Yule Spirit Fails: ‘Santa’ Goes to Court

Self-styled Santa Claus Robert L. George hoped the complaints would end after he removed 10,000 blinking lights, a 14-foot-tall fiberglass reindeer and dozens of other decorations from the outside of his Glendale home.

But the fake snow on the roof and the remaining 30,000 lights, strung along the side and back eaves of the red and white house, were still a bit too much for neighbors and city officials.

So now they’re battling in court over the year-round Christmas on Alameda Avenue.

Last month, Glendale officials filed suit against George seeking to permanently shut down what the 63-year-old resident calls “Santa’s Dream House.” The city contends that the decorations pose a safety hazard because they distract motorists and that George’s opening of his house for tours violates residential zoning for the neighborhood.

Retaliatory Action

Last Friday, George retaliated with a $1.5-million suit against the city, alleging that its officials have caused him emotional distress by singling him out for zoning enforcement, for trespassing on his property and for continued harassment after he corrected several building code violations.

“Christmas is a way of life, it should last all year,” George said, “but there’s a Scrooge in Glendale.”

George, whose home displays photographs of him as Santa Claus with six U.S. Presidents, looks the part, with a bushy white beard and 38 Santa costumes. He was clad in red overalls, fur-lined black boots and a red stocking cap for the trip to Burbank Superior Court to file his suit.

Gifts for the Ill

George argues that the decorations are necessary because his rented home is open all year to terminally ill and disabled youngsters who wish to meet Santa. The children, some of whom are sent by the Starlight and Make-a-Wish foundations, receive Christmas meals and gifts from among the hundreds of stuffed animals and toys propped under the nearly 20 Christmas trees that decorate George’s backyard garage.

“I have the whole world and the children behind me,” George said.

But Glendale City Atty. Frank R. Manzano said the house is “a public nuisance to the whole neighborhood. People are complaining bitterly. Their homes are losing value.”

Complaints about traffic and noise in front of the house began pouring in to city offices before Christmas last year. Neighbors say his removal of some of the decorations in July has not put an end to gawking by motorists who pass the house and its red-carpeted driveway, on which George parks his red and white 1973 Cadillac.

“People will still stop in the the lane of traffic to look,” one neighbor said. “We’ve even had one bad tail-ender.”

Lacking in Spirit

George retorted that some neighbors are trying to kill the Christmas spirit. “I don’t know what’s wrong with those people,” he said.

Inside the house, permanent Christmas trees adorn the living room and bedroom. Knitted stockings dangle from the brick fireplace mantle. Multicolored tinsel hangs on the walls of the room that George calls “Santa’s office.” Autographed photos of celebrities compete for space with faded news clippings documenting George’s career as Santa.

George said he was a 25-year-old barber in his hometown of Cozad, Neb., when he had a dream in which he visualized himself as Santa Claus.

“I saw myself in my suit and even saw my first sleigh. . . . I saw myself visiting handicapped children and older people,” he said.

He bought his first Santa suit for $7.50, he said, and that year he threw a Christmas parade that drew 10,000 spectators.

Presidential Connection

In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower invited him to the White House and, George said, he has returned for Christmas ceremonies during every presidency until Jimmy Carter left office. An invitation from President Reagan “is in the works,” George said.

In 1965, George moved from Nebraska to Northridge, carting along five 42-foot-long sleighs and five mechanical reindeer. He used them to make a living by giving motorized rides at area shopping centers.

George was forced to sell the sleighs in 1976, however, after he and his wife, whom he calls Mrs. Claus, moved to Sierra Madre. Officials there refused to issue him a permit to park the contraptions in his driveway.

Since then, he said, he has stopped charging for appearances and provides the home tours at no charge, living off a monthly Social Security check and his wife’s salary as the supervisor of a bank escrow department.

“I’m not promoting Santa Claus,” he said. “I’m promoting the Christmas spirit, to love and give all year ‘round, not just one day . . . and that’s what my house represents.”