It all began in 1994, with a group of ten professional actors who were being featured in an Otto Versandt commercial to promote the German mail-order giant's Fall catalog-- the one with Cindy Crawford on the cover!

The shoot @ Universal Studios' famed Brownstone Street set lasted 12 hours; between takes, the actors told "war stories" about their most- & least-favorite gigs. 

But even their SANTA-related gigs were too numerous to share during the shoot, so they decided to "do lunch" after their upcoming Seasons to share more;  soon someone suggested their group needed a name-- and since each had received the same casting call, for a "Santa with REAL Beard", they chose a whimsical title:

"Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (AORBS)".

Here's that legendary TV commercial:

(Sorry for the quality-- this is the only remaining copy...)

Here's a documentary about our first quarter-century: