Eddie Carmel

Eddie Carmel (born Oded Ha-Carmeili, ; March 16, 1936 – August 14, 1972 ) was an American entertainer, born in Mandatory Palestine with gigantism and subsequent acromegaly resulting from a pituitary adenoma. He was popularly known as "The Jewish Giant", "The Happy Giant," and "The World's Biggest Cowboy."

Carmel was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as tall, and billed at the heights of and tall, though he may have more realistically been around tall. He was variously a mutual funds salesman, carnival sideshow act, film actor, rock and roll band singer, and stand-up comedian. He was made famous by photographer Diane Arbus' picture Jewish Giant, taken at home with his parents in the Bronx, N.Y. in 1970, a print of which sold at auction for $421,000 in 2007 ($ in current dollar terms). At the time of his death at age 36, he had shrunk several inches, due to kyphoscoliosis.

Early life

Eddie Carmel was born Oded Ha-Carmeili on March 16, 1936, in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine, to Orthodox Jewish immigrants Isaac (Itzhak) Ha-Carmeili, an insurance salesman born in Poland, and Miriam (née Pines), who was born in the United States and later worked as a secretary at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. An only child, Carmel moved with his parents to the Bronx, New York, at age two after his mother returned to the United States to care for an ailing relative. The family later settled on Elgar Place in Co-op City, the Bronx. Carmel's parents were both 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) tall, although his maternal grandfather in Poland was reputedly the tallest rabbi in the world at 7 feet 5 inches (226 cm). He then attended City College of New York for two years, where he majored in business, joined the Dramatic Club, and was elected vice president of his class before later attending Baruch College.

By 1969, at age 33, arthritis had made walking difficult, and Carmel required two canes. He later used a wheelchair and eventually became bedridden. Before his death at age 36, he developed kyphoscoliosis, a combination of kyphosis and scoliosis, and had lost several inches of height.

Career In 1958, Carmel sold mutual funds at an office near Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. He also acted in a few films, such as the science fiction horror film The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) and 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing) (1963).

Arbus remarked on her photo, "You know how every mother has nightmares when she’s pregnant that her baby will be born a monster? … I think I got that in the mother’s face…"

Interest in Carmel's image continued after his death. A print of Arbus's photograph sold at auction for $421,000 in 2007 (equivalent to $ in ). Ten years later, another print sold for $583,500 at Christie's in 2017 (equivalent to $ in ).

Death Carmel died of glandular disease, on August 14, 1972, age of 36, in Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York. At the time of his funeral, he had shrunk several inches, due to kyphoscoliosis (curvature of the spine, a mixture of scoliosis and kyphosis).