Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
uk666

André the Giant

Recommended Posts

André the Giant

Had you seen André René Roussimof in person, you might have thought you were staring at a character ripped right from the pages of a fairy tale.

The man more commonly known as André the Giant stood at seven feet and four inches tall and weighed about 520 pounds. Still, numbers and descriptions could never truly capture the essence of this larger-than-life legend.

Luckily, numerous photographers chronicled the life of the man they called the Eighth Wonder of the World. Their photographs illustrated not just the sheer size and spectacle that was André the Giant, but also, what it meant to be the pro-wrestler turned entertainer—both the good and the bad.

At his largest, André the Giant stood at seven feet and four inches and weighed about 520 pounds. He was a pro-wrestler and an entertainer, but more importantly, he was a man who inspired awe wherever he went.

1_andre-the-giant.jpg

André the Giant had a disease called acromegaly, meaning his pituitary gland produced too much growth hormone. He grew so big that little kids couldn’t help but stare up at him in sheer amazement. Just look at that size difference!

2_andre-the-giant.jpg

By the time he was 12 years old, André the Giant (right) was already six-foot-three and 240 pounds. He grew so fast that his parents didn’t recognize him when he returned home from a five-year stay in Paris, where he lived from the ages of 14 through 19.

3_andre-the-giant.jpg

Even among his fellow wrestlers, André was huge. When he started his pro-wrestling career in Paris at age 17, he was nicknamed “Géant Ferré” after a French folk hero. And over his lifetime, he became the focus of several legends and folk tales himself.

4_andre-the-giant.jpg

André’s persona was shrouded in myth. One legend goes that, when a group of (very dim-witted) men harassed him one evening, he followed them to the parking lot and flipped their car… with all four of them in it.

5_andre-the-giant.jpg

Vincent Kennedy McMahon—now the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment—interviewed the enormous André ringside. Throughout his career, André was seen as a special attraction in the wrestling world. People paid a lot of money to watch him perform.

6_andre-the-giant.jpg

André almost never lifted weights, yet he still had the superhuman strength necessary to hoist a grown man over his head and toss him out of a wrestling ring as if he was Sunday morning trash.

7_andre-the-giant.jpg

André the Giant feuded with Big John Studd in the lead-up to pro-wrestling’s first Super Bowl equivalent, Wrestlemania I. Their matches were so much fun for fans that they eventually met in a “Body Slam Challenge” in the main event of that show.

8_andre-the-giant.jpg

One of the most iconic moments in WWF history featured André the Giant showing the people watching at home just how big he was by palming the face of backstage interviewer “Mean” Gene Okurland like a basketball.

9_andre-the-giant.jpg

It was the most jaw-dropping spectacle the wrestling world had seen. The sensational final event of 1987’s Wrestlemania III was between two titans: André the Giant and Hulk Hogan. Fans — over 93,000 there in the Pontiac Silverdome, and almost 1,000,000 watching at home — were stupefied with excitement. 

hqdefault.jpg

André the Giant’s awe-inspiring presence in wrestling earned him attention outside of the squared circle, too. Soon, he was one of the biggest celebrities in the world, posing for photo opportunities with other celebrities like Hulk Hogan (left) and Donald Trump (centre).

11_andre-the-giant.jpg

Wrestlemania III held the record for 12 years as the largest live event held at an indoor stadium. André had been shown ‘bullying’ Hulk and ripping his shirt, and when Hogan succeeded in toppling the giant, he had secured a place as a superhero of wrestling.

12_andre-the-giant.jpg

On The Six Million Dollar Man, André gave an unforgettable, scene-stealing performance as the furry behemoth. He also guested on the popular show B.J. and the Bear. Because of his foray into the acting world, you’ll never believe which A-lister became André’s buddy — or will you?

14a_andre-the-giant.jpg

André was on the set of 1984’s Conan the Destroyer, making star Arnold Schwarzenegger look like an oddly puny little kid. In the film, he played Dagoth, a monstrous god of sorts that died by Conan’s sword.

14_andre-the-giant.jpg

In 1976, André the Giant allegedly drank 119 standard 12-ounce beers (the number varies depending on who tells the story) while visiting a pub in Pennsylvania. His hand—see it on the right—absolutely dwarfed every one of those cans.

15_andre-the-giant.jpg

According to his friends, André drank about 7,000 calories in alcohol per day. But while that may have seemed like an awesome party trick, it actually belied the great torture André felt just navigating everyday life. He drank, in part, to manage his pain.

16_andre-the-giant.jpg

Surgery scars covered André’s knees. There was so much pressure on his lower joints and extremities at all times that the wear-and-tear damage added up. He did what he could to manage that pain with surgeries and the aforementioned drinking.

17_andre-the-giant.jpg

Sadly, because of that pain—caused by constant pressure on his knees and lower back—André struggled to walk in his later years. He rode an ATV just to get around his property. His joints simply couldn’t take his weight much longer.

18_andre-the-giant.jpg

The world just couldn’t accommodate the Eighth Wonder of the World to any level of comfort. This picture showed André coping with minimal space on a 1980 public flight to Japan. He detested flying and driving. It wasn’t hard to see why.

19_andre-the-giant.jpg

At the end of his wrestling career, André could barely function in the ring. During his infamous Wrestlemania III match with Hulk Hogan, Hogan actually had to support his weight and prop him up at points in the match.

20_andre-the-giant.jpg

”There was no level of comfort” for André, said wrestling legend Jerry “The King” Lawler in a documentary focused on André’s life. “It had to be an uncomfortable life.” Even catching a New York City cab looked like an uncomfortable experience for him.

21_andre-the-giant.jpg

“People would not leave him alone,” said another wrestling legend, Ric Flair. He couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. He couldn’t disguise himself. Truly, André had little opportunity for peace and comfort.

22_andre-the-giant.jpg

Through his pain and discomfort, though, André the Giant never failed to entertain the public with an existence seemingly ripped from the pages of French folklore. 

In January of 1993, André received a call from his family in France – his father Boris was sick, and not expected to hold on much longer. André flew home to see his father one last time. André stayed in France for the funeral and his mother’s birthday.

On January 26, André returned to his hometown, a tiny village northeast of Paris named Molien. He spent the day meeting with old friends, playing cards and no doubt being the larger than life entertainer on last time, albeit on a much smaller stage that usual. That night, André died of congestive heart failure in his sleep in his Paris hotel room. He was 46.

His body was flown back to America, where he was cremated. Then his ashes were interred at his ranch in rural North Carolina, where he loved to go to escape how much the world loved and hurt him. But he had ensured one, final act of kindness.

He was, even after his death on January 27, 1993, the subject of endless fascination for a public who adored him.

André the Giant was a spectacular figure who attracted attention wherever he went; it brought him fame, but unfortunately, great pain, too. His life is a reminder that even the people we think have it all are only human.

André the Giant lives on as a legend. Posthumously, the differently abled boy from a poor French farm became the first wrestler to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. His likeness became a pop culture symbol on the “Obey” stencils and stickers you see everywhere in the world.

Smiling through his disability and illness, André Roussimoff gave of himself to allow the world to enjoy themselves and to be filled with wonder, no matter the cost. Through his actions and his character, he proved that size wasn’t the only thing that made him truly larger than life.

24_andre-the-giant.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×