evidence: Tim Allen in 'The Santa Clause' In the 1994 family comedy, Allen plays a divorcee who accidentally kills a Santa impersonator on Christmas Eve — and is transported to the North Pole to take over Santa’s duties. At first skeptical that the whole stint is just a wild dream, he begins to believe it after he suddenly gains weight and grows a thick, white beard. [...] This story was first published in December of 2016 and has been regularly updated to include more items.