CONWAY — Hendrix College Dean of Students Jim Wiltgen really knows Santa; just ask him.
Wiltgen will attest to that while he’s dressed up as Buddy, the character Will Ferrell played in the movie Elf.
“The Will Ferrell thing goes back to my first days at campus,” Wiltgen said.
The 52-year-old was hired in 2008 at Hendrix College in Conway and has since become vice president of student affairs, too.
“We were trying to come up with a charity show to raise money for our Campus Kitty [fundraising] project, so somebody had suggested, ‘Why don’t you dress up like Buddy the elf?’”
Wiltgen was used to being told he bears a resemblance to Will Ferrell. They are both 6-3, although Wiltgen is 56, and Ferrell is 52.
Wiltgen said that when the movie Old School came out in February 2003, his nephews called him Uncle Frank, after Will Ferrell’s character in the movie, Frank. Elf was released in November 2003.
Wiltgen had already played a Will Ferrell role before donning tights as an elf at Hendrix, too. He was assistant dean/director of residence life at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania from 2001 until 2008, just prior to coming to Hendrix College.
“[Gettysburg College was] showing Anchorman: [The Legend of Ron Burgundy]. They had me stand at the door and wear a fake mustache and say, ‘Stay classy,’” Wiltgen said.
A Will Ferrell fan, Wiltgen was happy to oblige, and he didn’t hesitate to accept the role of Buddy for the Hendrix students. He volunteered for a Campus Kitty fundraiser for years as an auction item. Students could bid on having the dean make breakfast at his house, dressed as Buddy. He’d make pancakes with lots of syrup, with sides of candy cane and candy corn.
Trista Grider, a former Hendrix College staff member, made the suit, hat and belt for Wiltgen. He said he bought “the biggest” pair of tights he could find and dyed them yellow.
“That’s the least comfortable part of the whole outfit,” he said. He wears his own black dress shoes.
He said children are intrigued by his big brass belt buckle.
“Little kids, 3-5, are always fascinated by the belt,” he said. “It has really cool little markings, ornaments.”
He tells them, “Santa Claus gave me that belt. [Santa] had gotten a new belt, and he said, ‘Do you want this belt?’ The belt I had originally was made out of cardboard, so I was very happy to get this belt,” Wiltgen said.
Since 2008, he has put on the suit for charity events, including a pancake-breakfast fundraiser for Bethlehem House, a homeless shelter in Conway. Wiltgen appeared in his Buddy outfit at Dazzle Daze in November, a fundraising event sponsored by the Conway Regional Women’s Council.
“It’s been a holiday tradition that I would bring it out a couple of times a year,” he said.
A member and immediate past president of the Conway Kiwanis Club, Wiltgen said it was not until he dressed up for the club’s annual Breakfast With Santa that people became more interested in the character.
Dressed as Buddy, he stands outside Stoby’s Restaurant in Conway during the breakfast. He said passersby will sometimes yell, “Hey, Jim!” as they drive by.
Amanda Horton, president of the Conway Kiwanis Club, said, “We don’t just see a leader in Jim; we also see a little Christmas magic. You will see him working the room and greeting kids of all ages before they meet Santa Claus. Guests love having their picture made with [Jim as Buddy], and he gets the little ones prepared to meet Jolly Old St. Nick.”
Last year at the annual Kiwanis Club auction, Wiltgen said he was asked to dress up as Buddy to be the auctioneer, and he used that request as a fundraiser.
“I wouldn’t auction dressed in the Buddy outfit unless they paid me to do so — $10 for the hat; $40 for the suit; $50 for the tights,” he said. The auction raised $4,500 for food boxes.
He said one of his favorite memories is when he was asked to surprise a young employee of the Hendrix College cafeteria, who was a big fan of Elf.
“The ladies in the cafeteria asked me to come in and surprise her for her birthday,” he said. “The whole cafeteria exploded because they knew … it just made her day.”
Graham Senor of Washington, D.C., a 2015 graduate of Hendrix College, said seeing Wiltgen dress up as Buddy “is one of my fondest memories from Hendrix.”
“Combine one of my favorite movies with one of my favorite people on campus, Dean Wiltgen, and I was going to make sure I was there,” Senor said. “The greatest part was he seemed to have even more fun that we did — it was pure joy.”
Wiltgen said the biggest fans of Buddy are teenagers and adults.
“Little kids don’t know who Buddy the elf is,” he said. “It’s the teens and parents who get a bigger kick out of it. To kids, I’m just a huge elf.”
Kids will quiz me on Buddy’s favorite colors and favorite candies,” Wiltgen said.
He said he couldn’t remember Buddy’s favorite color, but when kids ask about his favorite candy, “Candy cane candy corn gets them laughing,” Wiltgen said.
He said he doesn’t cram, but he does watch Elf when it’s on during the Christmas season.
“I wish I had memorized more of the lines, but I have a few: ‘Santa, I know him,’ is a classic because I think I can get the inflection down,” he said.
Wiltgen said other lines in the movie he likes to quote are “He’s an angry elf” and “You smell like beef and cheese.”
His favorite Will Ferrell movie, however, is Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Wiltgen said.
“I just love that movie. I have several friends who call me Ricky Bobby exclusively,” Wiltgen said.
“What makes me laugh is, I think I have [Ferrell’s] sense of humor, too. I’m sure he is bothered that people come up all the time and say they think he looks like Jim Wiltgen of Arkansas, so I’ve always thought it was an honor,” Wiltgen said, laughing.
He said his wife, Suzanne, and their three grown children are used to him doubling as an oversized elf.
“They love it; they accept it,” he said. “I do it because we know we’re raising money for kids, in particular.”
Wiltgen said one of the more fun events in which he’s participated was riding with Santa last year in the Greenbrier Christmas Parade.
“I was up there on the firetruck with Santa; it was a highlight for sure,” Wiltgen said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-5671 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.