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Robert Wagner plays Santa By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it One of Hollywood's most famous couples is becoming the most famous couple of Christmas. Show-business veter- ans and spouses Robert Wagner and Jill St. John are more than a bit sur- prised to find themselves playing mates with the last name Claus. They appear as Santa and the Mrs. in "Northpole," a Hallmark Channel fantasy movie de- buting Saturday, Nov. 15. "My mouth dropped open," recalls recurring "NCIS" guest star Wagner of receiving the offer. "I'd never thought of that one. We both have tremendous respect for Hallmark. When they asked us to do this, we were kind of, 'What?' " They accepted, though, and St. John — known to James Bond fans as Tiffany Case to Sean Con- nery's 007 in "Diamonds Are Forever" — reports that "off we went to Mon- treal, filming outside in the winter at night. We were very grateful for our wigs, because they were like hats." Indeed, the actress fore- goes her famously red hair in the picture. "I learned one very important thing from this film," St. John notes. "I will never let my hair go white." The cause for Claus in "Northpole" is helping young Kevin (Max Charles, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman"), his familiar voice emanat- ing from the image of Santa. "They didn't want to do the 'Ho, ho, ho' kind of Santa, then when we got to the looping (dialogue re-recording), they had me put some of those in." The Wagners' screen time in "Northpole" is lim- ited, but St. John also is visible — still in her Mrs. Claus garb — in a market- ing campaign for Hallmark holiday items. "When you think of Santa Claus, at least from my childhood, you think of Hallmark cards with Santa on them," she maintains. "Now I find out I'm married to him!" The husband-and-wife performers got their own sense of a winter won- derland while "Northpole" was being filmed. "When we walked onto the set, we were both really taken aback," Wagner says. "They had taken a street in Mon- treal's Old City and had all the windows and the whole street lit. It was like going onto the MGM lot." Even before "Northpole" is shown, Hallmark Chan- nel has ordered a sequel for the same time next year. At this writing, the Wagners weren't officially attached to that, but St. John concludes that mak- ing the first movie was "a nice experience with nice people. And you can't com- plain about the Clauses." Max Charles and Tiffani Thiessen stars in "Northpole," a Hallmark Channel movie premiering Saturday. the son of a busy reporter (Tiffani Thiessen), keep the seasonal spirit. The boy even visits Santa's home, thanks to an elf (Bailee Madison, "Trophy Wife"). Josh Hopkins ("Cougar Town") also stars as Kev- in's teacher. Iconic for his suave im- age in such series as "It Takes a Thief" and "Hart to Hart," Wagner allows "it was pretty jarring" to hear 2 The Goshen News • TV Spotlight • November 10 - 16, 2014 KARAOKE!!! FRIDAY 9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT! AY FRIDAY GHT! 9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT 9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT 9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT! KA KARA RAOK OKE!!! KARAOK OKE! E!!! !! KA KARA RAOK OK OK OKE! E! E! E!!! !! !! FRIDAY FRIDAY Maple City Bowl 1300 W. PIKE ST. • GOSHEN, IN 46526 574-533-8564 www.MapleCityBowl.com at... COSMIC BOWLING HOURS... FRI. 9:30 PM – 12:00 AM SAT. 1:00 – 3:00 PM & 8 PM – MIDNIGHT BUY ONE GAME GET ONE FREE EXP 2-28-15 Say It On Page 2 Of The • Announcements • Birthdays • Memorials • Special Events • Congratulations Advertisements must be paid in advance. Contact us for deadlines and prices. 574-533-2151 or 800-487-2151 ext. 398

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