Yano Anaya, who rose into the limelight through his portrayal of Grover Dill in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, has joined the long list of actors who became so attached to the fantasy of the cinematic world that they cling to it.
The actor, who, despite retiring from acting, has over the years been doing everything possible to preserve the legacy of the movie through his Facebook posts and podcast, Talking A Christmas Story, where he unites with other cast members to share behind-the-scenes with his audience. During an episode, he disclosed that he and other cast members of A Christmas Story were interested in purchasing the Ohio house where the film was shot.
Yano Anaya explains why he wanted to buy the ‘A Christmas Story’ house
Speaking with TMZ in 2022, Anaya explained that when the A Christmas Story house was put up for sale, he was genuinely interested in getting his hands on the property.
He maintained that his major push for wanting to buy the building was because he believed that such a significant piece of cinematic history would be better handled if it was controlled by members of the cast rather than an outsider who had no ties with the project.
Why Yano Anaya did not eventually buy the ‘A Christmas Story’ house
However, things did not go as planned for Anaya as matters quickly escalated when Brian Jones, who had bought the property in 2004, walked in on the actor taking photographs with fans in front of the A Christmas Story house. Jones wasted no time labeling Anaya a scammer and issued a press statement that he was not interested in letting go of the property.
Although the two men have since settled their differences, with Jones admitting that he made a mistake and subsequently apologized, the property has eventually been sold, but not to Anaya.