Biography

Christopher Paul Greener (21 November 1943 – 11 February 2015) was a British actor and basketball player who went on to represent the United Kingdom.

Greener was born in New Brighton, Wallasey, Cheshire. He was at one point the tallest man in the United Kingdom and, at the time of his death, was the 4th tallest British-born man (after William Bradley, Neil Fingleton and Paul Sturgess) at 7 ft 6+1⁄4 in (2.29 m) in height. His weight ranged from 20 to 30 stone (130 to 190 kg) during adulthood. From a very young age, Greener had a tumour at the base of his pituitary gland, which controls the release of human growth hormone. As a result of the tumour, Greener's pituitary gland released more growth hormone than in an average person, and he would have continued to grow had the tumour not been treated with radiation therapy when he was in his late 20s. He was born with a 19 inches (48 cm) in length and average weight, and he followed the development standards of his age during his first year of life. He was measured at 29 inches (74 cm) on his 1st birthday, but his growth began to accelerate after this point. He grew 23 inches (58 cm) within three years, reaching 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) by the age of four. After this initial growth spurt, After this initial growth spurt, he continued to grow steadily and continuously. He was 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) tall at 16 and worked for a shipping company. His condition, pituitary gigantism, was not diagnosed until 1970 when Greener was 27 years old and 7 ft 5+1⁄4 in (226.7 cm) tall, already the record-holder as the tallest man in Britain for over 2 years with varying heights due to his continuous growth. He received treatment upon diagnosis, but because radiation therapy requires time to take effect, he grew another inch in the following year(s), reaching 7 ft 6+1⁄4 in (229.2 cm). When Greener was first recognised as the tallest British man on 11 December 1967, he was 7 ft 3.11 in (221.26 cm) tall and weighed 18 stone (110 kg). He held the record for 40 years, from 1967 to 2007, when Neil Fingleton officially took over the title from him.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Greener was an international basketball player for the Great Britain team and was often at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Greener worked as an actor, often serving in various comedy roles focused on his great height. He played the circus giant in David Lynch's The Elephant Man. He appeared in several documentaries chronicling the lives of the very tall, including the World's Tallest People television special on The Learning Channel in the United States and Superhuman: Giants on the UK's ITV.

On 14 February 2011, he appeared on an episode of The Gadget Show on Five in the UK to test out phones by dropping them. He died, aged 71, in Hayes, Bromley.