Jack Earle

Jack Earle (July 3, 1906 – July 18, 1952), born Jacob Rheuben Erlich, was an American silent film actor and circus sideshow performer renowned for his exceptional height of 7 feet 6½ inches, resulting from acromegalic gigantism caused by a pituitary gland tumor. Born prematurely in Denver, Colorado, to German Jewish immigrant parents and weighing only four pounds at birth, he experienced rapid growth, surpassing six feet by age ten and facing social challenges that led him to avoid crowds on his way to school in El Paso, Texas, where his family relocated in 1912.

Earle's entertainment career began at age thirteen when he moved to Los Angeles with his father to pursue acting, securing roles in nearly fifty silent films over the next four years, often portraying giants in fairy-tale comedies produced by Century Film Company, such as Hansel and Gretel (1923) and Jack and the Beanstalk (1924). In 1925, following an injury on a film set, he transitioned to the circus world, joining Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey as "The Texas Giant" for fourteen years, where he was publicized as standing up to 8 feet 6½ inches and once met fellow tall man Robert Wadlow. After retiring from the circus in 1939, Earle returned to El Paso, working successfully as a traveling salesman for Schenley Industries while engaging in creative pursuits, including painting, sculpting, and award-winning photography; he received X-ray treatments for his condition but succumbed to kidney failure at age 46.

Jack Earle, born prematurely as Jacob Rheuben Erlich on July 3, 1906, in Denver, Colorado, at a low birth weight of about four pounds, was the second son of Jewish immigrant parents Isadore and Dora Erlich, who had emigrated from Poland. Despite his low birth weight, Erlich developed normally in size during his early childhood years.