Matthew McGrory (May 17, 1973 – August 9, 2005) was an American actor. At , he was recognized as the tallest actor by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. He portrayed physically imposing characters throughout his career, including

Tiny Firefly This article lists characters from the Rob Zombie's ''Firefly'' film series, consisting of ''House of 1000 Corpses'', ''The Devil's Rejects'', and ''3 from Hell''. Cast list * This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who ha ...

in the horror films ''

House of 1000 Corpses ''House of 1000 Corpses'' is a 2003 American black comedy horror film written, co-scored, and directed by Rob Zombie in his directorial debut, and the first film in the ''Firefly'' film series. It stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, K ...

'' (2003) and '' The Devil's Rejects'' (2005) and Karl the Giant in the fantasy comedy-drama ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...

'' (2003). McGrory also held the Guinness World Records for biggest feet and longest toe.

Early life

McGrory was born in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neigh ...

, the son of George and Maureen McGrory. He was over 1.5 m (5 feet) tall by the time he completed kindergarten. McGrory grew to the height of and had size 29.5 shoes."'Big Fish' Actor Matthew McGrory Dies"
Fox News. August 15, 2005. He studied pre-law at

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the schoo ...

. He also studied Criminal Justice at

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

Career

McGrory's large size led to appearances on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

''"Matthew McGrory, 32, a Film Actor Typecast as a Giant"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (Associated Press). August 15, 2005. beginning in December 1996 as a member of Stern's Wack Pack. He appeared on daytime talk shows hosted by

Maury Povich Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...

, Jenny Jones and

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

and in music videos including Iron Maiden's "

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

" and the 1999

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

" Coma White"Kaufman, Gil (August 11, 2005) http://www.mtv.com/news/1507413/matthew-mcgrory-big-man-in-big-fish-and-devils-rejects-dead-at-32/ "Matthew McGrory, Big Man In 'Big Fish' And 'Devil's Rejects,' Dead At 32"]. MTV News. (and '' God Is in the T.V.'' VHS cover). He can also be seen in Blondie's video for their 2003 hit " Good Boys." Due to his height and deep voice, he was in demand to play roles in movies cast as a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

– he did so in films such as '' Bubble Boy'' (2001), ''

'' (2003), ''

'' (2003) and '' The Devil's Rejects'' (2005). Television appearances included ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...

'', ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

'', and ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate g ...

''.

Death

On August 9, 2005, while living in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density th ...

with his girlfriend Melissa, McGrory died at age 32 of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

's film '' The Devil's Rejects'' was dedicated to McGrory’s memory.'' The Devil's Rejects'' (2005). Dir. Rob Zombie. Cinelamda, Lionsgate. Dedication.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Matthew McGrory
at

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

MatthewMcGrory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrory, Matthew 1973 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Pennsylvania People from West Chester, Pennsylvania People with gigantism West Chester University alumni Widener University alumni