"In a certain time, in a certain land, once there lived and once there was...."
How do you do? I'm the one called Dooley. I'm part of an unusual group of magical beings known as the Vendequm --- but up here at the Top of the World, we would prefer that you refer to us as elves. Now, we're not just any kind of elves, mind you. It so happens that we work for the most magical person in the Multiverse. I believe you Humans refer to him as Santa Claus.
Now, in case you're a bit confused as to how we go about doing our jobs here at North Pole Headquarters (or NPH, as we call it), let me start off by using my own duties as an example. What I do, basically, as Santa's Senior Second-in-Command, is look after the community of elves who live here, deal with all the letters we receive from you, the good children of the world [no matter how old you are!], and --- most famously of all! --- I'm also the elf in charge of that celebrated list of who is naughty and who is nice. I won't say who's on either list; that's privileged information!
At any rate, my job right now is to welcome you to KringleQuest.com --- celebrating the Alexander and Ilya Salkind Production "Santa Claus: The Movie," starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston (as Santa, of course!), Judy Cornwell, Burgess Meredith, Jeffrey Kramer; and introducing Christian Fitzpatrick and Carrie Kei Heim. (I should make a brief reference, by the way, to the contributions of John Barrard, who is one of Britain's finer veteran character actors. He it was who had the dubious honor of portraying me! Quite a noble calling, don't you think?)
Anyway, let me now explain to you the reasons behind KringleQuest.com. For almost two decades now, Richard Washington has assembled an impressive collection of Santa Claus-related stuff: films, books, photographs, clippings, articles and entire sections from various newspapers and magazines, Mr. Washington's own original drawings --- and even video footage!
And always at the heart of it all has been director Jeannot Szwarc's incredible holiday odyssey, in which we are introduced to the wily, imaginative visionary elf Patch (played by Moore). The tale told in "Santa Claus: The Movie" follows Patch on a journey of discovery, as he becomes the first of Santa's elves to experience first-hand the full spectrum of the human condition in all its forms.
Now, here at KringleQuest.com, our mission is to bring you, from here in cyberspace, some of the major fragments from Richard Washington's Christmas collection. Here, then, is what we hope to share with you as these pages continue their epic countdown to November 27th, 2005 --- Santa Claus: The Movie's 20th Anniversary:
And I need hardly mention that KringleQuest.com is your one-stop source for the full saga of the making of "Santa Claus: The Movie"! You'll visit the incredible sets constructed for the film at England's Pinewood Studios, meet the Cast, explore The Complete Credits, journey through Santa's Life at the Movies, sing along with The Lyrics to all seven original songs --- and, of course, shake hands with the unstoppable members of Team Salkind, whose combined efforts made the whole thing possible!
In addition, our Official Guestbook is now operational, too --- so now, whether you wish to sign it or view it, you can venture into this brand-new forum where Santa Claus: The Movie fans can leave messages for Santa or myself, talk about their favorite scenes or characters from the film, and maybe reveal their own holiday traditions!
Finally, and to speak seriously for the benefit of those of you who may or may not have known: Alexander Salkind, the man whose vision, persistence and awesome diligence helped to make this uniquely magical movie a reality, passed away on March 8th, 1997, at the age of 76. Needless to say, we KringleQuesters have included herein our own little shrine to his memory. Alexander, you see, was more than just a good friend to us here at NPH. Why, considering the various ways whereby he helped our next-door neighbor here at the Top of the World --- some of you might know this particular fellow as Superman --- well, let us simply say that we Vendequm owe Alexander and his son Ilya a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay.
And more recently, we lost our one and only Patch --- Dudley Moore --- to the incurable brain disorder called PSP. Check out our special tribute, Remembering Dudley.
So, now that you know what we intend to be up to around here, welcome to what we hope will be THE ultimate online Santa site --- where you may discover almost everything you've ever wanted to know about the Distinguished Mr. Claus .....and a little bit more! Have fun exploring, but just remember: behave yourselves --- and no peeking!
Welcome to KringleQuest.com! As our nonstop quest to make the world believe in Santa all over again continues, all of our best segments have now been assembled into an archival room we call KringleQuest.com Special Features. There, you can examine for yourselves some of the incredible stuff we've alerted you fans to over our nearly five years of existence on the web!
When this site began almost 5 years ago, we called ourselves SCTM.com: A 15th Anniversary Tribute; now, as we mark our one-year anniversary under our present name --- KringleQuest.com --- we realize that there's a lot more Santa-related things for us to do than ever before! And as always, with your support, we'll do 'em better than any other Santa site on the web!
And as you might expect, we'll be putting the finishing touches on "The Story, Act III," and "The Story, Act IV!" And Dooley's Links likewise continues to expand. And remember, you're always welcome to have a look and stop by at any time!
For you new visitors, our site's name refers to Richard Washington's book project idea, KringleQuest! How Santa Claus: The Movie Changed My Life. Once the book is properly written and published, it will eventually serve as this website's official companion piece.
Plus, we were recognized as an Official Alexander Salkind Tribute Site by the Superman Web Central!
But in early May, 2002, as if losing Dudley Moore wasn't bad enough, Hiphats shut down his Superman Web Central --- having fought valiantly since September 1996 for Truth, Justice and the Internet Way. But all is not necessarily lost, for Hiphats plans to reactivate the site soon, and just in time to celebrate Superman: The Movie's 25th Anniversary! We KringleQuesters congratulate Hiphats and his Web Central team for all their efforts in making the SuperDVD a reality; and we thank all of you Salkind fans as well for having supported the team through your cards, letters and e-mails. In the meantime, we invite you to check out Richard Washington's Superman: The Movie pages, as our Senior Elf-in-Charge joins the ranks of those with a passion for Superman on the web! Thanks for everything, Hiphats. Because of you, we are indeed "part of the same team."
This just in, John Lithgow fans: if you thought that Marsupial Sue and The Remarkable Farkle McBride were something, wait till you meet Micawber! He's the star of our nasty ol' B.Z.'s third children's book, wherein John reteams with Farkle artist C.F. Payne! As was the case with Marsupial Sue, the simple story of a kangaroo who doesn't really like to hop around, Micawber will include an accompanying CD featuring John. Click onto the SimonSays page from Simon & Schuster to find out more! And to find out more about John's continuing Farkle & Friends series of concerts for young people, click here! And if you still need your daily dose of Dick Solomon on 3rd Rock, then check out 3rdrock.com for the latest adventures of your fave alien cool guy! John also stars, of course, as the voice of Lord Farquaard in Dreamworks Pictures/Pacific Data Images' hilarious adventure/fantasy, Shrek, based on William Steig's rather silly fairy tale satire! Shrek, currently available on VHS and DVD, has won the new Best Animated Feature Academy Award; click on Shrek.com to explore the full impact of Shrek's semi-wonderful world!
This August, legendary Santa to the Stars Brady White will once again don his familiar "Santa O'Claus" regalia, as he hosts his annual Night of Irish Music, at the Town Gazebo in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in support of the Margaret Brady-Chellel Alzheimer's Respite Care Fund! Brady will be joined by some of New England's top Celtic/Gaelic musicians and singers; and, as always, the festivities kick off with Brady making his grand entrance to the skirlin' provided by Ledyard, Connecticut's Scottish Ambassadors, the Mystic Highlanders' Bagpipe Band! Click here for the official event description!
Last year, we received an e-mail from JLKitten@hotmail.com, in which the hope was expressed that we would try to locate Christian Fitzpatrick, who portrayed young, streetwise Joe in SCTM. Kitten, we here at KringleQuest.com are only too happy to fulfill your request, so:
Christian, wherever you are: If you are seeing this website now, please get in touch --- write, phone, e-mail, whatever it takes! Just let us know what you're up to, and how you're getting on in life. In fact, if you do see this website, please contact: KringleQuest, c/o EPE Holdings, Inc., Attn: Mr. Richard Washington, Suite 14-E, 15948 Harlem River Drive, New York, NY 10039-1012 USA; or e-mail pirate1_power@hotmail.com or blackbeardian@yahoo.com; and we'll be more than pleased to update Santa Claus: The Movie fans about what's become of their favorite little cool guy Joe!
We recently joined Santa's Lapland Christmas Club, where everybody who knows a lot about Korvatunturi can go to chat, spread goodwill and a lot of other nice stuff. Click here to explore the place for yourself!
Anchor Bay Entertainment's VHS and DVD presentations of Santa Claus: The Movie are available in director's pan-and-scan AND widescreen versions! You can find them in participating video stores and online at Amazon.com! You can also click onto the Anchor Bay homepage for a complete list of Anchor Bay DVD titles; or click here for an updated Footnote to our Alexander Salkind: In Memoriam segment!
And KringleQuest.com is still on the case concerning our bid to turn the story of Alexander and Ilya Salkind into the next E! True Hollywood Story! Please e-mail us for additional details!
Remember, KringleQuest.com is part of Richard Washington's Blackbeard's Castle collection, so we hope that you'll leave a holiday message for us, or for any of the Blackbeard's Castle cast members, by e-mailing us, at either pirate1_power@hotmail.com or at blackbeardian@yahoo.com!
And whether you're an elf or not, you're invited to visit the other pages of Richard Washington's Blackbeard's Castle: Blackwolf the Dragonmaster's Dark Chambers; Uncle Fergus' Bagpipers' Paradise!; The Quartet of the Longbeards; Edward VII: The Homepage; Baron Olen Forkbeard's Sterlingshire Pages; Tales from Berenicia and Old Man Fiddler!
