Canton native portrayed Santa on TV, in movies and during personal appearances

Canton actor Paul Richard "Pete" Schrum played both a sentimental and a serious Santa.

The burly and bearded actor from Canton was perhaps best known for his 1980s recurring role as Uncle Ed Kanisky in the television situation comedy "Gimme a Break," according to an obituary posted at theintelligencer.com on Feb. 21, 2003. He died of a heart attack at age 68.

"In a career that spanned three decades, Schrum played everything from prospectors to salesmen, villains to henchmen," the obituary said.

But, he might be best loved for portraying Santa Claus in Coca-Cola ads running for more than a decade beginning in the 1990s.

Ironically in 1984, Schrum also played a more violent Santa in the movie "Trancers."

A 2015 article ― "Bad Santas: 15 St. Nicks that would ruin your Christmas," posted at the website empireonline.com ― profiles Schrum's brief "Bad Santa" performance in the film.

"Sent back in time to 1985 ... cop Jack Deth encounters Larry, a department store Santa who suddenly shoves a child from his knee," explains the profile. Schrum, as Santa, had been turned into a zombie-like "trancer." He ends up getting shot in front of the kids.

Interestingly, the part ― the role of Santa in a store, not the violent nature of the character ― was natural for Schrum.

"Pete," as he was called by friends in Canton, portrayed the Mellett Mall Santa for nine years.

Peter Schrum called Canton his home

Schrum was born Paul Richard Shrum in Mercy Hospital in Canton in December 1934, according to Rosemarie Shrum Moore of North Canton, his sister, when she talked to the Repository not long after his death in 2003.

A family of Italian heritage gave him the moniker "Pete."

"My grandfather called him Pietro Pauli, and it kind of stuck," Moore had said in 2003. "Everybody knew him by Pete, even in school, from when he was a little boy."

For some reason, journalists and others who had to write his name knew him as Schrum, adding a "c" to his surname.

"After awhile, Pete didn't bother to correct them, and it became his stage name," Moore had recalled.

An obituary written for The Canton Repository by G. Patrick Kelley chronicled Schrum's attendence at schools in the Canton area. "He left (Central Catholic) high school before graduation and joined the Marines, then worked in construction, and as a steelworker."

It was while in school that Schrum developed a passion for acting. So, stage performances ― labor under the lights ― followed Schrum's blue-collar work, Kelley noted, listing Players Guild, Canal Fulton Dinner Theater and Kenley Players among Schrum's local credits.

The local theater work forever tied the actor to Stark County even after he left Ohio for Hollywood.

'Pete Schrum was fiercely proud of his roots in Canton.'

"Pete Schrum was fiercely proud of his roots in Canton," wrote Dick Deitrick, a fellow Cantonian, in a letter to the Repository following his chum's passing. "He worked in many jobs. I met him at 30th and Market at the Atlantic Station where I worked with my cousin after school and on weekends."

Deitrick recalled some additional memories of Schrum as he spoke to a reporter when he brought the letter to the newspaper.

"I remember I gave him a hat once when he was home, and he wore it on all sorts of TV shows and movies," he said.

As did many of the actor's friends, Deitrick remembered the Santa-sized man with fondness.

"He was a big guy with a warm smile as big as the heart within him," Deitrick had written in his letter in 2003. "He had courage and a certain dignity."

Schrum was the sort of man one could imagine as Santa. Gregarious. Kind. Generous.

"I remember bringing Pete an adopted kid (while he was the Mellett Mall Santa)," wrote Deitrick. "This kid had a lot of problems. Pete and Maureen, his wife, absolutely rolled the red carpet out for this little girl. To this day, the people who witnessed this extra special Santa and his lovely helper will never forget the love and expressions of kindness."

In his letter, Deitrick recalled when Schrum moved to California to seek acting jobs there.

"He said that when he came back he would have everybody for a spaghetti dinner," he said.

But, the actor's hurried visits to his hometown never seemed to afford time for more than a meal shared in a restaurant.

"But, if I'd have reminded him about the spaghetti dinner, he probably would have dragged the entire neighborhood to it," Deitrick guessed. "He was just a big, funny, friendly guy."

Time spent acting in Hollywood

Because he looked happy, many of his more than three dozen parts in movies and television shows portrayed that part of his personality.

During the 1980s, appearances in such shows as "The Jeffersons," "Trapper John, M.D.," "Fantasy Island," "T.J. Hooker," "Silver Spoons," "Family Ties," and "Valerie" were among his credits. In the 1990s, his roles included characters in "Night Court," "True Colors," and as "Santa #2" in an episode of "Father Dowling Mysteries." Other parts were in "Matlock" and "Dynasty."

It has been reported that Schrum once approached a well-known producer about a serious part as a bad guy. The producer is said to have told him "I can't cast you, you're too nice."

Schrum exploded in anger at the rejection. He pounded his fist. He appeared enraged, until he turned to the producer and said, "See, I can be mean and ugly if you just give me a chance."

The producer, visibly shaken, then smiled, and he gave Schrum a part. But, it was a "nice guy" role.

Oh, there were occasional more violent or evil roles: the bad Santa in "Trancers" in the 1980s and the shotgun-wielding bartender Lloyd in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in the 1990s.

The part for which Schrum was most well known was his work as the Coca-Cola Santa Claus. The commercial role was so fun and fulfilling for Schrum, his movie industry biography notes, that he took a break from working in television and films for years.

The actor's absence from both big and little screens took a more dramatic turn in 1999, when Schrum was seriously injured in a car accident near his home in Prescott, Arizona, where he lived in his later years. According to an article in the Repository following the accident, Schrum's sports utility vehicle was struck in the side by a pickup truck. He suffered multiple injuries which required facial reconstruction and leg surgery.

Although Schrum survived the near-fatal crash, his injuries eventually forced him to give up the charity work he did ― appearing as Santa ― for the Mary Volpes Angel Foundation, helping the Canton organization aid local families in need at Christmas.

Repository columnist Jim Weber chronicled a few of Schrum's appearances for the Volpe Foundation during a visit to Canton in 1999, while he still was feeling the effects of his injuries. The list of Schrum's stops as Santa in Stark County was lengthy and kept him busy from Tuesday through Friday, Weber wrote in his column on Dec. 11, 1999.

"Pete was dragging Friday morning, but vowing to satisfactorily complete his appointed rounds," wrote Weber.

Older children appreciated Schrum's painful efforts, as well.

A resident at an assisted living and nursing home in Perry Township who had spoken to Santa later said that Schrum's visit was "the best thing that ever happened to me."

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com.

On Twitter: @gbrownREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Actor Pete Schrum loved his hometown of Canton