John Aasen
Born	March 5, 1890(1890-03-05) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Died	August 1, 1938 (aged 48) Mendocino, California
Other name(s)	Johan Aasen Johnny Aasen

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

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Death 2 Trivia 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aasen's mother, Kristi (Danielsen) from Rollag in Numedal,^[1] 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, because his mother kept it a secret for her entire life. According to some sources, his father was Nils Janson Bokke, a Swedish man of around 2.44 m (8 ft) tall.^{[dubious – discuss]}

When Johan was ten years old, Aasen and his mother moved from Ridgeway, Iowa (where Johan's uncle Sam/Sevre lived with his wife Cornelia)] to Sheyenne, North Dakota with his two younger siblings.

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 in to 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 2.73 m or 8 feet, 11 1/2 inches (which, if true, would make him taller than even Robert Wadlow).

In June 2008 Dr. Kerby Oberg of Loma Linda University confirmed that the 2.19 m (7 foot 2.4 inch) skeleton they had in their collection, was Johan Aasen. This together with Dr. H. Gray's published "The Minneapolis Giant" from May 1937 where Johan is measured at 7 feet, brings Johan to a height between 7 feet and 7 feet 2 inches.

[edit] 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 superstar 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.

[edit] Death

Aasen died August 1. 1938 at Mendocino State Hospital from pneumonia in Mendocino, California. His body was later shipped to Dr. Humberd in Missouri for study and dissection. The skeleton was kept by Dr. Humberd, but after his death shipped to Loma Linda, California. John's cremated soft parts was sent to a Masonic funeral at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2008)

• According to the 1978 edition of Guinness Book of Records he was only 7 ft (213 cm).^{[citation needed]}

• Aasen was a Freemason. He raised to the degree of Master Mason at Highland Park Lodge No. 382, Los Angeles on July 14, 1924.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)

• Olson, Julia, Our heritage, 1883-1980, Sheyenne area., Sheyenne Historical Society, Sheyenne, N.D., 1980 ISBN 088925-204-1

[edit] External links

• John Aasen at the Internet Movie Database
• John Aasen at Allmovie

Persondata
NAME	Aasen, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Aasen, Johan; Aasen, Johnny
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	March 5, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
DATE OF DEATH	August 1, 1938
PLACE OF DEATH	Mendocino, California