A00136 - George Bell, The Tallest Man in the United States

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 George Bell at the Hampton Tattoo Festival, 2016 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 George Bell, Jr.[1] (June 12, 1957 – March 19, 2025) was an American basketball player, known for his tall stature of 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m). Guinness World Records recognized him as the tallest person in the United States in 2007. Bell played basketball as a college student and as a professional, signing with the Harlem Wizards. After his retirement from competitive sports, he worked as a deputy sheriff in Norfolk, Virginia.[2] Early life, family and education[edit] Bell was born in Portsmouth, Virginia.[3] He first showed signs of his impending tallness when he stood 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) at 9 years old.[4] Bell said he had a medical condition called gigantism, which caused excessive growth hormone secretion during childhood. He stated that through high school he never grew so tall that he felt out of place. By the time he was in his early 20s, however, his height had exceeded 7 ft (2.1 m). Although he believed later that he was 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m), the measurements for the Guinness book showed he had grown another inch. He said he did not suffer from some of the other effects of gigantism, such as an enlarged heart, although he did have to take medications. He attended college at Morris Brown College and Biola University, playing basketball for both schools.[3] Career[edit] Bell played basketball professionally with the Harlem Wizards show team. He retired from basketball at age 30.[4] He was a deputy sheriff in Norfolk, Virginia,[4] from December 2000 to May 2014.[3] In the media[edit] Bell was featured on the AMC show Freakshow, throughout its two seasons. In an interview for the show, he revealed that he had appeared as an alien who landed on top of the L.A. Coliseum at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[5] He also appeared on season 4 of American Horror Story. Personal life and death[edit] Bell and his ex-wife[4][5] Joyce raised a daughter, Dawnié Bell.[6] He died at his home in Durham, North Carolina on March 19, 2025. He was 67 years old.[3][1] References[edit] ^ Jump up to:a b "George Bell, Jr". fishermemorialfuneralparlor.com. Durham, North Carolina: Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor. Retrieved March 25, 2025. ^ Mooallem, Jon. "George Bell, Once Named the Tallest Person in the U.S., Dies at 67". WSJ. Retrieved April 10, 2025. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "George Bell, America's tallest man and former Norfolk deputy, dies at 67". wtkr.com. Norfolk, Virginia: Scripps Media. March 19, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2025. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "7-foot-8 Va. deputy used to 'small man's world'". nbcnews.com. NBC News. Associated Press. November 7, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2025. ^ Jump up to:a b Bell, George Jr. "Freakshow Q&A – George Bell". AMC.com. Interviewed by Ashley Shaw. AMC Networks. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2025. ^ Warren-Hicks, Colin (March 22, 2025). "Once the tallest man in America, Portsmouth native, sheriff deputy remembered by love, warmness". pilotonline.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025. 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 George Bell, Considered the Tallest Man in America, Dies at 67 Being 7-foot-8 posed “a lot of challenges,” he once said. “Like how do I fit in cars, or where do I find clothes?” Listen to this article · 2:49 min Learn more Share full article A tall man in a sheriff’s deputy uniform and sunglasses stands in a park. George Bell in 2007 in Norfolk, Va., where he worked as a sheriff’s deputy. He had previously parlayed his stature into a roster spot with the Harlem Wizards, a touring entertainment basketball team.Credit...Gary C. Knapp/Associated Press Victor Mather By Victor Mather Published April 11, 2025 Updated April 12, 2025, 9:46 a.m. ET George Bell, who at 7 feet 8 inches was called the tallest man in the United States, died on March 19 in Durham, N.C. He was 67. His death was announced by the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where he worked as a deputy for 13 years. No cause was given. George Bell Jr. was born on June 12, 1957, in Portsmouth, Va. He had gigantism, a rare condition in which a high level of growth hormone causes great height. That height brought Mr. Bell a lot of attention. “Sometimes you don’t know how to adjust to the comments,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1982. “I never had anyone else around who was 7-8 who I could talk to and who could help me learn how to handle it. Fortunately for me, I’m a very patient person.” Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The first question Mr. Bell was often asked was if he played basketball. “I couldn’t play in high school,” he said in the interview. “I was growing so rapidly, and my body couldn’t coordinate with my growth. I got into high school at 6-5, and I left at 7-5¾. When I got into college, I had to rebuild myself all over again.” He did eventually play for Biola University, a Christian school in Los Angeles, as a backup center. He helped the team get to the final of the N.A.I.A. tournament, the national playoff for small college teams, in 1982. He then played for the Harlem Wizards, an entertainment team similar to the Globetrotters. Mr. Bell had some ambition to be an actor. At the closing ceremony for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, a “U.F.O.” appeared at the top of the stadium, and an alien emerged. Underneath a mask was Mr. Bell. He thrust his arms in the air, signaling the start of fireworks. Image A tall man in glasses stands with his arms folded. Guinness listed Mr. Bell as the nation’s tallest person for several years, although he was later surpassed by someone slightly taller.Credit...Gary C. Knapp/Associated Press Years later, he appeared as the Tall Man Ghost in a few episodes of the television series “American Horror Story.” Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “There’s a lot of challenges for us being so tall,” he told AMC, the network that broadcast “American Horror Story,” in 2013. “Like how do I fit in cars, or where do I find clothes? I have a hard time sleeping in beds. Those challenges are not an issue to me at all. I’ve learned over the years of living just to deal with them as they are and not let it become a mental problem.” His survivors include a daughter, Dawnie Bell. Guinness listed Mr. Bell as the nation’s tallest person for several years, although he was then surpassed by someone a fraction taller. The other man died in 2021, but Guinness no longer tracks the category by nation. Those who knew Mr. Bell invariably spoke of him as a soft-spoken “gentle giant.” He worked with local schools in programs to stop bullying.