - Screenwriter