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John Aasen (March 5, 1890 – August 1, 1938) was an American silent film actor who was one of the tallest actors in history.

Early life

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aasen's mother, Kristi (Danielsen) from Rollag in Numedal, was an extremely tall Norwegian woman of around 2.20 m (almost 7 ft 3 inches) in height (latest information from Sept. 2008, sets her height to 188 cm). It is not certain who his father was, but according to Aasen's sister Evelyn (who died 1988), his father was Alfred Aasen. When Aasen was ten 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. He raised to the degree of Master Mason at Highland Park Lodge No. 382, Los Angeles on July 14, 1924.

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, North Dakota, he moved with them there. Aasen's growth started slowly. When he was confirmed in the Lutheran 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 taller than even Robert Wadlow). The Top 10 of Everything 2010 edition states his height at 8 feet, 9.7 inches.

True Height

According to the 1978 edition of Guinness Book of Records 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 confirmed that the 7 foot 2.4 (219 cm) inches skeleton they had in their collection was John Aasen.

Career

In 1922, Aasen was offered an acting job in a film called Why Worry? (produced by Hal Roach and released in 1923) alongside the comedian Harold Lloyd. Later, he acted in several other films like Bengal Tiger, Charlie Chan at the Circus, Growing Pains, Should Married Men Go Home?, Legionnaires in Paris, Two Flaming Youths, The Sting of Stings, and Long Fliv the King.

Death

Aasen died from pneumonia on August 1, 1938 at Mendocino State Hospital in Mendocino, California. His body was later shipped to a doctor in Missouri for study and dissection. The skeleton was kept by the doctor, and eventually shipped to Loma Linda, California. Aasen's cremated soft parts were given a Masonic funeral at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Notes

1. Johan Aasen - culture and travel industry project in Rollag municipality, Buskerud county municipality Template:No icon
2. Denslow, William R. 10,000 Famous Freemasons, Vol. I, A-D.

References

• Olson, Julia, Our Heritage, 1883–1980, Sheyenne area., Sheyenne Historical Society, Sheyenne, N.D., 1980 ISBN 0-88925-204-1
• Rothwell-Smith, Paul. Silent Films! the Performers (2011) ISBN: 9781907540325

External links

• Website dedicated to Johan Aasen
• John Aasen at IMDb
• Template:Amg name
• two findagrave memorials to John Aasen ..memorial#1(w/cemetery), .....memorial#2

Template:Persondata

• Actors from Minnesota
• American people of Norwegian descent
• American silent film actors
• Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
• Deaths from pneumonia
• Infectious disease deaths in California
• People with gigantism
• 1890 births
• 1938 deaths
• 20th-century American actors