Eric Schmitt-Matzen answered the call as Santa Claus to give a dying Tennessee boy a special few last moments Lindsay Kimble is the Executive Editor, News at PEOPLE. She have been working at ...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Eric Schmitt-Matzen looks every bit the Santa Claus. His 6-foot frame carries 310 pounds, leaving “just enough of a lap for the kids to sit on,” he says with a gentle ...

Eric Schmitt-Matzen has been a professional Santa for 9 years. His wife, ... A professional Santa said he almost hung up his suit for good after a heart-wrenching experience at a child's death bed.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen Facebook. Just like Santa, the heartwrenching story of a sick boy dying in Old Saint Nick’s arms may not be real, according to the Tennessee paper that originally published ...

Eric Schmitt-Matzen told the Knoxville News Sentinel that a 5-year-old boy died in his arms while he was playing Santa, but now the Knoxville News Sentinel said it cannot verify the story.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee -- Santa Claus is known the world over for acts of compassion, but what Eric Schmitt-Matzen did in a Tennessee hospital recently may be the jolly old soul's greatest gift of ...

Eric J. Schmitt-Matzen, 60, plays Santa Claus every year in Tennessee, but considered giving it up after a heartbreaking encounter with a terminally ill boy. A terminally ill boy died in Santa ...

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, of Tennessee, got a call from a nurse at his local hospital who told him he had to go "right now" to visit a boy who wanted to meet Santa - without even enough time to ...

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, whose Santa story was originally shared by Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable, says the account of a terminally ill five-year-old boy dying in his arms at a ...

Eric Schmitt-Matzen spreads Christmas cheer year-round and grants wishes as Santa Claus. His long white beard and curled mustache makes him perfect for the part.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen spreads Christmas cheer year-round and grants wishes as Santa Claus. His long white beard and curled mustache makes him perfect for the part.