Merry Christmas 2025

 

The Crime Before Christmas: My Interview With Santa Claus

Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, ran my interview with Santa.

You can read the interview via the below link or the following text:

Davis: The crime before Christmas — my interview with Santa Claus - Philly Daily

As a newspaper crime reporter and columnist, I was compelled to look into a report of a burglary of an unemployed construction worker on Christmas Eve in South Philadelphia.

The burglar or burglars broke into the home early on the morning of the 24th. They stole the family’s TV and other household goods. They also took a dozen or so wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree that were intended for the family’s two children.

I interviewed the victim, who was so devastated by the burglary that he could hardly speak. I also spoke to a detective who said he presently had no leads on the case, but he planned to keep working it. I also spoke to a local priest who told me that the church was collecting donations for the poor family.

Lastly, I spoke to a man of great wisdom and experience. The jolly old fella was kind enough to pause during his special night out to talk to me about crime.

I interviewed Santa Claus as he was packing up his sleigh and getting ready to head off on his magical trip, bringing toys and goodies to good children around the world.

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow and the beard on his chin was white as snow. His eyes twinkled and his dimples were merry. His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry. He looked like a candidate for a heart attack.

And he smoked. The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth and the smoke encircled his head like a wreath (the Surgeon General would not approve). He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot (PETA would not approve) and his clothes were tarnished with ashes and soot (Mrs. Santa would not approve). With a lumpy sack over his shoulder, he looked like a homeless person.

I asked Santa Claus if the public’s fear of crime had changed how he did his job.

“The increased use of car and home burglar alarms makes my journey tougher, I must say,” Santa told me. “As you know, my miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer make such a clatter, they set off every car alarm on the block.”

Santa also said that home burglar alarms has made his surreptitious entry, via the fireplace, most difficult. When he slides down the chimney, he sets off alarms, which wakes the household and brings the police. 

Santa went on to say that the alarms ruin the surprise for the children, and he is often detained by the responding police officers, who demand identification and administer alcohol tests.

Fortunately, Santa looks like a right jolly old elf, so the police officers have to laugh, in spite of themselves. A wink of his eye and a twist of his head give the people who thought they were being robbed the knowledge that they had nothing to dread.

“I once had my sleigh and reindeer stolen while I was in a home setting up the toys, and I must admit that I paused to enjoy the milk and cookies that a child left me,” Santa said. “But with some kindly police officer’s help, I was able to recover the sleigh and reindeer rather quickly. You see my lead reindeer has a bright red nose and we were able to spot him from about three blocks away.”

Santa said his brush with crime made him understand why families were installing burglar alarms and why they were more concerned about a strange old fat man in red entering their home in the middle of the night. He told me that he was looking into some kind of security system for his sleigh as well.

I asked him about the burglary that occurred that morning in South Philly and he replied he was well aware of the sad incident.

“I plan to visit the house tonight on my rounds and with a little magic I’ll leave them some special gifts under their tree,” Santa explained. “I also did a little investigative work to find the crooks, as I have powers the police lack."

Santa said he discovered who the crooks were, and he tipped the police off. He also plans to leave the crooks lumps of coal in their stockings, which will be hung with care in the local jail.

“Don’t they know I’m watching?” Santa asked.” I know when they have been naughty or good. My surveillance techniques are finer than the FBI’s.”

“This should be a joyful time of year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ,” Santa said. “This should be a time of love, charity and good cheer.”

The interview concluded, he sprang to his sleigh and to his team gave a whistle and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

Note: With apologies to Clement C. Moore, I offer my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. 

My On Crime Fiction, True Crime & Thrillers Column: My Q&A With Ben Yagoda, The Author Of 'Alias O. Henry,' A Novel About The Late, Great Short Story Writer.

Ben Yagoda is the author, coauthor or editor of fourteen books, including an edition of O. Henry’s short stories for the Library of America. 

His latest book is Alias O. Henry, a biographical novel about short story writer O. Henry’s years in New York, 1902-1910. He was awarded Guggenheim and MacDowell Fellowships to pursue this project.

 

He has written about language, writing and many other topics for Slate.com, the New York Times Book Review and Magazine, The American Scholar, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and publications that start with every letter of the alphabet except X and Z.

 

Between 2011 and 2018, he contributed roughly one post a week to Lingua Franca, a Chronicle of Higher Education blog about language and writing. You can find links to some of his posts here.

 

He is a native of New Rochelle, New York; a graduate of Yale; and a resident of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. In 2018, he retired after twenty-five years teaching writing and journalism at the University of Delaware. Before that, he worked as a film critic for the Philadelphia Daily News and an editor for Philadelphia and other magazines. 

I reached out to Ben Yagoda (seen in the above photo) and asked him about Alias O. Henry. 

Davis: Why did you write a novel about O. Henry? 

Yagoda: My first thought was to write a biography. I started reading his short stories and was surprised at how much I liked many of them, especially the humor and the portrait they painted of life in New York City in the first decade of the twentieth century. (That led me to propose an O. Henry anthology of the Library of America, which they agreed to and which was published in 2021.) Then I started to read the previous biographies, and stopped when I came to Gerald Langford’s Alias O. Henry, published in the 1950s. I felt that Langford had done such a good job of ferreting out the knowable facts of O. Henry’s life (or I should say William Sydney Porter’s, as that was his real name), that I couldn’t add much.   

I pondered some other ways of writing about O. Henry and settled on a novel, in part because it would give me a chance to give an answer to some of the open questions about his life. For example, was he really guilty of embezzlement, for which he was tried and convicted in Texas in the late 1890s, and served three and half years in federal prison? Doubts have been raised about what really happened, in part because Porter said virtually nothing in his own defense at his trial. And why, once he settled in New York after his release from prison, did he so adamantly refuse to talk about or even acknowledge his prison experience? Treating his life as fiction would also give me the chance to propose origin stories for some of his stories, to create some characters it would be fun to hang around with for a couple of years, and, finally, to explore some of what was going in on New York in a fascinating period. I borrowed Gerald Langford’s title simply because I felt it was perfect.

Davis: Was his life as interesting as those of his fictional characters? 

Yagoda: In some ways yes, in some ways no. He wasn’t a safecracker like Jimmy Valentine or a kidnapper like the bumbling main characters in The Ransom of Red Chief, but he had a colorful history before he landed in New York—working at ranches in Texas, starting a humor magazine, and, after his initial arrest for embezzlement, absconding to Honduras, where he spent six months before returning home to stand trial. In New York, however, his real life (as opposed to in my book) was pretty dull, mainly consisting of sitting at his desk and writing stories, taking long walks in the city, and occasionally going out for drinks or meals with a small circle of friends.

Davis: How did his life experiences affect his fictional stories?

Yagoda: As noted above, he was very secretive in life, and in his writing, he was the opposite of an autobiographical writer. But he wrote about a fair number of criminals and lowlifes, to a large extent using experiences and information he had gleaned from his fellow inmates while in prison. And he has a number of very clever stories about writers and writing, such as Tommy’s Burglar and Proof of the Pudding.  

Davis: How did you research the life of O. Henry? How did you research the O. Henry era of New York? 

Yagoda: On O. Henry’s life, I read all the biographies, the most useful of which were Langford’s, plus a few written in the 1920s and ‘30s by people who actually knew him, like Robert Davis and Al Jennings, both of whom are characters in my novel. On the era, I kind of went off the deep end, consulting dozens of histories, contemporary accounts of novels, and delving into newspapers, magazines, and documents like the handwritten reports of investigators who went undercover to expose what was going on in brothels. In fact, I had to make a concerted effort to stop researching and start writing.

Davis: How much of the novel is fact and fiction? 

Yagoda: The background and information given about the real-life people who show up in the book—Porter, Jennings, and Davis, plus Bat Masterson and Hattie Rose and a number of figures in more or less cameo roles—is more or less true, but every scene in the book, and of course the dialogue and thoughts I describe, is made up.

Davis: Did O. Henry really meet and work with Bat Masterson and other real people you write about in the novel? 

Yagoda: No question that Bob Davis was his editor. As for Masterson and the others, all I will say is that the interactions are plausible.  

Davis: Was he truly blackmailed about his past life in prison?

Yagoda: Perhaps.

Davis: Why did O. Henry write so many stories about crime and criminals? 

Yagoda: Excellent question! In part because such stories are perennially interesting, in part because (as I mentioned above) he had gotten a lot of good material from his fellow inmates, and also possibly in part because even as he was obsessively private about his criminal past in his daily life, he may have felt compelled to share part of it on the page.

Davis: Do you have a favorite O. Henry story? 

Yagoda: The famous ones - Gift of the Magi, A Retrieved Reformation, The Ransom of Red Chief, The Last Leaf, The Cop and the Anthem - all hold up well. But when asked to name my favorite, I generally pick a lesser known one, An Unfinished Story, where O. Henry confronts more directly (and angrily) than anywhere else the economic pressure young working women in New York were under, and the choices that pressure forced them into.

Davis: Why do you think O. Henry is still being read today? 

Yagoda: Simple—he was a great storyteller. 

Davis: What do you believe is his place in American literature?   

Yagoda: When he died in 1910, he was one of the most successful and popular writers in the country. But pretty quickly the times started to pass him by, as writers like Ernest Hemingway, John O’Hara, Sally Benson, and John Cheever used the short story to present slices of life (often fairly grim ones), while O. Henry’s touchstones of wry humor or pathos and heavy plotting, especially his trademark twist endings, came off as old-fashioned. But he continued and continues to be read in middle schools and high schools (where I first encountered him), and I hope that this novel and the anthology I edited will eventually help him to regain a little stature as a splendid storyteller, a deft humorist, and a true craftsman who made his adopted city of New York his own.

Davis: Thank you for speaking to me today.

Note: You can read my Washington Times On Crime column on O. Henry via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: O. Henry's Humor, Pathos, Drama And Irony: 'My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On 'O. Henry 101 Stories' 

Cirque Dreams Holidaze Spectacular

Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears, reports that The Cirque Dreams Holidaze Spectacular will be offered at the Miller Theater from December 23^rd to December 28^th.

You can read the piece via the below link:

Cirque Dreams Holidaze Spectacular - Philly Daily 

A Look Back At Bob Hope Singing The Original 'Silver Bells' In 'The Lemon Drop Kid' Film

I love Christmas songs, and I’ll continue to listen to them this holiday season until New Year’s Day. 

I love many of the classic Christmas songs, which have been covered by the great old singers, such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and others.    

Silver Bells is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Many of the famous crooners, like Dean Martin, have covered the song, but few remember that it was the late, great comedian Bob Hope who first sang the song in the 1951 film, The Lemon Drop Kid. 

While most people remember Bob Hope for his wonderful USO shows for the troops and his TV specials, he was also a talented comic actor, starring with Bing Crosby in the “Road” film series, and he stared in several films based on Damon Runyon’s short crime stories, such as The Lemon Drop Kid.    

You can hear Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell sing Silver Bells from The Lemon Drop Kid via the below link:

 Silver Bells - with Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell (from "The Lemon Drop Kid") - YouTube

You can also watch the film via the below link: 

  Bing Videos

And you can read about the song and film via the below link:

 http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/453448%7C453708/The-Lemon-Drop-Kid.html 

Note: Damon Runyon is one of my favorite writers. In addition to The Lemon Drop Kid, I also like other films based on Damon Runyon stories, such as Guys and Dolls and A Pocket Full of Miracles. 

A Look Back At The Beaton Marionette's 'The Nativity' And 'Twas The Night Before Christmas'

I recall a conversation I had with my granddaughter some years ago about old Christmas traditions. I told her that her grandparents and millions of others used to watch the Beaton Marionettes on TV every year as they performed The Nativity and Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

Marionettes pouncing from strings must seem very low-tech and primitive to a preteen and teenager today, but when we were children in the 1950's and 1960's the marionettes were magical, and we loved them. We watched them every year as we grew up.

The two programs were narrated by the late, great actor Alexander Scourby (seen in the above photo). Scourby also portrayed C. Clement Moore, the author of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The TV programs brings back fond memories of Christmas as a child. My parents did not have a lot of money, but they always provided a grand Christmas holiday for our family.

You can watch the two short programs via the below links: 

Twas the Night Before Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzNJxLvbRrM

Part One of The Nativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXCNTW2glEw&playnext=1&list=PLEE47A548FC0AC749&index=15

Part Two of The Nativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1sCa5pBLo&feature=related 

Christmas Toys Portend the Future

As we approach Christmas, I’m thinking of my wife, my grown children and my grandchildren and another good year. 

I’m also thinking of my later mother and father, Edward M. Davis and Claire Ann Wardino-Davis. 

As I noted in earlier post, when I was about 11 or 12 in the early 1960s, I told my mother that I wanted to be a writer. I asked her to buy me a typewriter, and I told her that if I had a typewriter, I would be a published writer in a year.   

Paul Davis On Crime: One Special Christmas Gift Remembered  

This was a bad time to ask for extravagant gifts, as my father was hurt on the job and he was out of work. We were poor, but we never went hungry nor did we did not want for any of the basic necessities. In one of last conversations with my older brother Edward R. Davis, we agreed that despite our poor background, we had a happy childhood thanks to our parents. 

I don’t know how my mother did it, but she purchased an Olivetti Underwood typewriter for Christmas that year. It took me a lot longer than a year to become a published writer, but I finally did become a professional writer. (I have the typewriter still and it works, although I use a computer these days.)  

Because of our financial status back then, my older brother and I were allowed only one big gift for Christmas (although we got socks and underwear in our hung stockings). 

Supermarkets in the early 1960s placed the big gifts on top of the shelves that held their products. Some were based on TV shows. One year, I asked for the Wyatt Earp set, which included a street in Dodge City and toy figures of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and other notable characters from the popular TV show and from history. I loved the TV show, and I loved the toy set.  

Another year I asked for the Zorro set, based on the Walt Disney TV series Zorro. The set included the cantina and the hacienda and toy figures of Zorro/Don Diego de la Vega, Zorro’s deaf-mute servant Bernado, and the comical soldier Sergeant Garcia. Like Wyett Earp, I loved the TV show, and I loved the toy set.

I selected a 2 or 3-foot toy aircraft carrier during a later year. The toy carrier, which resembles the above photo up to a point, but my carrier was better built and more realistic. The carrier had toy aircraft, flight deck and hander bay equipment, toy pilots and flight deck sailors.    

And the following year, I asked for a 2 or 3-foot-long submarine with a see-through plastic removable top that showed the various compartments of a ballistic submarine and the sailors aboard the submarine. I searched for a similar model via Google and eBay, but I found mothering like it.

That year I had my own Navy in the living room with aircraft carrier and my submarine. I wonder now if my toy ships did indeed portend the future.

I enlisted in the Navy when I was 17 years old and I was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War. I was not assigned to a submarine after the war, but I received orders to a 100-foot-long Navy Harbor Tugboat that was assigned to the U.S. Nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland. Owning and playing with the toy ships could be regarded as training.   

Sadly, as I grew older and stopped playing with toys, I threw out my Navy ships. I wish I still had them, as they would adorn the top of my bookcases in my basement office and library, along with my photos and other mementos from my years in the Navy.