29 Facts About Eiler Larsen

Eiler Larsen was a Danish vagabond who was known as "The Greeter" of Laguna Beach, California, United States.

Eiler Larsen worked as an occasional gardener, and adopted the daily habit of standing on a street corner to greet every car and passerby.

In 1964, Eiler Larsen was proclaimed Laguna's Official Greeter by the mayor.

Eiler Larsen's father worked as manager of the city's poorhouse.

Svend Unmack Eiler Larsen went on to become the Justice Minister of Denmark and served as mayor of Aarhus from 1945 to 1958.

Eiler Larsen alternated between a series of odd jobs and wanderlust.

Eiler Larsen first arrived in the United States at New Orleans, Louisiana, aboard a ship from Chile on September 29,1916.

Eiler Larsen went to St Peter, Minnesota, where he attended Gustavus Adolphus College for a year.

Eiler Larsen walked most of the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.

Eiler Larsen came in the summer of 1938 and was cast as Judas in the presentation of Da Vinci's The Last Supper.

Eiler Larsen returned to portray the same role the next two years, then moved permanently to Laguna in 1942.

Eiler Larsen supported himself with occasional jobs of gardening and at a pottery business.

In spare moments, Eiler Larsen pursued his lifelong habit of choosing a vantage point and welcoming people.

Eiler Larsen's usual spot in Laguna Beach was a busy junction at Forest Avenue and Coast Highway near the main beach.

Eiler Larsen lived in a rent-free room over a client's garage.

Some locals disapproved of Eiler Larsen, saying he was a public nuisance, an annoyance or "too loud".

On February 14,1964, after more than twenty years of Larsen welcoming visitors, Mayor William D Martin proclaimed Larsen as Laguna's Official Greeter in a sidewalk ceremony that initiated the town's first Winter Festival.

One winter, Eiler Larsen walked to Palm Springs where it was warmer and began greeting people on a street corner there.

Residents quickly complained and Eiler Larsen was escorted out of town by police to walk back to the coast.

Each Spring, Eiler Larsen hiked 30 miles over the mountains to attend the Easter sunrise service at Mount Rubidoux in Riverside.

Eiler Larsen often appeared at the Danish Days festival in Solvang, California, and once walked by himself in the Rose Parade.

Danes who knew Eiler Larsen compared his relationship with children to Hans Christian Andersen.

Eiler Larsen said that he developed his philosophical outlook after wandering in Siberia, South America and the United States.

Eiler Larsen often suffered from emphysema and was hospitalized by a stroke in February 1967.

When he recovered, Laguna residents collected $3000 for Eiler Larsen to visit his hometown in Denmark for the first time in 53 years.

In 1971, suffering from the onset of bladder and colon cancer, Eiler Larsen was forced to retire.

Eiler Larsen's friends moved him to the Beverly Manor convalescent home in Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, California.

Two large statues of Eiler Larsen were erected in Laguna Beach.

Eiler Larsen was the best known town greeter in Laguna Beach, an unofficial role dating back to Old Joe Lucas in the 1880s.