Kae Sumner Einfeldt
Encyclopedia
Kae Sumner Einfeldt was the founder of the world's first modern Tall Club (the California Tip Toppers Club), which led to the formation of other tall clubs around the world, and Tall Clubs International
. Kae was well above average height at 6 feet 2 inches tall.
. The family moved a number of times, living in Riverside
, Pasedena
, and San Diego
.
An accomplished artist
, by 1938 Kae was employed by Walt Disney Studio
in the Ink & Paint and Special Effects departments. Her work included painting dwarfs for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
, which is ironic given her exceptional height of 6'2". During her lifetime she worked in six studios, including the Popeye
studio, and also worked with the War Department during World War II
.
, a columnist at the Los Angeles Times
, with an article about the problems of being tall. She then spoke to Editor-in-Chief Robert White, who was very receptive to her and suggested she proceed with the article. On March 20, 1938 a two-page article penned and illustrated by Kae appeared in the Times Sunday Magazine under the name Kae Krysler. Kae ended the article asking area tall people to contact her, and perhaps get together to discuss the problems of being tall.
On May 1, 1938, Kae met with eight other tall people who responded to the article, and by the end of the evening, they had formed the "Longfellows Club", which later became the California Tip Toppers Club (CTTC), North America's first club for tall people. It is the oldest still existing Tall Club in the world (see above). Subsequent publicity spread the idea of tall clubs; in 1939 the Greater Kansas City Skyliners club was formed. In the June 24, 1940 issue of Life Magazine, an article entitled Life Goes to a Tip Toppers Party appeared, and tall clubs started appearing from coast to coast.
Kae was invited to appear on the November 8, 1940 broadcast of Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
show. Mr. Ripley
challenged Kae to produce a New York Tip Toppers club; three days later, Ripley's audience included two rows of tip toppers (later called the New York Stratoliners).
The clubs 'grew' rapidly following World War II. In 1945 there were 60 clubs in the United States and Canada.
Beginning July 17, 1947 the first convention of tall clubs was held in Hollywood, California hosted by CTTC; fifteen clubs from around the United States
and Canada
were in attendance:
California Tip Toppers Club
Greater Kansas City Skyliners
Pittsburgh Tip Toppers
New York Stratoliners
Paramount Tall Club of Chicago
Tall Girl's Club of Chicago
Tower Club of Philadelphia
New Jersey Tip Topper Club
Texas Tip Toppers of Dallas
Golden Gate Tip Toppers
Skyscrapers Club of Cleveland
Vancouver Tip Toppers Club
St. Louis Tip Toppers
Houston Higher Ups
Seattle Timberliners
Miss Tip Topper of 1947 was also crowned from among the various club queens in attendance. This became the initial basis for the American Affiliation of Tall Clubs (AATC).
By 1966 the affiliation had grown to the point where a new name was needed; the name "Tall Clubs International and Miss Tall Universe" was unanimously adopted by the delegates; incorporation occurred by 1967. The name was amended in 1974 to become "Tall Clubs International
and Miss Tall International
, Incorporated".
The development of tall furnishings was one major goal of the members. They wrote letters, made many phone calls, and visited business to encourage them to lower the cost of custom-made items. From that goal, the King Size Mattress was created.
Kae stayed active in the tall clubs and TCI from their inception, and attended most of the conventions through the rest of her life.
As of 1989 more than 200 tall clubs were in operation in the US and Canada, though not all at the same time. Tall Club International (TCI) consists of 54 member clubs. There are tall clubs in Austria, Czechoslovikia, Demark, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland which have not affiliated with TCI because their minimum height requirements vary from TCI's standards of 5'10" for women and 6'2" for men measured in stocking feet.
In the night of September 27, 1996, Kae died in her sleep at the Pacific Coast Manor nursing home in Capitola, California
. Kae is survived by a granddaughter, Brandi.
Tall Clubs International
Tall Clubs International is a social organization in the United States and Canada, comprising over fifty independent Tall Clubs.The group says its mission is "to promote tall awareness among tall men and women, and in the community; to provide social activities of mutual interest, travel to cities...
. Kae was well above average height at 6 feet 2 inches tall.
Early Years & Career
Kae was born Katherine Ruth Sumner on May 19, 1916, as the only child of Roy Calvin Sumner and Ada (Frasier) Sumner in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. The family moved a number of times, living in Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, Pasedena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
An accomplished artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, by 1938 Kae was employed by Walt Disney Studio
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
in the Ink & Paint and Special Effects departments. Her work included painting dwarfs for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
, which is ironic given her exceptional height of 6'2". During her lifetime she worked in six studios, including the Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
studio, and also worked with the War Department during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Tall Club Movement
Kae had long had trouble with knocking her knees under desks, and in cafeterias and buses. By 1938 she had had enough. Friends recall Kae uttering, "There ought to be a club for tall people." On impulse she approached E.V. DurlingE.V. Durling
E.V. Durling was one of the first journalists to cover the Hollywood motion picture industry and later became a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist in the United States, with his column "On the Side."...
, a columnist at the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, with an article about the problems of being tall. She then spoke to Editor-in-Chief Robert White, who was very receptive to her and suggested she proceed with the article. On March 20, 1938 a two-page article penned and illustrated by Kae appeared in the Times Sunday Magazine under the name Kae Krysler. Kae ended the article asking area tall people to contact her, and perhaps get together to discuss the problems of being tall.
On May 1, 1938, Kae met with eight other tall people who responded to the article, and by the end of the evening, they had formed the "Longfellows Club", which later became the California Tip Toppers Club (CTTC), North America's first club for tall people. It is the oldest still existing Tall Club in the world (see above). Subsequent publicity spread the idea of tall clubs; in 1939 the Greater Kansas City Skyliners club was formed. In the June 24, 1940 issue of Life Magazine, an article entitled Life Goes to a Tip Toppers Party appeared, and tall clubs started appearing from coast to coast.
Kae was invited to appear on the November 8, 1940 broadcast of Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not (TV series)
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a documentary television series based on the newspaper feature that aired in three incarnations.The first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Robert L. Ripley, premiered on NBC television March 1, 1949...
show. Mr. Ripley
Robert Ripley
Robert LeRoy Ripley was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and amateur anthropologist, who created the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd 'facts' from around the world.Subjects covered in Ripley's cartoons and text...
challenged Kae to produce a New York Tip Toppers club; three days later, Ripley's audience included two rows of tip toppers (later called the New York Stratoliners).
The clubs 'grew' rapidly following World War II. In 1945 there were 60 clubs in the United States and Canada.
Beginning July 17, 1947 the first convention of tall clubs was held in Hollywood, California hosted by CTTC; fifteen clubs from around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
were in attendance:
California Tip Toppers Club
Greater Kansas City Skyliners
Pittsburgh Tip Toppers
New York Stratoliners
Paramount Tall Club of Chicago
Tall Girl's Club of Chicago
Tower Club of Philadelphia
New Jersey Tip Topper Club
Texas Tip Toppers of Dallas
Golden Gate Tip Toppers
Skyscrapers Club of Cleveland
Vancouver Tip Toppers Club
St. Louis Tip Toppers
Houston Higher Ups
Seattle Timberliners
Miss Tip Topper of 1947 was also crowned from among the various club queens in attendance. This became the initial basis for the American Affiliation of Tall Clubs (AATC).
By 1966 the affiliation had grown to the point where a new name was needed; the name "Tall Clubs International and Miss Tall Universe" was unanimously adopted by the delegates; incorporation occurred by 1967. The name was amended in 1974 to become "Tall Clubs International
Tall Clubs International
Tall Clubs International is a social organization in the United States and Canada, comprising over fifty independent Tall Clubs.The group says its mission is "to promote tall awareness among tall men and women, and in the community; to provide social activities of mutual interest, travel to cities...
and Miss Tall International
Miss Tall International
The Miss Tall International pageant selects a representative of the Tall Clubs International. The annual event includes contestants from across the United States and Canada and takes place during the Tall Clubs International annual convention. In June 2010, the convention was held in New Orleans...
, Incorporated".
The development of tall furnishings was one major goal of the members. They wrote letters, made many phone calls, and visited business to encourage them to lower the cost of custom-made items. From that goal, the King Size Mattress was created.
Kae stayed active in the tall clubs and TCI from their inception, and attended most of the conventions through the rest of her life.
As of 1989 more than 200 tall clubs were in operation in the US and Canada, though not all at the same time. Tall Club International (TCI) consists of 54 member clubs. There are tall clubs in Austria, Czechoslovikia, Demark, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland which have not affiliated with TCI because their minimum height requirements vary from TCI's standards of 5'10" for women and 6'2" for men measured in stocking feet.
Later years
George W. Einfeldt met Kae via the California Tip Toppers Club; they were married in 1948, and later adopted a daughter Sherri-Lynn. George died in 1968.In the night of September 27, 1996, Kae died in her sleep at the Pacific Coast Manor nursing home in Capitola, California
Capitola, California
Capitola is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, on the coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,918 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. Kae is survived by a granddaughter, Brandi.