Tag: tallest people

American actor, stage performer, media personality, and spokesperson Henry Hite (May 1, 1915 – May 26, 1978) was born Henry Marion Mullens and was known as the “Corn King Giant” in promotional appearances for the Corn King brand, a Wilson Certified Meats trade-name. He was advertised as “the world’s tallest man” at 8 feet, 2 inches, but measured in at just 7 feet, 7 inches in height. He joined forces with Tommy Lowe (born Roland Picaro) at the age of 18 to establish a Vaudeville act, known as “Lowe, Hite and Stanley,” which also included the midget Stanley Ross. Hite’s career on stage terminated with Ross’ untimely death in 1962.

His Early Years

Hite was born in Atlanta and his siblings (seven sisters and five brothers) were all under 5’11” in height. His dad was 5’8″ and his mom was 5’4″. He was 7 feet tall at age 12 and continued to grow until he was 16. Hite grew at a typical rate until he was 9 but at that point, he suffered from gigantism and exhibited extreme growth each year. He might gain up to an inch in height per week.

To stop his extraordinary growth that caused health risks, his hyperactive pituitary gland was treated with UV ray therapy, but he stopped receiving treatment after the first session because he was losing his hair.

At 18, he allegedly weighed 230 pounds and blocked traffic whenever he strolled along Broadway, as passersby would just turn in their tracks and stare. When Hite played on the high school baseball team, the infielders couldn’t overthrow him and when he played high school basketball and football, his teams “never lost a game”.

His Career

After changing his identity to Henry Hite at age 18, he and Lowe formed a farce with music and a comic combo called “Lowe and Hite“, in which the midget Stanley Ross would eventually be included. The comic trio Hite, Lowe, and Stanley even made an appearance on the variety show Ed Sullivan Show (1948–55).

• “How did you get so tall?” Mr. Low asked,
• Hite was expected to say, “I eat what’s right.”
• Mr. Low would then ask Stanley, “How did you get so short?”
• Stanley would respond, “I eat what’s left.”

In most hotels, the beds were bolted together down the length, and the linens and blankets were sewn together from end to end. To joke on his unusual height, he said, “In a normal bed, I’d be two ‘feet’ out of it. That’s a pun, son.”

Movie and TV Show Appearances

Hite has visited four continents, all fifty United States, Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the television shows of Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, and Garry Moore. In Chicago in 1962, he finished filming “Terror at Half Day” and he played in the Monster a Go-Go in 1965 as the monster Frank Douglas. In 1937, the trio act filmed “New Faces of 1937”.

How Big He Really Was

The dwarf Stanley had a successful career in show business until his untimely death from a heart attack in 1962. Hite continued working as a promotional tour manager for Corn King and Wilson Foods for the next 15 years. He wore size 22 custom-made shoes that cost $90 in the pre-inflation 1960s. His shirts had 42-inch sleeves, his suits needed eight yards of fabric and cost 0, and the giant sox cost in total.

He got about in a Volkswagen with the front seats cut out and he took the wheel in the backseat. According to the Guinness Book, the tallest man ever measured was 8 feet and 11 inches (Robert Wadlow), and only around 30 people consistently claimed to be taller than 8 feet.

Was Henry Hite the Tallest Living Human?

Despite being advertised as “the world’s tallest man,” Robert Wadlow was the tallest living man until his death in 1940. He was preceded by John Rogan, the tallest black person in history. After his death, the title was passed to Gabriel Monjane: Tallest Man Among 5 Billion People who was succeeded by Zeng Jinlian: One of Two Women in History Over 8 Feet. So, Henry Hite was probably never the tallest living man.

His Death

Henry Hite was a giant who became famous for using his 7 feet 7 inches of stature in movies and public appearances. As a 63-year-old vaudeville performer, he passed away in a hospital after a two-year fight with heart and liver problems and he was cremated. Hite and his wife of 42 years, Maria, had settled in Chicago. Although Hite claimed to be 8 feet tall, the Guinness Book of World Records measured him exactly at 7 feet, 6^3/4 inches since stage and circus giants often inflate their heights.

Max Edmund Palmer (November 27, 1927–May 7, 1984) was an American actor and wrestler who was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He stood at a towering 7 feet 7 inches, which made him the second tallest wrestler in documented history (after Jorge González at 8 ft). Palmer grew up with three sisters shorter than him in a rural Mississippi town. He started out as a high school basketball player before dropping out after the 11th grade. He started having drinking problems when he was 18 years old. He worked as a bartender and a security guard.

-> See also: Alexander Sizonenko: The Tallest Basketball Player in History

He Was a Literal Giant Early On

Palmer was a normal-sized Clarksdale boy until he was 14. She suffered from gigantism from an early age and reached 7’4″ at 17. His growth spree slowed down at 19 when he reached 7’6″ but he still kept gaining weight and hit 450 lbs. The man wore a size 10 hat, a size 64 suit, a size 20 (right) and 21 shoes (left), which cost $140 in total. His chest measured 49″ while his hands were 19″ long and they were allegedly the biggest in America. He could lift a child in the palm of each hand, like holding a Coke bottle. His clothes were also made on special order in Chicago.

The Tallest American Actor in History

Palmer began playing professional basketball with the Rochester Royals during his high school years, when he was 7 feet tall. After moving back to Mississippi, he worked odd jobs and was then discovered by Chicagoan Fritz Blocki, a former newspaperist, which led him to Hollywood to pursue acting.

Max Palmer is the tallest American actor in history. Because of his stature, he was cast in a number of movies and TV shows, such as “Invaders from Mars” and “Killer Ape.” In the 1953 Killer Ape movie, he starred as “Man Ape,” and he was the mutant carrying Dr. Blake in the 1953 film Invaders from Mars, where he uncreditedly co-starred with Johnny Weissmuller.

In addition, he appeared on other TV programs thanks to invitations from big names like singers, comedians, and actors Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Jimmy Durante.

-> See also: Robert Wadlow: The Tallest Man Ever in History

A Career as a Professional Wrestler

Palmer’s acting career lasted just from 1952 to 1954, when he left for Salt Lake City, Utah, to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. The mythical lumberjack giant Paul Bunyan was the inspiration for his stage moniker.

Palmer was almost 8 feet tall and 500 pounds, according to the ring announcer. His most reported height was 7 feet 7 inches but he might have weighed close to 500 pounds. Palmer was just 33 years old when his wrestling career was cut short by alcohol-related health problems as well as his dependence on cathartics.

Goliath for Christ: A Career as a Preacher

Once an alcoholic, Palmer stopped the habit in 1963 and dedicated the rest of his life to preaching the gospel all over the United States while calling himself “Goliath for Christ.” This all happened after being a lifelong Druid, and his ultimate decision to become an evangelist was probably related to his alcohol issue. He traveled the country, preaching against alcohol and drugs.

He was 56 years old when he died on May 7, 1984, from heart failure, a bleeding disorder, liver failure, and kidney failure. He preached until his death and was buried near Pontotoc.

From 1975 until his death in 2014, Palmer was happily married to Betty Ingram. Through this marriage, he adopted Major League Baseball player Jim Palmer (b. 1945). Betty was measured at 4 feet 11 inches, while Palmer’s mother was 5 feet tall, and his three sisters were of normal height. Betty had two kids from a previous relationship, and Max loved them as his own.

-> See also: Zhang Juncai: At 7’11”, He is the Tallest Living Chinese

Height Conflicts

Circuses and other show programs are known to exaggerate the figures of their workers; however, there are more conflicts over Max Palmer’s real height. According to a flyer for a Baptist crusade, he was 7’8″ tall, weighed 385 pounds, and wore size 21 shoes. When his coffin dimensions were taken, the cabinetmaker recorded Max’s height as 8 feet 2 inches, necessitating a 9-foot coffin. At 25, when he was arrested and fined for drinking, he was reported as 8’4″ tall.

Filmography

• The Thing in “The Kate Smith Evening Hour” — 1951
• Chadwick in the “The Sniper” — 1952
• Mutant in the “Invaders from Mars” –1953
• Man Ape in the “Killer Ape” — 1953
• “Stone” — 1974

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.

1. Bobo in “Lost in a Harem” (1944)
2. Giant in “Anchors Aweigh” (1945)
3. Circus Club Doorman in “Lady on a Train” (1945)
4. Gort in “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951)
5. Giant at the Hollywood Bowl in “Four Star Revue” (1952, TV Series)
6. Giant in “Million Dollar Mermaid” (1952)
7. Big Sailor in “Off Limits” (1953)
8. Mutant carrying David to ‘Intelligence’ in “Invaders from Mars” (1953)
9. Yeti in “The Snow Creature” (1954)
10. Giant (scenes deleted) in “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957)