I would say 5'9" for John. The other "tall ones" are about the same. The Cuban heeled boots, as you mentioned, gave them another 2 inches and I guess that's why you see 5'11" on the back of the trading cards. Ringo looks to be 2-3" shorter.
Regardless, they were "larger than life."
Indeed. I love these guys.
5'9" sounds right to me. I've been doing some comparative height tests with the older Beatles. There's a clip of John standing next to Howard Cosell, and he looks short! HC is 6'1", so 5'9" would be about right for John. I think HC would be less likely to publish a false height, as he's not a star in the same way the Beatles are-- he doesn't need to be a sex symbol to report on sports.
And men are supposed to be tall to be sexy; one of our silly remaining prejudices.
Then there's George appearing on Rutland Weekend television with Eric Idle-- same relative height difference and EI is also 6'1". George also looks tiny in his video "This Song" when he's being marched down the hall by Harry Nilsson in his role of policeman. HN's height is 6' 2". Doubtless George picked him because he's such a huge guy, but George is indeed several inches shorter.
One thing that shocked me (because I'm easily shocked) is when George did his cameo in the Rutles movie. He was standing next to Michael Palin, and they were the same height!
I was shocked because I always knew MP was short. Poor MP had to work with EI (6'1") and Graham Chapman (6'2") and John Cleese (6'4-3/4") in the Pythons, so he only looked small in comparison. MP's published height is 5'10.5". Assuming he is lying (because he's a man in show business, he
must lie about his height!) then he is also about 5'9", same as GH.
PS: Thank you, Raxo and HG, for the chat room instructions. I have never yet chatted, but I'm prepared now in case I ever do!
