Mr. Bingle

Mr. Bingle is a fictional character, a snowman assistant to Santa Claus. The figure consisted of a snowman's body with an ice cream cone hat, candy cane in hand, red ribbon with bells and holly wings. Originating as a mascot of the Maison Blanche department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, the character was later marketed in New Orleans and elsewhere by Mercantile Stores and Dillard's, and it remains part of the popular culture of the Greater New Orleans area.

Mr. Bingle was originally conceived by Emile Alline, an employee of Maison Blanche, in 1947. Mister Bingle shared the initials of his home, "M.B.", as the store was often called. Mr. Bingle became best known in puppet (or marionette) form at the Canal Street Maison Blanche, puppeteered by Edwin "Oscar" Isentrout (who also played the voice of Mr. Bingle), assisted by Ray Frederick and Harry J. Ory. These puppet shows occurred each day for the few weeks leading up to Christmas for about 15 minutes at a time, and were a favorite of local children. Mr. Bingle also appeared in musical radio and television commercials. The puppet shows ended in 1985 when Isentrout died.

Mr. Bingle's theme song:

Mr. Bingle-related merchandise, especially plush toys, were sold by Maison Blanche. Later Dillard's bought the Maison Blanche chain and the Mr. Bingle trademark. They continued sales of Mr. Bingle merchandise. Years later, many New Orleanians could recall the catchy theme song. The character of Mr. Bingle also made appearances outside of the commercial setting for charitable purposes. For example, he visited sick children at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans.

Mr. Bingle was also displayed as a large papier-mâché figure on the front of the flagship Maison Blanche store on Canal Street, first standing next to Santa Claus and later in a flying form. The flying figure was displayed at the Metairie, Louisiana Maison Blanche Store and later at a Dillard's Metairie location when the Canal Street store was closed. By 2004 the Mr. Bingle figure was in such poor condition that it could not be displayed, although Dillard's continued to market small replicas.

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