How tall was Rex Harrison

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 9/May/23
I think 186-186.5cm zone for Williams, very strong 6ft1 guy. The most I'd argue for him is 6ft1½ which is arguable if Grant was a full 6ft1 (mounting evidence to suggest a little below it). I see an inch between John and Rex. Overall about even with Ray Milland.

He did get 6ft2 listings as well which that's pushing it slightly even though he does look it with Grant.

Jake: 1.84 m- 1.85 m said on 7/May/23
Williams at around 186 cm seems a good bet, Rob.

Gerald S said on 4/May/23
John WIlliams had 2cm on Harrison in Midnight Lace. Hence, Williams peaked at a very strong 185cm, Harrison at a very strong 183cm.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 21/Apr/23
Rob, could we add John Williams?


Found some shots of him in the movies Jake mentions.

For starters, here he is with Rex Click Here Click Here

W/h Cary Grant Click Here Click Here Click Here

w/h Ray Milland Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here

w/h Brian Keith Click Here

w/h Burt Reynolds Click Here


Somewhere between 6ft1-2 zone I actually think is on point. Visibly taller than Grant, Harrison and Keith, edging Milland and dwarfing Burt Reynolds! 185cm looks a bit low, more likely a 186-187cm range guy, even pulls off 188cm with Grant. Interestingly, he doesn't appear to share any scenes with Anthony Dawson in Dial M. Like Dawson, I think 6ft1½ is a good place to book him

Jake: 1.84 m - 1.85 m said on 4/Mar/23
Him and Williams appeared close in Midnight Lace (having just re-watched). 183/184 for Harrison and maybe strong 185 for Williams.

Arch Stanton said on 24/Feb/23
Rex a long, aristocratic looking face, which with his slime frame could make him pass for nearer 6 ft 3 at times. But he did barely look over 6 ft with big 6 ft 6 Geoffrey Holder.

Jake: 1.84 m - 1.85 m said on 21/Feb/23
Good listing. Hey Rob, how about a page for his Midnight Lace co-star John Williams? He achieved a fair bit of renown for his appearances in Hitchcock films like Dial M for Murder (as the detective) and To Catch a Thief. He was also in Sabrina.

Seems to get 6ft 1 - 6ft 2 listings and I think maybe a solid 6ft 1 was close? Thoughts?
Cheers!

Sinclair said on 5/Mar/22
Rob, what peak height would you put Samantha Eggar at?

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 2/Oct/21
Rex had a slender body ideal for looking much taller. Like Arch, I also thought he was at least 6ft2

Arch Stanton said on 2/Nov/20
If Rex was around today I'm pretty sure he'd be out of work from Metoo complaints! From what I heard this guy was one of the worst and was disliked by most of his co-stars. Which is disappointing as his contribution to cinema is great. In my opinion he could often look 6 ft 1, at times could look even taller with his long, aristocratic features.

greg lehmann said on 22/Oct/18
There are certain movies I would call "requirements" in your video collection. My Fair Lady is one of these. I first saw My Fair Lady just before Christmas in 1964 on a kindergarten field trip. Sure I was just 5 years old when I saw My Fair Lady that cold snowy December day,but I so enchanted by 6' Sir Rex Harrison's magic performance I told our kindergarten teacher Kay Cassassa that My Fair Lady would become one of the greatest movies of all time as well as win 1964 Best Actor Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. Kay was skeptic about a 5 year old being like a movie critic reviewing movies,but I hit it direct! It DID win Best Picture Best Actor and Best Director Oscars,3 of the 8 Oscars it nailed in 1964.And it HAS become a classic! (Even Kay agreed with me on this. We even sang one of the songs,"On The Street Where You Live,"at my 8th grade graduation in 1973! And to top it off,My Fair Lady is me #1 All Time Favorite Movie AND #1 Warner Brothers movie! And STILL just as delightful in 2018 as it was in 1964! (Harrison also scored nice in Doctor Dolittle in 1967.)

Neelasish Sen Roy said on 15/Jun/18
He is solid 6'1

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 9/Jun/18
A 6ft1 guy shouldn’t feel dwarfed by a 6ft3 guy

Mongo said on 20/Dec/17
When he was Broadway, I caddied an entire summer for Rex (that's what he asked me to call him) in the afternoons for his nine-hole rounds. I found him to be a truly nice man, very pleasant to be around at all times. I know that Arch Stanton said "One of the most hated actors in Hollywood by all accounts, nobody had anything nice to say about him, they found him super arrogant, boorish, and treated women like something on his shoe", and perhaps that's true, but my interaction with him that summer was completely different. To me he was one of the nicest and friendliest people I ever caddied for. And he was exceptionally generous with how he paid me, exceptionally. I'll forever remember him in the finest of ways. As for his height, I'm 6'1 and I had him by about 2 inches.

Arch Stanton said on 12/Aug/17
One of the most hated actors in Hollywood by all accounts, nobody had anything nice to say about him, they found him super arrogant, boorish, and treated women like something on his shoe. I sitll think this is too low, but if he did claim 6 ft..

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 1/Mar/17
6ft0½ is probably a better compromise since he claimed 6ft and 6ft1

Arch Stanton said on 13/Jan/17
@Rampage, great find. I swear Rex can pull off 6'2-3 in some films, might have worn lifts at times as he admitted there. He certainly has the very long facial profile of a guy 6'3 +.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 9/Dec/16
Rob, he also claimed 6ft1


Heston is an enormously tall man - if I'm six foot one, he must be about six foot three - and I asked my wardrobe man, as I was wearing long robes, to put a little lift in my shoes, so that I could gain a couple of inches, and meet Heston at his own level. The lifts were duly put in, and I eyed Heston and congratulated myself that at least he no longer towered above me. As the film went on, however, it seemed to me that he was growing. Eyeball to eyeball he was once more a couple of inches taller than I. I looked down at his feet - not a sign of lifts! He must have grown through sheer tenacity. Nether of us made any comment, nor did our wardrobe men - it was a very funny, silent contest. - On making The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) with Charlton Heston

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 9/Dec/16
Could give a very tall impression at times

James said on 9/Oct/16
Harrison admitted in his autobiography that he wore lifts in "The Agony and the Ecstasy" to look more in line with Charlton Heston.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 28/May/16
Very honest about his height. Like Arch, I also guessed 6ft2+ for some reason. Very tall looking 6fter. I think this mark is fair. On the stronger side of it...

James said on 31/Mar/16
Sir Rex Harrison was exactly six feet tall.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Aug/15
@Rob, well he was about 5 inches shorter in shoes than 6'6 Geoffrey Holder barefoot.
I do think he was one of those who could give a 6'2-6'3 impression at time, perhaps his build and long facial features could give a more imposing impression.

Arch Stanton said on 27/Jul/15
Though when stood next to somebody like Geoffrey Holder you realise he's no more than 6ft 1. Holder in fact looked about 5 inches taller and was barefoot and Harrison in shoes.

Arch Stanton said on 27/Jul/15
A guy like Rex could give the illusion of near two inches taller on screen than guys like Cary Grant and Bob Mitchum.

Arch Stanton said on 27/Jul/15
Honestly Chuckie I thought he could give a 6'3 impression at times. A very tall looking 6 ft 1 guy.

Arch Stanton said on 27/Jul/15
Rob can you add a photo and films like Blithe Spirit, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Midnight Lace and Anna and the King of Siam?

Chuckie Cheese 2 said on 28/Jun/14
A strong 6 feet, but he could look 6 ft 2 inches, because he weighed a trim 160 pounds. Milwaukee Journal, Jan 11, 1949 pg 43: Click Here

Arch Stanton said on 23/Apr/14
Rob can you add Blithe Spirit and The Ghost of Mrs Muir, I think they're probably worth a mention, Blithe Spirit in particular.

Rex Harrison to be honest often seemed nearer 6'3" to me, especially in the 40s. It might be his long face and screen presence but he often looked taller than 6'1 to me. He looked similar on screen to George Sands in The Ghost of Mrs Muir actually, although they didn't stand side by side, but in relation to Tierney, Sands didn't look noticeably bigger. He didn't look over this in Cleopatra though.

Mike said on 27/Mar/14
Harrison was six foot.

Arch Stanton said on 12/Dec/13
Rob can you add some of his other more notable films like My Fair Lady, Major Barbara, Anna and the King of Siam, and Cleopatra and David Lean's Blithe Spirit?

Arch Stanton said on 12/Dec/13
Not sure why you doubt even 6'1" Rob, he was pretty leggy, looks more 6'2"-6'3" to me in Blithe Spirit too.

Arch Stanton said on 15/Sep/13
Strange but he looks 6'2"-6'3 in My Fair Lady.

Shadow2 said on 21/Dec/11
Harrison was in the 6' to 6' 0.5" range, not 6' 1". He is slightly shorter than legit 6' 1" John Williams in 1960's "Midnight Lace".

Anonymous said on 21/Mar/09
Perin says.......Rex Harrison used to live in Nyack, NY...A lot of actors enjoyed being in that area as opposed to Manhattan when working in NY...I stayed at the bed and breakfast in the summer of 2008 and it was a lovely house overlooking the Hudson, very quaint place and the pool area was large enough to hold some festive parties...Swimming in the pool was quite cold but fun to imagine who may have also been in this pool in the time Rex lived there...I would love to read a book on hus life at this house, he must have been quite the charmer...;-]

Fred said on 15/Jun/08
One summer, I caddied for Rex many times... he was about 5'11. He was a really wonderful human being.

William said on 2/Aug/07
I walked past him in Baltimore when he was in his late 70's, and he appeared to be about 5'10", but he was not standing straight. I was too afraid to say anything to him. He was still handsome, even at that age.

Frank2 said on 4/May/06
Leon Ames in his youth was about 5'8" and Raft was about 5'7" possibly even 5'6".

Rob, in Rex's own book he describes himself as being 6'1".

Paul said on 3/May/06
Frank2, two great actors from the golden era were in Hammersmith: Leon Ames and George Raft. Would you care to size them up for us? Granted they were senior citizens then.

Many thanks.

Editor Rob said on 27/Apr/06
Going back to that mention of lifts, here was another quote from a harrison book:

"Rex took no chances. They story goes he had lifts put in his boots to bring him up to heston's eyelevel...then he found his fellow player mysteriously rising in height and managing still to out-top him...lifts or 'will power'"...book also described Rex as 6ft 2.

Frank2 said on 9/Apr/06
Liz Taylor with 5'7" Audrey Hepburn: Click Here

Frank2 said on 9/Apr/06
To answer Haylie's question as to whether I ever met Liz Taylor, the answer is no, but I did see her and Richard Burton as they entered the projection room at MGM to see the film Hammersmith is Out which I worked on. Up till then its director, Peter Ustinov had been wonderful to work with. He was one of the funniest people I've ever been around. Then the day the two stars showed up they didn't wish to have anyone with them in the room while they watched it with Peter. I could tell that Peter was caught in a bind since he wouldn't have cared one bit if I was in there with them which I should have been since whatever notes they had it was my job to take down. Taylor looked fat and short and Burton was three sheets to the wind. FYI he was about 5'10". (no lifts that day) I think I related the following on another thread, but when I first met Ustinov I told him that "I loved Billy Budd" meaning the classic film he had directed. He looked at me and leaned over whispering into my ear, "It'll be our little secret. I won't tell a soul." After that I was usually laughing so much I could barely do my job!

Frank2 said on 8/Apr/06
Many of the old female stars were quite small. Compare them with today's female stars who are a bunch of mooses! In fact during most casting calls done when I was at Fox, I'd say 90% of the woman were at least 5'7". Many were 5'10". I'll never forget the day I saw Bridget Neilson. She was wearing boots with four inch heels and looked 6'4"! No wonder Stallone wore lifts!

I met many of the old timers and hardly any were more than 5'4". Being 5'6" back then for an actress was considered tall. Debra Paget who I fell in love with the first time I saw her and got to later meet was tiny. Joan Crawford was no more that 5'2". Lana Turner was small. Ava Gardner was only 5'5" which seemed tall back then.

Haylie said on 8/Apr/06
Thanks Frank2! I really agree with Liz Taylor being 5'2" because she looks tiny in her films and was always described as short and if she really was 5'4" that would be 1 inch taller than the 1950's average of 5'3"

Frank2 said on 8/Apr/06
Lana Turner wasn't really tall. She was probably around 5'4" maybe even less. Liz taylor was shorter -no more than 5'2". And for those arguing Marilyn Monroe's height using the excuse that being heavy makes one look shorter, I'd like to remind everyone that Liz had a weight problem and most people thought she looked taller than she really was. And Orson Welles had a serious weight problem and his height was so inflated that when I finally met him I was surprised he was my height or 5'11". In fairness to Welles I think he had shrunk a bit. I'd say he was a solid 6'1" when he was young. But some sites list him at nearly 6'4" which is not the case.

Haylie said on 7/Apr/06
Out of interest what height was Lana Turner? Also I believe Frank2 on this one because I've seen Cleopatra A LOT but if Rex is 6ft I don't know what height that would make Elizabeth Taylor because she was sustantially shorter than him and I noticed she wore 3 or 4 inch heels under her dresses. Did you ever meet Taylor Frank2 (I'm a big fan!!!)?

Frank2 said on 7/Apr/06
Here's Cukor on location serving Lana Turner lunch: Click Here

Cukor and Katharine Hepburn: Click Here

Cukor with Roz Russell, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer: Click Here

Cukor next to Audrey Hepburn: Click Here

Cukor and Monroe: Click Here

Cukor directing during his "heavy" period: Click Here

Frank2 said on 7/Apr/06
Bull! Cukor was a shrimp. And by the time he was an old man he had shrunk down to under 5'5". I last saw him on the Universal lot where he was lost and trying to find a specific screening room. We spoke for a few minutes and he came up to my nose! That's how short he had become. Years earlier when I worked with him at MGM he was no more than 5'6". Neither was Jack Warner. And like Hitchcock, Cukor used to be fat. He had lost a lot of weight by the time of Travels With My Aunt.

Back in the Golden Days, almost all the studio chiefs were little guys - all except Sam Goldwyn who was about 5'9" and Walt Disney who was 5'10". Louis B. Mayer, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn, Jack Warner and Adolph Zucker were all little guys with Mayer the shortest at 5'3". Zanuck's son Richard who's a very successful independent producer is shorter than his 5'5" father. Dick is about 5'3".

Frank2 said on 7/Apr/06
In the photo of Rex with Fox, I meant Edward Fox, not James. I tend to confuse the names of the two brothers, Edward is quite short while James is quite tall, about 6'1".