Jake Erlich - El Paso, Texas
Jake Erlich
Jake Erlich - El Paso, Texas
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. Jacob Reuben Ehrlich, born in Denver in 1906, moved to El Paso with his German-Jewish immigrant parents in 1912. Born small, at less than four pounds, Erlich remained normal size until about the age of 8, when he began growing rapidly. By the time he was 10, he was over 6 feet tall. Erlich went straight from El Paso High School to Hollywood where he appeared in nearly 50 silent movies.
Report this entry
More from the same community-collection
James P. Mills, father of Anson Mills
James P. Mills was born in 1808 in Pennsylvania. He became an ...
Ben Williams - El Paso Lawman - El Paso, Texas
Ben Williams operated the Ben Williams Detective Agency in El ...
Capt. John Hughes-Texas Ranger - El Paso, Texas
In 1886 several horses were stolen from his and neighboring ...
Maud Austion Crouse,El Paso Texas circa 1915
Maud Austion was the wife of Hugh Crouse, a doctor in El Paso, ...
Louise Austin - Mrs. James S. Marr
Wife of Col. James Marr, who was the founder of El Paso Transfer ...
Jose Antonio Escajeda - San Elizario, TX
José Antonio Escajeda was part of an early El Paso pioneer ...
Florence Vilas, Ada Lyons, Kate McGhee - El Paso, Texas
From left to right: Florence Vilas, Ada Lyons, and Kate McGee. ...