Albion, New York
1896 – 1966

International Santa Claus Hall of Fame Charter Member – December 2010

Charles W. Howard’s Santa Claus career spans decades and reads like the biography of a man who took the role more seriously than anyone before him.

He first played Santa as a boy in a classroom play. As an adult, a friend asked him to fill in as Santa in a storefront window in downtown Albion, New York. That experience lit something in him. He became determined to perfect the role.

In his early years, Howard caught the train near his farm in Albion and commuted to Rochester, then to Buffalo, to work as Santa in department stores.

Along the way, he began developing an idea that would define his legacy: a school dedicated entirely to training Santa Claus performers. He opened his first school in the fall of 1937.

Howard appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1948 through 1965, though he never worked in the New York City flagship store.

Each year from 1948 to 1964, he flew from New York City to Kansas City, Missouri, to serve as Santa at the Macy’s store there. In 1965, his final Christmas season, he worked at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas.

Charles W. Howard died in 1966 near his home in Albion, New York. He was 69..