Here's an update on the below Obit for Matthew McGrory... I have a link sent to me by Capone that'll lead you to a friend of McGrory's who has set up a tribute website for the man. It's quite touching and worth a look.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THAT PAGE.

Hullo peoples. Quint here with some sad news. The gentle giant of a man, Matthew McGrory, has passed away of natural causes at the young age of 32. Howard Stern fans knew of McGrory a lot sooner than I did (he was a regular personality on the show), having noticed him in his film work first. His stand out role will always be the giant in BIG FISH, for me. He brought a warmth to the role and his scenes with Ewan McGregor are some of my favorite scenes in the movie. He'll be remembered. My thoughts are with his friends, fans and family.

Harry,

I just saw this on netscape's news page, though knowing you you have already heard...

CLICK HERE FOR THAT STORY

I was a big fan of him in Big Fish. I think he made that whole movie.

If you use this, call me MoseDawg

Harry here -- Matthew recently spent a bit of time with our guy Capone - and Al had to chime in with his rememberances of a guy we knew in voice and on screen. Here ya go..

Hey Harry, Capone in Chicago here, about as sad as I’ve been about a famous person’s death as I’ve been since Gene Siskel died. Granted, the name Matt McGrory may not mean much to many people, but if I told you he stood at more than 7 ½ feet tall, was in the Guinness Book as the man with the largest feet in the world (size 29 ½), and was featured in such recent films as THE DEVIL’S REJECT & HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (as Tiny Firefly), BIG FISH (as Karl the Giant), and BUBBLE BOY (as the Human Sasquatch), you’d probably know who I was talking about. Matt died on Tuesday in his L.A. home at the age of 32, apparently of natural causes. But since the man was so obviously super-natural, that statement almost seems laughably ironic. Maybe I’ll laugh later.

Less than two weeks ago, I spent a great deal of time with Matt and other cast members of THE DEVIL’S REJECTS at the Chicago-area horror convention Flashback Weekend. I moderated separate Q&A panels for REJECTS and 1000 CORPSES (which screened during the three-day event). Other guests for the discussions were Sid Haig, Michael Berryman, and Bill Mosley, and the thing that struck me about Matt was how protective and caring everyone was for him. Rather than force Matt to get out of his wheelchair (if you’ve ever seen the size of his knees, you’d know that the arthritis Matt suffered from must have been excruciating, but he never showed it) and walk up on stage, his fellow cast members either sat on the edge of the stage along side Matt or simply pulled up chairs next to him. It was a moving show of camaraderie, and having spent time with Matt, it’s clear to see how easy it was to like him.

I’d been a fan of Matt McGrory since his half-dozen or so appearances on the Howard Stern Radio Show; Howard nicknamed him “Bigfoot.” His voice was so incredibly deep that I had a hard time believing that Stern wasn’t playing a trick on his listeners by artificially deepening Matt’s voice. But when you hear that booming, all-bass voice coming out of him, you know that a giant is nearby. His other television appearance included a recurring role on “Charmed” as Ogre, and one-shots on HBO’s “Carnivale” and “Malcolm in the Middle” (playing Lothar in an episode called, strangely enough, “Carnival”).

During Matt’s pre-convention time in Chicago two weekends ago, he did what must have been his final television interview on the local Fox channel and his final radio interview on the Mancow morning show. I didn’t hear the Mancow interview, but a friend told me that Matt talked about living life as a giant and how he didn’t look at it as a curse, but rather a gift that has helped him fulfill his dream of being an actor. His enthusiasm about meeting his fans, taking pictures with folks, talking to people was unmistakable. The guy was more than a “gentle giant,” he was a class act and one of the nicest celebrities I’ve ever met.

On a personal note, I was so excited about getting to meet and converse with the guy that I completely forgot to ask for an autograph. My stupidity knows no bounds, and I’ll regret that lapse in common sense for a very long time. There are some nice photos on the Flashback Weekend site (www.flashbackweekend.com) of Matt with the fans and during our Q&A session. Dig around, they’re worth finding. He was already getting excited about returning to the event next year, and it kills me that that won’t happen now. You’ll see how much he was loved, and my deepest condolences go out to his girlfriend Melissa, his manager Aine Leicht, and his family & friends. From what I’ve read today on the news wires, Matt was preparing for what would have clearly been his greatest challenge as an actor: playing Andre Rousimmoff a.k.a. wrestler Andre the Giant, someone Matt was inspired by. I can only imagine how he would have played that part. Peace, Matt.

Capone