Brady White, ‘Santa to the Stars,’ hobnobs with the high and mighty during a past visit to Pawtucket on behalf of The Times Merry Christmas Fund.  Times photo/Butch Adams

By JON BAKER

How Brady White came to be one of the most renowned Santa Claus “thespians” in the world truly is intriguing.
In fact, the native Pawtucketer remains baffled at how the events in his life — those leading to his becoming “Santa to the Stars” — unfolded.

“When I was at St. Joseph’s School in Pawtucket — now it’s St. Raphael — years ago, I was probably 13 or 14, we’d go help the needy, and we’d stop by the old nursing home on North Main Street (in Providence),” he said during a recent phone interview. “We used to help out by washing the floors and doing other chores. One of the nuns at the school asked me to be a ‘Santa’ for those folks because I was a big kid. I remember those people loving it.
“Honestly, I never really thought about it, but I enjoyed the experience, and I wonder myself if that was the springboard,” he added.
Over the last 20-plus years, he’s been hired to entertain at Hollywood gatherings thrown by such show-biz luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor, Burt Bacharach, John Travolta, Charles Bronson, Cher, Madonna, Tony Danza, Kirstie Alley, Rene Russo and Paris Hilton, not to mention the latter’s family. As of this interview, he was in Manhattan completing holiday photo shoots and shows for Cartier’s jewelers.
White, who has appeared in dozens of TV commercials and shows, special events and charity fetes, once “performed” at the White House and, later, before the late Pope John Paul II.
The pontiff called him “Santee Claus,” and whispered to him, “You do good for the children.”
Understanding that, White never has forgotten his hometown, one in which he still resides a portion of the year. That’s why he will greet local children, for the 17th straight holiday season, at The Times annual Merry Christmas Fund event entitled “Photo with Santa” at Apex on Monday, Nov. 24. The extravaganza is slated for 6 to 7:30 p.m., with the goal of raising money for the purchase of pajamas and blankets for youngsters.
It’s only natural that White’s nephew, Pawtucket School Committee member Jim Chellel, came up with the idea that “no child go to sleep” on Christmas Eve without “remaining snug in their beds,” to quote the famed poem “The Night Before Christmas,” composed by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822.
“With the high increase in the cost of utilities, many people will not be able to heat their homes, let alone buy toys for their children,” Chellel said. “The present economic situation has many families struggling just to put food on the table.”
That’s why Chellel has decided to help make those children’s “visions” come true on Christmas morn. He will donate a dollar of his own income for every photo taken with Santa, and has challenged others who still believe in St. Nick to do the same.
 
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Truth be told, White — who refuses to reveal his age for professional reasons — just kind of fell into the role of the jolly old man from the North Pole, and even he’s amazed at the success he’s achieved.
After graduating from Tolman High (sometime in the ‘60s), White  attended Roger Williams College for two years before choosing to travel to New York City to chase a dream of acting. While working at Saks Fifth Avenue selling children’s shoes, he met actress Ali McGraw (of “Love Story” fame), who steered him in the direction of the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse.
“She actually wrote a formal letter for me to Sandy Meisner, the director, and that’s where Ali, James Dean, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman studied,” he said. “After that, I moved to Hollywood, and I went to a screen test for the movie ‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid,’ with Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
“Alas, I didn’t get the part for the bartender who gets punched in the nose,” he added with a giggle.
After working as a manager at the Roxy nightclub for a while, he decided to take a job as a Santa at the Beverly Center mall.
“Because of my connections with movie stars, people came to see me; they included Cher and Pee Wee Herman, Kenny Rogers and Jodi Foster,” he stated. “They’d come in and sit on my lap. By the end of the first month, the former L.A. Herald-Examiner had started a search for the best Santa in southern California. It sent reporters out all over the region to find him.
“To make a long story short, I ended up winning,” he added. “They had interviewed kids, and they told the reporters I spoke to them like adults; I didn’t speak down to them. I just enjoy talking to the children in their world. I’d look at their sneakers and say, ‘Reeboks? Do you like Cyndi Lauper?’ I also spoke to them about things that would matter most to them, current stuff.
“I have Santas call me from all over and ask me, ‘Why do you tell them everything?’ and I say I want them to know all about me.
“I’m also not afraid to tell one how to speak to a child, and how to communicate with them … For some reason, people like me, they consider me an original. I’m a showman, and I’d like to think I have a personality that fits with the kids and the adults. And, no, I’m not egotistical.”
That’s crystal clear when he talks about all his years as a professional Santa.
“My mind works like that; the ideas of how to act just come to me,” he offered. “I know how to make a photo happen, and it appears in the Associated Press, or is run by CBS. It’s like being a P.T. Barnum. But when I see a photo of myself in the newspaper, I’ll think, ‘Oh, my God, that guy looks like Santa, and it’s me!’ I surprise myself.
“One time, I was working a party at Burt Bacharach’s house, and after I finished my work, I was asked to have dinner with the guests, including Liz Taylor, Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand and Ed McMahon,” he continued. “I told them I couldn’t, went into the kitchen and was eating a sandwich in my undershirt when Liz walked in.
“She sat directly in front of me, put her hands on her chin and leaned toward me. She said, ‘God, you look like the Santa Claus I dreamed of when I was a little girl!’
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow! I came from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and I’m doing this stuff. It’s still amazing to me.”
When asked why he still chooses to do The Times Merry Christmas Fund event at Apex, this man with homes in Italy and Los Angeles, said only, “I just do it because it gives me so much enjoyment. It’s like going to a hospital and seeing kids with cancer, and their eyes light up; or like meeting folks at an old-age home, where they don’t know what day it is. The seniors will look at me and say, ‘Oh, Santa!’
“It’s got nothing to do with the money,” he added. “In this business, I have highs, mediums and lows, but it all evens out. I keep coming home because I love helping people. The Times gives money to people who truly need it, and I revel in that.”
On Monday, photos may be taken with Santa Claus for $5 for one child, $8 for a pair, and all proceeds will go to the fund. The Times will publish the number of photos taken, so anyone who wants to match Chellel’s challenge of $1 per photo can drop off or send their donation directly to the newspaper, at 23 Exchange St., Pawtucket, R.I. 02860.
Pajamas and blankets for children may also be dropped off at The Times before Dec. 15.