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Hi all,

My current research is focusing on "The Sousaphone Men of Sousa Revisited," as I try to bring to light something of the stories behind all 35 of the guys who played the instrument named after their beloved bandmaster.

I've been making great progress (most recently with James Romeril, who has a wonderful story, and was a mere 5' 8"), but I cannot find any reliable information on just how tall Bill Bell was.

Do you happen to know? Newspaper reports from the early 1920s like to say that he was 6' 6," but I doubt it, based on the following photo:
This is the bass section in 1923-24, showing, from left to right, Gabe Russ, James Romeril (again, confirmed at 5' 8"), Earl Field (who was quite tall - still working on him), Jack Richardson (who is said to be either 6' 4" or 6' 6") and Bill Bell, who appears shorter than both Field and Richardson.

Let me know if you know - thanks!
Dave

Hi Dave,
I only met Mr. Bell once, when I bought my 1st tuba. My recollection was that he was over 6'. He was mostly sitting on the sofa at Torchy's house but he stood up to shake my hand. Unfortunately...no pictures.
Pete

I don't know how tall he was but I understand he was quite wide.

Hup

I'm guessing you already know about this page...

https://unrememberedhistory.com/2016/04 ... usas-band/" target="_blank

I am told Bell was very tall as a young man, but got shorter as he aged. Contact Don Harry for add'l info....

bisontuba wrote:I am told Bell was very tall as a young man, but got shorter as he aged. Contact Don Harry for add'l info....

Well, he is only 21 or 22 in the photo above, so I would imagine he was as tall as he ever was. I'll reach out to Don - thanks!

Everyone’s feet are cut off in the picture.

I think he is standing in a hole...

The late Klaus Bjerre contributes this item from his vast collection, a clipping from a San Francisco newspaper, wherein Mr. Bell is claimed to be 6' 6".

“Cake-eaters”

Three Valves wrote:“Cake-eaters”

https://youtu.be/KCja5rrrjAk" target="_blank

I think they should have brought out the jazbo after the first refrain!!

[quote="Donn"]The late Klaus Bjerre contributes this item from his vast collection, a clipping from a San Francisco newspaper, wherein Mr. Bell is claimed to be 6' 6".

Indeed, I've seen that, and the dozens of other versions of this newspaper feature, but I'm convinced that someone claimed he was that tall, and then all of the papers ran with that fun "fact." But when you see Bell next to Richardson and Field, he definitely appears shorter than those guys (and they were not taller than 6' 6" in any sources I've found so far). So I was just trying to get an accurate reading on Bell's height, if anyone had one.

https://tapsbugler.com/last-days-of-john-philip-sousa/" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
Is that a helicon in the first picture? Is that odd?
Neat picture and article.

Now we know - on WIlliam John Bell's registration card for WWII, dated February 15, 1942, when he was 39 years old and working for NBC, the doctor who examined him reveals that he was 6' 1" tall, and weighed 250 lbs.

Whether he was a bit taller than that when he was with Sousa, twenty years earlier, as suggested by comments above, is unknown (although he was almost certainly lighter). But there is no way he was 6' 6" as the newspaper clipping above claims!

Good detective work!