Jake Erlich - Tallest Man In The World

Jake Erlich - Tallest Man In The World

Many of us know of Erlich as the “world’s tallest man,” as the Guinness Book of Records once deemed him. He was also an extraordinary artist. But his fame as a painter was overshadowed by his fame for being more than eight feet tall.He was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1906, the son of Jewish immigrants. He was born at a weight of less than four pounds. 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.) Erlich, who lived much of his life in El Paso , was a movie star featured in several silent films, and he also was a circus performer for several years. Also, Erlich is an El Paso High graduate. But Erlich was famous mainly for being taller than everyone else. In fact, he was once named the "Tallest Man in the World," standing, by most accounts, at 8 feet, 6 inches tall. Jake Erlich died in 1952 at the age of 46 in El Paso. To the left of Jake Erlich in the middle is Hope M. Smith - who was owner of Magnolia Coke Cola Company in El Paso, Texas.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Reference ID: Tall Man.jpeg

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Bonnie Low - Gibson Group

As Associate Producer with the Visitor Experiences team Bonnie ...

Allan Smith - Gibson Group

Allan Smith - Director of Exhibitions - installing the Digital ...

Chalk the Block Public Arts Festival 2014

Chalk the Block is a free 3 day Public Arts Festival that takes ...

Bonnie Low & David Crossan

Construction for the Digital Wall - January 13, 2015.

DIGIE

Special glass from Germany arrives. Contruction for the Digital ...

DIGIE

Special glass from Germany arrives. Contruction for the Digital ...

DIGIE

Special glass from Germany arrives. Contruction for the Digital ...

DIGIE

Special glass from Germany arrives. Contruction for the Digital ...

DIGIE

Bonnie Low stands in front of special glass from Germany. ...

Behind the Digital Wall

Stairs behind the Digital Wall. January 13, 2015.

Behind the Digital Wall

Stairs behind the Digital Wall. January 13, 2015.

DIGIE

Back of the screen that will hold the weight. January 13, 2015.

DIGIE

Allan Smith, Director of Exhibitions from the Gibson Group.

DIGIE

The Gibson Group --left to right: Allan Smith, Bonnie Low, and ...

DIGIE

Back of the 95 inch screen that will hold the weight. January ...

DIGIE

Photograph taken behind the Digital Wall - January 13, 2015.

DIGIE

Behind the Digital Wall --January 13, 2015.

DIGIE

The five 95 inch screens are installed - January 14, 2015.

DIGIE

The five 95 inch screens are installed - January 14, 2015.

DIGIE

Allan Smith - Director of Exhibitions for Gibson Group - making ...

DIGIE

David Crossan from the Gibson Group installing the five 95 inch ...

DIGIE

The five 95 inch screens are installed - January 14, 2015. David ...

DIGIE

The five 95 inch screens are installed - January 14, 2015.

home.search_collection