Jacob Rheuben Erlich (July 3, 1906 – July 18, 1952[1]), professionally credited as Jack Earle, was an American silent film actor and sideshow performer. Earle claimed to be one of the world's tallest humans standing 8 ft 6.5 in (2.60m) however his real height was 7 ft 6 in (2.29m).[2] For 14 years, he traveled with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, then became a salesman. He is referenced in Tom Waits's song "Get Behind The Mule".
Jack Earle
Advertisement for the film Hit 'em Hard (1924) with Earle at left
He was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1906, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants.[3][4] He was born at a weight of less than four pounds. For the first few years of his life, Jacob was small for his age, until he reached his seventh birthday. By the time he was ten, he was over six feet tall. His family lived in El Paso, Texas at this time and the locals nicknamed him "Pecos Bill" (a title he used for over twenty years.)
Because of his intimidating height, he would avoid people by walking the alleys on his way to school so he could hide if he encountered anyone (for fear of frightening them).
Career
Acting
When he was thirteen, he and his father made a trip to Los Angeles. Over seven feet tall at the time, he attracted the attention of Century Comedies, a motion picture production company. Jerry Ash and Zion Meyers offered him a job in the movies. He convinced his father that this was a good opportunity, and he was allowed to stay. Jacob took the screen name Jack Earle when he started working in the silent film industry, where he appeared in many movies.
He appeared in films like Hansel and Gretel in 1923 and Jack and the Beanstalk in 1924.
Over the next few years he found himself busy in the movie making business, and going to school.
His movie career came to an end when during filming he fell from the scaffolding. He broke his nose and was hospitalized. While in the hospital, his eyesight became blurry and within days he lost his sight completely. As his doctor examined him, he found a pituitary tumor. The tumor had pushed up against his optic nerve during the fall. For the next four months, Earle underwent X-ray treatments. His eyesight returned, although it has been speculated that the treatment may have stopped his growth.
Sideshow performer
While touring El Paso, Texas, Ringling Bros. offered Earle a one-year contract, which turned into fourteen years of employment. During his time with the Ringling Bros., Earle met most of the giants who lived during his lifetime.
He stayed with the circus until the late thirties or early forties. He was tired of the routine and decided to leave the business. Undecided about his future, he decided to lay the "Pecos Bill" persona to rest and he returned to California.
Later years
He went on to become a Roma Wine Company salesman, working his way up to becoming their public relations specialist.
In addition, Earle was a talented artist and worked in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and poetry. He was published in a book entitled The Long Shadows, and on November 4, 1950, the Saturday Evening Post ran an article titled Life of Giant Jack Earle.
^Rowe, Allan Victor; Mortimer, Hector (1934). "Endocrine studies: XLII. A note on acromegaly with the report of a case". Endocrinology. 18 (1): 20–32. doi:10.1210/endo-18-1-20.
^Flakus, Greg (November 14, 2012). "Psychologist Tells Inspiring Story of His Giant Uncle". Voanews.com. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
^"Jacob Rheuben "Jack Earle" Ehrlich (1906-1952) - Find A Grave Memorial". Find a Grave. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Earle.
jack, earle, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2018. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jack Earle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message For the Tasmanian politician known as Jack Earle see John Earle Australian politician Jacob Rheuben Erlich July 3 1906 July 18 1952 1 professionally credited as Jack Earle was an American silent film actor and sideshow performer Earle claimed to be one of the world s tallest humans standing 8 ft 6 5 in 2 60m however his real height was 7 ft 6 in 2 29m 2 For 14 years he traveled with Ringling Bros and Barnum amp Bailey Circus then became a salesman He is referenced in Tom Waits s song Get Behind The Mule Jack EarleAdvertisement for the film Hit em Hard 1924 with Earle at leftBornJacob Rheuben ErlichJuly 3 1906Denver ColoradoDiedJuly 18 1952 aged 46 El Paso TexasNationalityAmericanOther namesTexas Giant The World s Tallest ManOccupation s Actorfreak show performersalesmanKnown forBarnum and Bailey Circus Ringling BrothersHeight7 ft 6 in 229 cm Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Acting 2 2 Sideshow performer 3 Later years 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditHe was born in Denver Colorado in 1906 the son of Polish Jewish immigrants 3 4 He was born at a weight of less than four pounds For the first few years of his life Jacob was small for his age until he reached his seventh birthday By the time he was ten he was over six feet tall His family lived in El Paso Texas at this time and the locals nicknamed him Pecos Bill a title he used for over twenty years Because of his intimidating height he would avoid people by walking the alleys on his way to school so he could hide if he encountered anyone for fear of frightening them Career EditActing Edit When he was thirteen he and his father made a trip to Los Angeles Over seven feet tall at the time he attracted the attention of Century Comedies a motion picture production company Jerry Ash and Zion Meyers offered him a job in the movies He convinced his father that this was a good opportunity and he was allowed to stay Jacob took the screen name Jack Earle when he started working in the silent film industry where he appeared in many movies He appeared in films like Hansel and Gretel in 1923 and Jack and the Beanstalk in 1924 Over the next few years he found himself busy in the movie making business and going to school His movie career came to an end when during filming he fell from the scaffolding He broke his nose and was hospitalized While in the hospital his eyesight became blurry and within days he lost his sight completely As his doctor examined him he found a pituitary tumor The tumor had pushed up against his optic nerve during the fall For the next four months Earle underwent X ray treatments His eyesight returned although it has been speculated that the treatment may have stopped his growth Sideshow performer Edit While touring El Paso Texas Ringling Bros offered Earle a one year contract which turned into fourteen years of employment During his time with the Ringling Bros Earle met most of the giants who lived during his lifetime He stayed with the circus until the late thirties or early forties He was tired of the routine and decided to leave the business Undecided about his future he decided to lay the Pecos Bill persona to rest and he returned to California Later years EditHe went on to become a Roma Wine Company salesman working his way up to becoming their public relations specialist In addition Earle was a talented artist and worked in a variety of media including painting sculpture photography and poetry He was published in a book entitled The Long Shadows and on November 4 1950 the Saturday Evening Post ran an article titled Life of Giant Jack Earle He died in El Paso Texas aged 46 References Edit Tallest Ever Movie Giants permanent dead link Rowe Allan Victor Mortimer Hector 1934 Endocrine studies XLII A note on acromegaly with the report of a case Endocrinology 18 1 20 32 doi 10 1210 endo 18 1 20 Flakus Greg November 14 2012 Psychologist Tells Inspiring Story of His Giant Uncle Voanews com Retrieved August 28 2013 Jacob Rheuben Jack Earle Ehrlich 1906 1952 Find A Grave Memorial Find a Grave Retrieved March 27 2020 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Earle Jack Earle at IMDb Jack Earle at Find a Grave Jack Earle in archived footage from 1931 that proves his height in The British Pathe http www britishpathe com video queer and quaint Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack Earle amp oldid 1129541944, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
