Jonathan Meath

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Jonathan Meath
File:Jonathan G Meath portrays Santa Claus.jpg
Meath as Santa Claus in 2010
Born (1955-09-16) September 16, 1955 (age 70)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
EducationPhillips Academy (1974)
Alma materNew York University (1979)
Occupations
Years active
  • 1980s–present (television career)
  • 2007–present (as Santa Claus)
EmployerAndanzura
ChildrenAmelia Meath
Awards
Websitemeathmedia[4]

Jonathan Meath (born September 16, 1955) is an American television producer and director.[5][6] He was senior producer of the television game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?[7] He also was a producer of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss[6][8] and the 1990s' remake of Zoom.[9][10] In addition, he is notable for having a dual career as a professional Santa Claus. He made numerous appearances in various media as Santa, including on Good Morning America,[11] at Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes,[11][12][13] on the cover of Boston Magazine, and on a Delta Air Lines' pre-flight safety demonstration.[14] He was described by National Public Radio[15][16] and Time as a "top Santa".[14]

Television career

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Meath attended Phillips Academy and graduated in 1974 with the school's first co–educational class.[8] He graduated from New York University in 1979. During the 1980s Meath worked at CBS, Business Times, The Creative Establishment, MTV Networks and Greenwood Productions in various capacities.[citation needed] During 1996–1998, he produced shows for the Jim Henson Company called The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. He produced for PBS 295 half-hour episodes of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, as well as 80 episodes of Zoom.

Career

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Meath, whose beard and hair went white early in life,[17] noticed that children sometimes called him "Santa". He is slightly overweight — he has described himself as an "organic Santa"[11] — and his wife bought him a red suit.[13] He attended schools to learn the craft of being a Santa.[11][18] He appeared in parades.[19] He is a professional vocalist.[12] In 2012, he appeared as Santa at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular show in New York City.[11][14] Meath uses his real beard but conditions it with a "shimmer-like shampoo known as Cowboy Magic, and uses hair gel for his mustache.[20] His role as Santa was described in numerous publications.[12][16][17] In 2009, he appeared in a thirty-second television commercial spot for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.[14]

Personal life

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Meath has one child and lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His mother was activist and historian Mary Stewart Hewitt.[21] He is the great great grandson of businessman and sportsman John Malcolm Forbes and the great great great grandson of railroad industrialist John Murray Forbes.[21] Through this, Meath is distantly related to John Kerry. Meath's daughter, Amelia Randall Meath, is a member of the bands Mountain Man[22] and Sylvan Esso.

Awards

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Year Result Award Category Notes
2005 Won Carnegie Medal Excellence in children's videos FableVision's The Dot[2][23]
Nominated Daytime Emmy Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series Paz[24]
2001 Nominated Outstanding Children's Series Zoom[25]
2000 Nominated Zoom[26]
1997 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Children's Program The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss[1][25]
1996 Nominated Daytime Emmy Outstanding Children's Series Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?[25]
1993 Won George Foster Peabody Award Excellence for overall show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

References

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  14. ^ a b c d Olivia B. Waxman, Dec. 09, 2013, Time Magazine, These Are the 11 Best Santas in the U.S. – And where to find them Archived 2024-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed Dec. 10, 2013
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