Robert 'Big Buck' Maffei(1930-1982)
- Actor
Known to audiences as Mr. Jumbo, the Abominable Snowman, Hercules, The Strongman, Greed the Giant, and a 40-foot, one-eyed Giant Cyclops, the 7-foot-two-inch Robert "Big Buck" Maffei was Hollywood's foremost TV and movie giant.
Maffei was always big for his age as a child. When he was five years old, his parents, who were normal-sized, took him to an endocrinologist, who diagnosed his problem as an over-active pituitary as the cause of his unusually large size.
In 1958, Danny Thomas and his family discovered Maffei working at a Santa Monica, California amusement park. Thomas decided he was "too big to miss" and featured him in his first credit as "Mr. Jumbo" in an installment of his popular network sitcom, "The Danny Thomas Show."
Maffei's television debut on "The Danny Thomas Show" launched his professional career as an actor. He subsequently appeared on such popular programs as "The Alaskans," "Bonanza" (he dwarfed Hoss Cartwright), "Follow the Sun," "Cheyenne," "Star Trek," the Jack Benny special, "Carnival Nights," "Lost in Space," to name a few. He also appeared in several movies, including "On a Clear Day You Seen Forever," starring Barbra Streisand, as a character voice in the animated feature, "The Lord of the Rings," and in the Cheech and Chong comedy, "Nice Dreams," along with numerous television commercials. Maffei's slogan to promote himself was, "Have size, will travel."
As Maffei once told a reporter of his fame to his enormous size, "I made every effort NOT to become a freak."
When film and television work wasn't plentiful, Maffei worked as professional wrestler. For a brief period, he filled in for a wrestler who got hurt on the west coast and wrestled in three matches under the name of "The Destroyer." He got out of the business because it was "a rough game" and "I don't quite go for all that fakery."
Maffei died on November 16, 1982 at the age 52 in San Diego, California, where he had been living.
Maffei was always big for his age as a child. When he was five years old, his parents, who were normal-sized, took him to an endocrinologist, who diagnosed his problem as an over-active pituitary as the cause of his unusually large size.
In 1958, Danny Thomas and his family discovered Maffei working at a Santa Monica, California amusement park. Thomas decided he was "too big to miss" and featured him in his first credit as "Mr. Jumbo" in an installment of his popular network sitcom, "The Danny Thomas Show."
Maffei's television debut on "The Danny Thomas Show" launched his professional career as an actor. He subsequently appeared on such popular programs as "The Alaskans," "Bonanza" (he dwarfed Hoss Cartwright), "Follow the Sun," "Cheyenne," "Star Trek," the Jack Benny special, "Carnival Nights," "Lost in Space," to name a few. He also appeared in several movies, including "On a Clear Day You Seen Forever," starring Barbra Streisand, as a character voice in the animated feature, "The Lord of the Rings," and in the Cheech and Chong comedy, "Nice Dreams," along with numerous television commercials. Maffei's slogan to promote himself was, "Have size, will travel."
As Maffei once told a reporter of his fame to his enormous size, "I made every effort NOT to become a freak."
When film and television work wasn't plentiful, Maffei worked as professional wrestler. For a brief period, he filled in for a wrestler who got hurt on the west coast and wrestled in three matches under the name of "The Destroyer." He got out of the business because it was "a rough game" and "I don't quite go for all that fakery."
Maffei died on November 16, 1982 at the age 52 in San Diego, California, where he had been living.
