Wednesday, December 24, 2025 |
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This is one of my favorite stories we published this year. It's about the men who play Santa Claus at Macy's. One of them is a legend among the Santas. This is a man who brought joy to thousands of people—until his life skidded out of control. His story is one of failure, grace, and, maybe, redemption. In other words, it's a Christmas story. I hope you enjoy it. And if you celebrate, I hope you have a merry Christmas. —Michael Sebastian, editor in chief Plus: |
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Bob Rutan is legendary among the tight-knit fraternity of Macy's Santa Clauses. Like many of these men, playing Santa changed Bob. Profoundly. |
For the first time in years, people were glad to see Billy. The kids' smiles weren't for him, exactly. They weren't for Billy, the person. They were for Santa. But somehow that didn't matter. The gig provided a variation on exposure therapy. Instead of making him face down a phobia in short bursts, it gave him those smiles, which accumulated—some gap-toothed, some nervous, every one of them happy—until eventually they made him happy too. He switched from vodka to light beer. He started booking two-hundred-dollar-an-hour corporate Santa gigs. He reconnected with his son and even employed him as an elf. The easy explanation would be that playing Santa Claus saved Billy and that the magic of Christmas had wrapped its warm glow around another lost soul. That's what Billy thought. That's what a lot of men who worked at Macy's thought when they, too, found happiness sitting in a gold-painted chair wearing a red costume. But there was something else at work on Thirty-fourth Street. Something more profound. A better story, actually. |
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When it comes to picking your very own signature scent, where do you start? How on earth do you go about identifying a blend of smells that perfectly captures the multifaceted nature of your identity or, hell, your very sense of self? You literally just have to follow your nose. Like, just find one that smells good to you. It's always nice to know what kind of scents you gravitate toward—woods, spices, freshness—to help cut through the options quickly. But even with that knowledge, the most important thing you need to do is put that nose to the bottle. |
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How often do the giants—the true giants, the All-Timers, the icons, the capi di tutti capi—get together? Not often. Not nearly often enough. In these days of manufactured stardom and celebrity du jour, hardly ever. That's why Esquire asked these two guys—these two monsters—to get together, mano a Santa, for a little Noel nosh and Yuletide yammer. The place: Bistro Latino, 1711 Broadway, New York, New York. Santa had the paella. Murray had a salad. Brandy was served. From the December 1998 issue of Esquire... Claus: Have you been a good boy? Murray: As good as I've ever been. |
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