ANDRÉ THE GIANT

André the Giant, whose real name was André René Roussimoff, was a French professional wrestler and actor. He had a feud with Hulk Hogan, culminating at WrestleMania III in 1987. His best-known film role was that of Fezzik, the giant from The Princess Bride.

His height was the result of gigantism caused by excess growth hormone, which later led to acromegaly. It has also led to it being called ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’.

In the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE), Roussimoff was one-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion and one-time WWF Tag Team Champion. In 1993, he was the first inductee into the newly created WWF Hall of Fame and he was later a founding member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

ANDRÉ THE GIANT AGE

André was born on May 19, 1946 and died on January 27, 1993. He died at the age of 46.

ANDRÉ THE GIANT FAMILY

André Roussimoff was born in Moline, in the canton of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, of Slavic origin, son of Boris and Mariann Roussimoff. His parents were immigrants to France; his father was Bulgarian and his mother Polish. His nickname growing up was “Dédé”. As a child, he exhibited symptoms of gigantism early on, reaching a height of 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) and a weight of 94 kg (208 lb) by the age of 12

Roussimoff was a good student, especially in math, but dropped out after eighth grade because he did not believe a high school education was necessary for a farmhand. He spent years working on his father’s farm, where, according to his brother Jacques, he could do the work of three men.

He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, then worked in a factory that made engines for hay balers. None of these occupations, however, brought him any satisfaction.

ANDRÉ THE GIANT WOMAN

He married Jean (deceased in 2008).

ANDRE THE GIANT GIRL

Robin Christensen is Roussimoff’s only child. His mother Jean (who died in 2008) got to know his father through the wrestling business around 1972 or 1973.

Robin had almost no connection with his father and saw him only five times in his life, despite occasional television and print news articles criticizing his absent fatherhood. Although she gave interviews on the subject as a child, Robin would be reluctant to speak publicly about her father today.

ANDRÉ THE GIANT CAREER

Carrier start

At 18, Roussimoff moved to Paris and learned professional wrestling from a local promoter who recognized the earning potential of Roussimoff’s size. He trained at night and worked as a mover during the day to pay living expenses. Roussimoff was introduced as “Géant Ferré”, a name based on French folk hero Grand Ferré, and began wrestling in and around Paris

.Andrew the Giant

Canadian promoter and wrestler Frank Valois met Roussimoff in 1966, becoming his business manager and advisor. Roussimoff began to make a name for himself wrestling in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Africa.

He made his Japanese debut in 1970 billed as ‘Monster Roussimoff’, wrestling for the International Wrestling Enterprise.

Wrestling as a singles and tag team competitor, he quickly became the company’s tag team champion alongside Michael Nador. While in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly.

Roussimoff then moved to Montreal, Canada, where he became an immediate success, regularly selling out the Montreal Forum. However, promoters eventually ran out of plausible opponents for him, and as the novelty of his height wore off, gate receipts dwindled.

Roussimoff was defeated by Adnan Al-Kaissie in Baghdad in 1971 and wrestled numerous times in 1972 for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA) as a special attraction until Valois brought in Vince McMahon Sr., founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), for advice.

McMahon suggested several changes. He felt that Roussimoff should be portrayed as a large, motionless monster, and to improve the perception of his size, McMahon discouraged Roussimoff from performing maneuvers such as dropkicks (although he was able to perform such maneuvers nimble before his health deteriorated later in life).

He also began introducing Roussimoff as “André the Giant” and set up an intensive travel schedule, loaning him out to wrestling associations around the world, to keep him from becoming overexposed in any field. The promoters had to guarantee Roussimoff a certain amount of money and pay McMahon’s WWWF booking fee.

Acting career

Roussimoff returned to acting in the 1970s and 1980s, after a 1967 French boxing film, making his acting debut in the United States playing a Sasquatch (“Bigfoot”) in a two-part episode broadcast in 1976 in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. He has appeared in other TV shows including The Greatest American Hero, BJ, and the Bear, The Fall Guy and the 1990’s Zorro

Towards the end of her career, Roussimoff acted in several films. He had an uncredited appearance in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer as Dagoth, the resurrected giant horned god who is killed by Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger). That same year, he also made an appearance in Micki & Maude (presented as André Rousimoff).

He notably appeared as Fezzik, his own favorite role, in the 1987 film The Princess Bride. The film and his performance retain a devoted following. In short interviews, the wrestlers said he was so proud to be in ‘Princess Bride’, he carried a copy of the movie wherever he went to watch whenever he could.

In his last film, he appeared in a cameo role as a circus giant in the comedy Trading Mom, released in 1994, a year after his death.

FILMS AND TV SERIES BY ANDRÉ THE GIANT

1. Shopping Mom
2. The Princess Bride
3. WWF Wrestling Challenge
4. The Big Event
5. Saturday Night Main Event
6. WWF Prime Time Wrestling
7. Conan the Destroyer
8. WCW WorldWide
9. Chinese Puzzle for Judoka
10. AWA All-Star Wrestling
11. WWE – Survivor Series 1988
12. The History of WrestleMania

DEATH OF ANDRÉ THE GIANT / CAUSE OF DEATH

Roussimoff died in his sleep from congestive heart failure on the night of January 27, 1993, in a Paris hotel room. He was found by his driver. He was in Paris to attend his father’s funeral. While there, Roussimoff decided to stay in France longer to be with her mother on her birthday. He spent the day before his death visiting and playing cards with some of his oldest friends at Molien.

Roussimoff had finalized his will in New York on October 30, 1990, with his lawyer. In the will, he specifies that his remains must be cremated and “disposed of”. When he died in Paris, his family in France held a funeral for him, intending to bury him near his father.

When they learned of his wish to be cremated, his body was flown to the United States, where he was cremated according to his wishes. His ashes were scattered at his ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina. Moreover, according to his will, he left his estate to his only beneficiary: his daughter Robin.

FACTS ABOUT ANDRE THE GIANT

1. SAMUEL BECKETT DROPS HIM AT SCHOOL. …
2. HE GROW UP SO RAPIDLY HIS OWN PARENTS DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM. …
3. HE ENJOYED MOVING CARS AS A PRANK. …
4. HIS FINGERS HAVE UNIQUE PROBLEMS. …
5. HE HAD FUN FARTING ON OPPONENTS. …
6. HE LOVED QVC. …
7. RELATIVELY, HE WAS NOT A HEAVY DRINKER. …
8. HE WAS WEARING A BACK ATTACHMENT UNDER HIS SINGLET.