Irish bar Lefty O’Doul’s will be hosting a wake for John Toomey, the well-loved character who served as Santa Claus at Macy’s Union Square for twenty years until he was infamously fired last December for telling some uptight adults a semi-baudy joke. Toomey, 69, passed away last week.
Lift a glass to Kris Kringle, or the closest SF will get ever to him, this Friday at Lefty O’Douls. Dubbed an “irish wake” the event will feature a celebration of Toomey’s life with food (corned beef), drink and music. After he was fired from Macy’s, O’Douls hired him for the holiday season in which, serving as Santa Claus, he helped the bar’s toy drive raise 15,000 items.
According to the SF Appeal, “The San Francisco Firefighters’ Toy Program will be collecting toys at the event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Lee Houskeeper [Lefty O’Doul’s spokesperson] encourages residents to ‘come on down, bring a present.'”
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