RI's famous 'Santa to the Stars' has died. Christmas will lose some shine without him

PAWTUCKET – ‘Twas the day of his funeral and all through the pews, sad faces turned as Santa’s casket rolled into view.

They had come to Pawtucket's Holy Family Parish Church to say goodbye to Michael J. Chellel, 74, who for 30 years had been known around the world – from Beverly Hills to the Swiss Alps, to the glossy Christmas catalogs of Cartier and Neiman Marcus – as “Santa to the Stars.”

A simple guy from Pawtucket and Narragansett who, through good fortune and his almost mystical embodiment of the jolliest of men, eyes ever twinkling, had offered a knee to movie stars and countless children alike.

He was, as the Rev. Bernard O’Reilly told about 70 funeral attendees three weeks ago, an ambassador of joy who had lived a remarkable life.

So precious was his image that Lloyds of London insured his natural beard. He appeared at White House gatherings and his list of celebrity clients included Stallone, Madonna, Travolta, Clooney and Streisand. He was said to have met both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

'Michael was a saint walking among us'

Sue Stenhouse, of Warwick, found herself wiping away tears after leaving Chellel's funeral, not just for the passing of the man she had come to know after years of “stalking” his appearances each Christmas, her two boys in tow, but the loss of her paragon of Santa Claus.

“Isn’t it awful? I'm a fully grown adult woman and I’m so sad,” she said. “To me, Santa is a saint and Michael was a walking saint among us. He just made an incredible connection with so many people. I think of him as Santa.”

"I've been very blessed," Chellel told the Journal in a 1992 feature story in which he recalled some highlights of his costumed career.

Once during a holiday party at composer Burt Bacharach’s California home, Chellel said he had finished his Santa routine and retired to the kitchen for dinner. He slung his red jacket over a chair, sat down in his undershirt and suspenders and dug in. When suddenly, who should appear? Why, none other than Elizabeth Taylor.

"My God," the actress said. "You're such a beautiful Santa.”

"It was amazing," Chellel said. "There I was in my undershirt, eating turkey, and here's Elizabeth Taylor, and she's got these huge, beautiful diamond earrings on. They looked like icebergs."

How he became 'Santa to the stars'

Chellel left Pawtucket in the 1970s after he graduated from Roger Williams College and flirted with the priesthood – "I mistook the altar for a stage," he once joked.

He went to Hollywood in search of a bit part in the movie "The Sting." He didn't get that part, but he found his way onto TV shows like "Rhoda" and "Mork and Mindy" and a few radio shows.

Out of work and behind on rent, he took a job as a mall Santa. Luck struck. The Los Angeles Herald Examiner sent kids to Southern California's malls to vote on the best Santa. Chellel won.

"With that, I had two agents come to the mall," Chellel said. "One said that if I grew a real beard, I could make a fortune." And he did.

The New York Times once called him "the ultimate Santa.” Authenticity played a part in his success. That meant a legitimate long white beard that took years to grow, real plump red cheeks and an honest-to-goodness fat belly, expanding his waistline from an almost svelte 34 inches to a jollier 54 inches.

Chellel stood 6 feet 2 and weighed 280 pounds.

He told The Journal in 1992 he liked to indulge, and that the Hollywood stars loved to oblige.

He said he left one Christmas party clutching a doggie bag of 30 jumbo shrimp, Beluga caviar, designer pizza and chocolate truffles.

Chellel, who also went by the stage name Brady White, also owned a California catering business and conceived and owned “Michael’s Memory Map,” a guide to the final resting places of the movie stars.

In past years, he served as a eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Church in Pawtucket and at Our Lady of Grace Church in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where he would spend some of the year and where he was the host of the television program, “Hello from San Giovanni Rotondo.”

For Sue Stenhouse and others who knew him fondly, the light of Christmas will dim a bit this year without Michael Chellel.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand that when you become Santa, it’s not just a part of a play that you can leave when the production is over,” she said. “He had to live this exemplary life his entire life. And he was just that.”

Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brady White, Santa to the stars, died. Remembering his legacy