Heads Above the Rest

Height matters. At least it does in fashion, where supermodels--5 feet 10 on average--tower over the catwalks. And it matters in basketball, where 6 feet 6 no longer seems incredible against the 7-foot-7 stature of Washington Wizard Gheorghe Muresan, the NBA’s tallest player who filled the role opposite Billy Crystal in the aptly named movie “My Giant.”

It also matters among the almost 500 members who attended the Tall Club International convention last week. They gathered at the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach to celebrate their perspective in society. Here they don’t have to crouch to have a face-to-face conversation, and nobody asks them if they play basketball.

“It’s so great to feel short someplace,” muses Beverly Galetti, the 5-foot-10 Miss Tall Chicago who competed in the Miss Tall International Pageant recently. The event--complete with two-minute skits and ball gown strutting--kicked off a week highlighted by galas, cocktail parties, shopping, sports and field trips to Universal Studios and Catalina Island (where the local press declared the “amazons’ ” arrival).

Supermodel tall, Galetti measures up to the minimum eligibility height for women. Men must be at least 6 feet 2. (There’s also an age requirement of 21.)

Noticeable as they are, their size qualifies them in a minute percentage of the U.S. population: 0.7% of U.S. women and 3.9% of men are as tall. The average height for American women is 5 feet 3 1/2, and for men, it’s 5 feet 9, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

By age 12, Laura Shaw reached 6 feet 2. “I used to be confused as a substitute teacher in school by the other teachers and students,” recalls the Miss Tall St. Louis, another contestant in the international pageant. An assistant to a CEO of a multinational company, Shaw joined TCI three years ago for the social scene and the support. “Everyone’s tall here. We know we’re not alone. With this group, it’s the most comfortable I’ve felt about my height.”

That might sound odd in a culture that worships basketball stars and supermodels. Actresses, too, have reached new heights, in part because of action films where it doesn’t hurt for a super heroine to face evil eye-to-eye. Consider the favorites who, at 5 feet 10, qualify to join TCI: Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Minnie Driver and Liv Tyler.

There are plenty more. Six-footers include Uma Thurman, Brooke Shields, Geena Davis, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Kristen Johnston of “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

Miss America Kate Shindle, at 5 feet 11, is the tallest ever to wear the crown. U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno is 6 feet 1 1/2, tennis diva Venus Williams checks in at 6 feet 2, and L.A. Sparks center Zheng Haixia reigns at 6 feet 8.

Counter those stats with yesteryear’s biggest star: Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford were under 5 feet and Elizabeth Taylor was 5 feet 4. Just compare the shoe imprints at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Many tip toppers--mostly women--say they grew up with a sense of embarrassment and frustration over their height. They remember towering over the boys at school dances, not finding clothes that properly fit and being singled out as an anomaly. As a result of these painful memories, TCI members sponsor Skywriters, a pen-pal support program for tall junior high and high school students.

Besides Skywriters, the 60-year-old, nonprofit club established a scholarship in the founder’s name for college-bound high school students, and adopted as its official charity the National Marfan Foundation. Marfan Syndrome is an inheritable, currently incurable disorder of the connective tissue that affects bones, skeletal ligaments, eyes and the heart. Tallness is among its symptoms.

Support and camaraderie were behind the original club that grew into what is now Tall Clubs International, with its 65 member clubs in North America and 55 European affiliate clubs (the total membership hangs somewhere around 14,000).

The founder’s story is almost mythological: In 1938, Kae Sumner Einfeldt opened her home to eight tall strangers who responded to an ad she ran in the newspaper. Einfeldt was an artist for Disney Studios who colored the dwarfs for “Snow White.” Within a few years, the club was showcased in Life magazine and on Robert Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” TV show. Its mission has been to raise awareness about issues concerning people of above-average height and to have a whole lot of fun.

The Hyatt ballroom was jumping following the pageant. The sparkling crown went to the Golden State’s queen Suzanne Stavast, a 6-foot beauty from Rancho Palos Verde who manages a driving school and three kids.

“She was the second-tallest girl in her high school,” beams daughter Janelle Plank. “But she loves being tall now--especially right now.”

Is this 16-year-old suffering for being 5 feet 9? “Not even,” she says emphatically. “There’s lots of people this tall at my school. And it really doesn’t make that much of a big deal. My generation’s getting a lot taller, I think.”

She’s right. Since 1876, the average height of U.S. men has grown 4 inches. Half of that increase has occurred since the 1960s, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Researchers believe tallness is a product of overall good living conditions in a society, including general health, disease prevention, nutrition, activity and even happiness.

TCI’s efforts include lobbying industries to change scale to reflect a taller population. “Vertically advantaged” people, they contend, can’t buy sports cars and have to shop at special apparel and shoe stores. Most rely on mail-order catalogs, the Internet or special Big-and-Tall stores. Some can wear only custom clothing and have their beds special-ordered.

A few of the group’s victories? They’re credited with successfully campaigning for California King-sized beds and size 20 Nikes.

Mr. Tall Orange County, Hal Ferguson, is waiting for a big and skinny store to open. “I got picked [for the title] for being tall and skinny--but mainly skinny,” says the 6-foot-6 Anaheim data manager who doesn’t mind being described as “a beanpole.”

Donning spats, tails and top hat, which he had specially made in Hong Kong, Ferguson said he believes the day will arrive when society will be less concerned with issues of height and more with people’s attitudes.

He might be on to something already. At 5 feet 5 1/2, pageant judge Mario Mandy took the experience in good humor. “It didn’t bother me a bit being among all these beautiful, warm people. In fact, I’d like to join the club.”

* For more information, call (888) I’M-TALL2, visit the Web site at https://www.tallorg or type TALLWEB into any search engine.