Lock Martin, born on February 22, 1916, in Pennsylvania, USA, and passing away on January 19, 1959, in Los Angeles County, California, was an American amateur actor, originally named Joseph Lockard Martin Jr. His portrayal of Gort, the robot, in “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) is what he is most known for. Lock Martin is officially one of the tallest American actors in history. He had gigantism, which is a condition related to the pea-sized pituitary gland that secretes too much growth hormone due to a tumor. At the end of his childhood, he allegedly reached 7 feet in height. His twin, Donald Martin, didn’t make it beyond delivery, and he supposedly had two sisters.
His Early Years
Lock Martin was born in West Bridgewater in 1916, and he and his family relocated to Canon City in 1919. He attended schools in Canon City from kindergarten through high school and graduated in 1934. After finishing college, he promptly moved to Denver and got a job at the Denver Theater. Then he moved to the Hollywood venue known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. In later years, Martin toured the United States with the Spike Jones Orchestra. His most recent job was as a special representative for the Los Angeles-based firm Arden Dairies.
His Film Career
Martin is the second-tallest American actor after Max Palmer (8’2″ or 7’7″). His height of 7 feet 7 inches makes him one of the tallest people ever. During his early career, Martin was called The Tallest Man in the West and until his death, he was a familiar figure in Greater Los Angeles for 15 years.
Before breaking into the film industry, Martin tried his hand at a number of other vocations. It was during his time as a doorman at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre that he came to the attention of the movie industry. His first movie role was in “Lost in a Harem” (1944). He was later considered for the part of Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still and he ended up getting the role where he played a man from outer space. After the movie, the actors and actresses presented Martin with a plaque and a miniature of himself for his fine work.
Lock Martin’s performance as Gort made him a household name, and people still talk about his character today. Martin also had a brief role in “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957), but his scenes were eliminated. Since acting was not Martin’s major source of income, he only acted in a handful of films. In the 1953 film “Invaders from Mars,” he had a small but memorable appearance as a mutant.
Throughout his life, Martin appeared on a number of top television programs and in several motion pictures. Canon City people especially remember him being on Art Linkletter’s “People Are Funny” and Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life.”
He Was Tall but Not Strong
In the DVD commentary for The Day the Earth Stood Still, director Robert Wise actually claims Martin’s height to be 7 feet 1 inch instead of 7’7″. Martin was tall for his age, yet he lacked strength, which is common for people with gigantism as Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in history, died after hurting his ankle.
For Martin’s character Gort, this condition created some challenges. The sequences with the American actress Patricia Neal and 6’2″ tall famous actor Michael Rennie being corporeally lifted by Gort required the use of wire ropes or a replacement dummy because Martin was already too weak in his robot suit to do anything. Wires, a doll, or lightweight dummies were used to lift them in those scenes.
Until the end of his career, Martin spent five years with the musical band Spike Jones and His City Slickers and three years with Bob’s Drive-Ins as “Big Boy.” The two prominent members of Spike Jones’s musical group were Frankle Little, a midget who was 4″3′ tall and was once a member of Ringling Brothers Circus, and Junior Martin.
Martin’s height was stated as 7 feet 8 inches in the Independent Record’s May 24, 1950 press clipping. However, his height on the World War II draft card was recorded as 7 feet, 4 inches. In the middle of the 1950s, Martin worked for Arden Dairies as a salesman (the company responsible for Arden Ice Cream). In the 1954 press clipping by the Independent, his height is stated as 7’7″.
His extreme height limited his mobility, clothing choices, and dining out throughout his life. Lock Martin found himself adjusting his approach to almost every situation. He had good proportions and an endearing demeanor. He loved kids and he never was too large to care about a youngster’s request for an autograph or signature or even a lift above the top of the crowd. Martin was never a football player. He attempted to join a basketball team, but his rapid physical development made it difficult for him to find a comfortable position. Over the years, he was a dedicated supporter of the CCHS Tigers.
“The Gentle Giant”
Lock Martin loved reading stories to kids, and he even earned the moniker “the Gentle Giant” when he presented a children’s TV program with the same name in Los Angeles during the ’50s where he read books to children. The same moniker has also been used for other extremely tall people with gigantism such as the 8’2″ Édouard Beaupré (1881–1904).
Lock Martin tied the knot with Ethel Mae Babcock in 1946 and they stayed married until his death. The couple supposedly had nine children and since Martin was known for visiting children at hospitals, some (if not all) of his children might be adopted.
Martin died unexpectedly at the age of 42 in California on January 19, 1959. He lived in the Van Nuys neighborhood in Los Angeles for the last 10 years. In there, he was a member of the Methodist church Masonic Lodge and United Commercial Travelers. He had been ill for more than a year and his condition had been considered serious for the last four months.
His cause of death was stated as cancer and it might be related to the excessive growth hormone in his body since Lock Martin is not known to go under surgery to have his pituitary gland removed or have radiation therapy. Forest Lawn Memorial Park is where his body was put to rest.
Movies He Played
He had a role in at least 10 different movies and TV shows.
- Bobo in “Lost in a Harem” (1944)
- Giant in “Anchors Aweigh” (1945)
- Circus Club Doorman in “Lady on a Train” (1945)
- Gort in “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951)
- Giant at the Hollywood Bowl in “Four Star Revue” (1952, TV Series)
- Giant in “Million Dollar Mermaid” (1952)
- Big Sailor in “Off Limits” (1953)
- Mutant carrying David to ‘Intelligence’ in “Invaders from Mars” (1953)
- Yeti in “The Snow Creature” (1954)
- Giant (scenes deleted) in “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957)
