7-Foot-Plus Actor Matthew McGrory Dies

[Johnny Stew]

7-Foot-Plus Actor Matthew McGrory Dies
By RYAN PEARSON, Associated Press Writer
Wed Aug 10, 6:28 PM ET

Matthew McGrory, the deep-voiced 7-foot-plus actor who moved from appearances on Howard Stern's radio show to a high-profile role as a gentle giant in the movie "Big Fish," has died. He was 32.

McGrory died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, said director Drew Sky, who was working with him on his current movie, a biopic of wrestler-turned-actor Andre the Giant. Paramedics determined he died of apparent natural causes, police said.

McGrory, who had size 29 1/2 shoes, appeared on Stern's show in the 1990s and received other attention from the national media even before he became an actor. He attended law school and showed up in music videos before starting his career in Hollywood B-movies.

He played a human Sasquatch in 2001's "Bubble Boy," an alien in "Men In Black II" (2002) and Tiny in the Rob Zombie horror movies "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003) and its sequel released this year, "The Devil's Rejects."

His big break in Hollywood came in 2003 with Tim Burton-directed "Big Fish." Ewan McGregor's character refuses to be intimidated by the size of McGrory's Karl character, walking up to shake his hand.

Sky said he first met McGrory at a bar in 2000 and had been filming "Andre: Heart of the Giant" on and off for six months. He said that McGrory, who was from West Chester, Pa., felt a connection with the man he was playing, wrestler and "The Princess Bride" actor Andre Rousimmoff, who died in 1993.

"He felt the same way, that he would do anything just to be a person of regular size one day a week, where people don't have to stare at him, where he could go see a regular movie and walk down the street," Sky said.

McGrory's family and girlfriend declined immediate comment.