Jonathan Meath
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Meath as Santa Claus in 2010
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| Born | (1955-09-16) September 16, 1955 (age 68)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| Education | Phillips Academy (1974) |
| Alma mater | New York University (1979) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active |
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| Employer | Andanzura |
| Children | Amelia Meath |
| Awards |
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| Website | meathmedia[4] |
Jonathan Meath (born September 16, 1955) is an American television producer and director.[5][6] He was senior producer of the television game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?[7] He also was a producer of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss[6][8] and the 1990s' remake of Zoom.[9][10] In addition, he is notable for having a dual career as a professional Santa Claus. He made numerous appearances in various media as Santa, including on Good Morning America,[11]atRadio City Music Hall with The Rockettes,[11][12][13] on the cover of Boston Magazine, and on a Delta Air Lines' pre-flight safety demonstration.[14] He was described by National Public Radio[15][16] and Time as a "top Santa".[14]
Meath attended Phillips Academy and graduated in 1974 with the school's first co–educational class.[8] He graduated from New York University in 1979. During the 1980s Meath worked at CBS, Business Times, The Creative Establishment, MTV Networks and Greenwood Productions in various capacities.[citation needed] During 1996–1998, he produced shows for the Jim Henson Company called The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. He produced for PBS 295 half-hour episodes of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, as well as 80 episodes of Zoom.
Meath, whose beard and hair went white early in life,[17] noticed that children sometimes called him "Santa". He is slightly overweight — he has described himself as an "organic Santa"[11] — and his wife bought him a red suit.[13] He attended schools to learn the craft of being a Santa.[11][18] He appeared in parades.[19] He is a professional vocalist.[12] In 2012, he appeared as Santa at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular show in New York City.[11][14] Meath uses his real beard but conditions it with a "shimmer-like shampoo known as Cowboy Magic, and uses hair gel for his mustache.[20] His role as Santa was described in numerous publications.[12][16][17] In 2009, he appeared in a thirty-second television commercial spot for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.[14]
Meath has one child and lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His mother was activist and historian Mary Stewart Hewitt.[21] He is the great great grandson of businessman and sportsman John Malcolm Forbes and the great great great grandson of railroad industrialist John Murray Forbes.[21] Through this, Meath is distantly related to John Kerry. Meath's daughter, Amelia Randall Meath, is a member of the bands Mountain Man[22] and Sylvan Esso.
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Won | Carnegie Medal | Excellence in children's videos | FableVision's The Dot[2][23] |
| Nominated | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series | Paz[24] | |
| 2001 | Nominated | Outstanding Children's Series | Zoom[25] | |
| 2000 | Nominated | Zoom[26] | ||
| 1997 | Nominated | Emmy | Outstanding Children's Program | The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss[1][25] |
| 1996 | Nominated | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Children's Series | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?[25] |
| 1993 | Won | George Foster Peabody Award | Excellence for overall show | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? |
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