Eiler Larsen

Eiler Larsen
Eiler Larsen as seen on a Laguna Beach postcard ca. 1960.
Born	Eiler Unmack Larsen (1890-03-27)March 27, 1890 Aarhus, Denmark
Died	March 19, 1975(1975-03-19) (aged 84) Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, California
Resting place	Los Angeles National Cemetery
Residence	Laguna Beach, California
Nationality	Denmark
Other names	"The Greeter"
Known for	being the Town Greeter of Laguna Beach

Eiler Larsen (March 27, 1890 – March 19, 1975) was a Danish vagabond who earned fame as "The Greeter" of Laguna Beach, California, United States. Larsen wandered in Europe, South America and across the United States before settling in Laguna at age 52. He worked as an occasional gardener, but adopted the daily habit of standing on a street corner to greet every car and passerby. From the 1940s until the early 1970s, the shaggy-haired, heavily bearded Larsen grinning, waving and booming "Halloo-oo-oo!" to visitors became a cultural icon for Laguna Beach tourists. Local patrons supported him with a rent-free room, free meals and other services. In 1964, Larsen was proclaimed Laguna's Official Greeter by the mayor. During his lifetime, Larsen was featured in paintings, postcards, photographs and sculptures.

Eiler Unmack Larsen was born March 27, 1890 in Aarhus, Denmark, the son of L.M. Larsen and Thyra Vilhelmine Unmack. His father worked as manager of the city's poorhouse. His younger brother, Svend Unmack Larsen, said growing up among the poor was "this mixture of tragedy and baroque, macabre comedy" that gave him an early understanding of social problems and the dark sides of society. Svend Unmack Larsen went on to become the Justice Minister of Denmark and served as mayor of Aarhus from 1945 to 1958. Eiler Larsen left Denmark to pursue what he later described as "my mission of friendliness."

Larsen alternated between a series of odd jobs and wanderlust. According to newspaper accounts, Larsen went to Siberia at age 19 as a representative for a Danish butter exporter. After a brief stint of mandatory service in the Danish Army, Larsen traveled to South America and hiked through Argentina and Chile. He first arrived in the United States at New Orleans, Louisiana aboard a ship from Chile on September 29, 1916. Larsen went to St. Peter, Minnesota where he attended Gustavus Adolphus College for a year. During World War I, Larsen enlisted on January 14, 1918 and served with the United States Army 8th Infantry. According to Larsen, a leg injury he suffered from an artillery shell in France resulted in his lifelong need of a cane.