Advanced Santa Studies

Doug Eberhart

Santa Doug Eberhart has been portraying Santa Claus for 47 years. He started his acting career in Massillon, Ohio at Washington High School and began as Santa when he was 14 years old. His mother Sandy made his first Santa suit out of an XL men's pajama pattern.

Doug began by doing "Santa gigs" for friends and neighbors and worked his way into doing home visits. Being a large football player (offensive center), Doug continued his passion for playing Old Saint Nick through his college years at Princeton University where he graduated in 1985. Upon graduation, Santa Doug moved to Charlotte, NC and continued his portrayal up until this day. He has entertained over 20,000 children and adults.

He has been Santa Claus for TV commercials, The Carolina Panthers, department stores, grocery chains, numerous corporate parties and hundreds of home visits. Santa Doug has gone to numerous Santa schools and classes including the C.W. Howard school. He fills his schedule with about 75 gigs per season. In May of 2018, Santa Doug started Prosantashop.com which specializes in products for the professional Santa. In June of 2019 he founded Charlotte Area Christmas Performers, a group of local Santas, Mrs. Clauses and Christmas performers.

Phillip L. Wenz

If ever there was a man born to be Santa Claus, it is Phillip L. Wenz. As a four-year-old child, he donned his first Santa outfit. By the time he was fourteen, he was in his first parade and at the ripe old age of twenty-three, he became the year-round Santa Claus for the iconic Santa's Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois — an association he held for over 35 years, making him the longest tenured Santa in the park's sixty-five-plus-year history and one of the very few true full-time year-round professional Santas in history.

Wenz has appeared in over 65 Christmas parades including the nationally televised parades in Chicago and Houston. He has been Santa on numerous TV shows, billboards, commercials, and magazine covers. He was given the title of "Chicago's Very Own" by WGN-TV, awarded the 1994 Brass Ring Award by IAAPA, and received the "Hats Off 2 Houston" award from KPRC-TV. In 2012 he was presented the "Spirit of St. Nicholas" award from the St. Nicholas Institute in Detroit.

In December 2010, Wenz was bestowed with the highest honor a Santa Claus can receive — enshrinement as a charter member into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame. Of the original fourteen honorees, Wenz was the first living Santa to be inducted. He is the creator of the Santa Claus Oath, which is widely accepted by nearly every Santa portrayer across the globe. Phillip retired from performing in January 2025 but continues to engage with the Christmas Entertainers Community.

Charles Crook

Charles Crook has been in entertainment over 35 years, with exciting credits including working for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Radio City, Hit Entertainment, Lych Productions, Premier Cruise Lines, and even Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — performing a multitude of characters both in and out of costumes. He's always looking for new exciting adventures to dive into.