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John Aasen (March 5, 1890 – August 1, 1938) was an American
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
actor and sideshow performer who was one of the tallest actors in history.


Early life

Aasen was born on March 5, 1890, in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, Minnesota. His mother, Kristi (Danielsen) from
Rollag Rollag is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rollag, al ...
in
Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. ...
, was an extremely tall Norwegian woman of around 2.20 m (almost 7 ft 3 inches) in height (latest information from September 2008, sets her height to 188 cm, almost 6 ft 2 inches). It is not certain who his father was, but according to Aasen's sister Evelyn (who died in 1988), his father was Alfred Aasen. When Aasen was 10 years old, he and his mother moved from Ridgeway, Iowa (where his uncle Sam/Sevre lived with his wife Cornelia), to Sheyenne, North Dakota, with his two younger siblings. Aasen was a
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
. He rose to the degree of Master Mason at Highland Park Lodge No. 382, Los Angeles on July 14, 1924.Denslow, William R. ''10,000 Famous Freemasons'', Vol. I, A–D. When in Sheyenne, Aasen's mother operated a restaurant. He attended school and helped out in the family business. In 1902, Aasen's mother died. He was taken into many homes and families. When a family he was staying with started to operate a hotel in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, North Dakota, he moved with them there. Aasen's growth started slowly. When he was confirmed in the
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
faith in Grandfield Lutheran Church near Sheyenne, North Dakota, he was the shortest in his class. According to some sources, Aasen was around 2.74 m or 8 feet, 11½ inches (which, if true, would make him even taller than
Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man. He is the list of tallest people, tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. ...
, the tallest verified person in history). The '' Top 10 of Everything'' 2010 edition states his height at 8 feet, 9.7 inches (2.68 m).


True height

According to the 1978 edition of ''
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 British reference book published annually, list ...
'' he was only 7 feet (213.4 cm). Just before his death, at age 46, he was medically measured at 7 feet 0.9 inches, however he had lost some height due to age and could not stand completely straight anymore. In June 2008,
Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...
confirmed that the skeleton they had in their collection was John Aasen. A Norwegian man named Bent Lønrusten spent 13 years of his life trying to find out Aasen's true height. He found out that John/Johan was 226 cm / 7' 5" tall. His mother's (Kirsti) coffin was 186 cm / 6' 1" long, which made her approximately 183 cm – 184 cm / 6 feet tall. And his sister (Evelyn) was maybe around 175 cm –180 cm / 5' 9" – 5' 11" tall. Bent was a guest on a Norwegian podcast called "Rekommandert", talking about Aasen's history and how he found out his true height.


Career

Aasen worked for Midway Chemical, a company based in St. Paul, in 1917–1918. After that, he worked in various shows, including Barnum & Bailey and C. A. Wortham's World's Best Shows. The death of giant George Auger led to Aasen's working in the film ''
Why Worry? ''Why Worry?'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor (director), Sam Taylor and starring Harold Lloyd. Plot Harold Van Pelham (Harold Lloyd) is a young, wealthy American businessman wh ...
'' (1923). Later, he acted in several other films like ''
Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...
'', ''
Charlie Chan at the Circus ''Charlie Chan at the Circus'' is the 11th film produced by Fox starring Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. A seemingly harmless family outing drags a vacationing Chan into a murder investigation. The film's sets were designed by the art director Dun ...
'', ''
Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...
'', ''
Should Married Men Go Home? ''Should Married Men Go Home?'' is a silent short subject co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott, starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was the first Hal Roach film to bill Laurel and Hardy as a team. Previous appearances together were ...
'', ''
Legionnaires in Paris ''Legionnaires in Paris'' is a 1927 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Arvid E. Gillstrom and starring Al Cooke, Kit Guard, and Louise Lorraine. It was also known by the alternative title of ''French Leave''. Plot Two doughboys ...
'', ''
Two Flaming Youths ''Two Flaming Youths'' is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John Waters and written by John W. Conway, Donald Davis, Percy Heath, and Herman J. Mankiewicz. The film stars W. C. Fields, Chester Conklin, Mary Brian, Jack Luden ...
'', '' The Sting of Stings'', ''
Long Fliv the King ''Long Fliv the King'' is a 1926 American silent comedy short film starring Charley Chase and featuring Oliver Hardy and Max Davidson in supporting roles. It is a remake of the 1920 Harold Lloyd film '' His Royal Slyness'' about a young man wh ...
'' and the
Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...
film '' Freaks'', in a small uncredited cameo appearance.


Death

Aasen died from
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on August 1, 1938, at
Mendocino State Hospital Mendocino State Hospital, formally known as Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane, was a psychiatric hospital located in Talmage near Ukiah, California. It was established in 1889 and in operation from July 1893 to 1972. The hospital programs ...
in
Talmage, California Talmage (variant, Talmadge) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, United States. Talmage is located east-southeast of Ukiah, California, Ukiah, at an elevation of . The population was 9 ...
. His body was later shipped to Dr. Charles Humberd in Missouri for study and dissection. The skeleton was kept by the doctor, and eventually shipped to
Loma Linda, California Loma Linda ( Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the ...
. Aasen's cremated soft parts were given a
Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
funeral at Forest Lawn Cemetery in
Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


See also

*
List of tallest people This is a list of the tallest people, verified by ''Guinness World Records'' or other reliable sources. According to Guinness World Records, Robert Wadlow of the United States (1918–1940) was the tallest person in recorded history, measurin ...


References


Further reading

* Olson, Julia, ''Our Heritage, 1883–1980, Sheyenne area'', Sheyenne Historical Society, Sheyenne, N.D., 1980


External links

*
Website dedicated to Johan Aasen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aasen, John 1890 births 1938 deaths 20th-century American male actors American Freemasons American male silent film actors American people of Norwegian descent Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Deaths from pneumonia in California Male actors from Minnesota People with gigantism Actors from Los Angeles