Jonathan Meath

 ( Living People ) 

Jonathan Meath (born September 16, 1955) is an American television producer and director. He was senior producer of the television game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? He also was a producer of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and the 1990s' remake of Zoom. 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, at Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes, on the cover of Boston Magazine, and on a Delta Air Lines' pre-flight safety demonstration. He was described by NPR and Time as a "top Santa".Olivia B. Waxman, Dec. 09, 2013, Time Magazine, These Are the 11 Best Santas in the U.S. – And where to find them, Accessed Dec. 10, 2013

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Television career Meath attended Phillips Academy and graduated in 1974 with the school's first co–educational class. 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. 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.

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Career

Meath, whose beard and hair went white early in life, noticed that children sometimes called him "Santa". He is slightly overweight — he has described himself as an "organic Santa" — and his wife bought him a red suit. He attended schools to learn the craft of being a Santa. He appeared in parades. He is a professional vocalist. In 2012, he appeared as Santa at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular show in New York City. Meath uses his real beard but conditions it with a "shimmer-like shampoo known as Cowboy Magic, and uses hair gel for his mustache. His role as Santa was described in numerous publications. In 2009, he appeared in a thirty-second television commercial spot for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

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Personal life

Meath has one child and lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His mother was activist and historian Mary Stewart Hewitt. 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. Through this, Meath is distantly related to John Kerry. Meath's daughter, Amelia Meath, is a member of the bands Mountain Man and Sylvan Esso.

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Awards

2005		Carnegie Medal	Excellence in children's videos	FableVision's The Dot
		Daytime Emmy	Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series	Paz
2001			Outstanding Children's Series	Zoom
2000				Zoom
1997		Emmy Award	Outstanding Children's Program	The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
1996		Daytime Emmy	Outstanding Children's Series	Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
1993		George Foster Peabody Award	Excellence for overall show	Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

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External links

• Jonathan Meath on NPR as Santa
• Santa JG website
• Santa JG on Facebook
• see 2:19

Categories: Living People, Television Producers From Massachusetts, Santa Claus, Businesspeople From Cambridge, Massachusetts, Phillips Academy Alumni, Tisch School Of The Arts Alumni, 1955 Births

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