Boy Can Thank Santa for the Greatest Gift of All--Life

For 11-year-old Renny Schuffman, Santa lives.

And because of Santa, in this case a 37-year-old film maker who was free-lancing as a shopping mall St. Nick, Renny will celebrate a special Christmas today.

The sixth-grader was standing in line at Santa’s booth in the Panorama Mall on Dec. 12 when he choked on a wad of chewing gum and passed out.

But luckily, Daniel Hobbit, the mall’s Santa on duty, knew cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Hobbit leaped out of his chair and immediately began applying the life-saving technique he had learned years ago. The piece of gum was dislodged, and Renny came to within a few minutes.

Hobbit, a dyed-in-the-wool Santa if ever there was one, also had the presence of mind to keep his fluffy white fake beard in place the whole time because he “didn’t want to blow the image” for the other children who were watching.

Now the Red Cross plans to give Hobbit an award and Renny finally met the real man behind the red suit a few days ago.

“As far as I’m concerned, he is Santa,” Renny said as he sat across from Hobbit in the living room of the boy’s Reseda home.

Renny and his mother, Dorie Schuffman, had gone shopping at the Panorama Mall and decided to have Renny’s picture taken with Santa. Renny said he inadvertently swallowed a piece of bubble gum.

When he passed out, he was a few steps from Hobbit.

“I saw him coming at me holding his throat,” said Hobbit, a Canoga Park resident. “I heard him (gasp) ‘Santa.’ The only thing I thought was that I’ve got to get some air into this guy.

The beard fortunately didn’t get in the way, and Renny regained consciousness within a few minutes. When he came to, he was cradled in Hobbit’s arms. The first words out of his mouth were “Santa, I love you.”

“I’ll remember that all my life,” Hobbit said.

Hobbit, who has directed programs for cable television and currently is working on a documentary about psychic phenomena, said he decided to apply for the Santa job after seeing an ad in Drama-Logue, a theatrical trade magazine. “He’s always doing unexpected things,” said his wife, Fran. “He’s like a big kid himself.”