André the Giant

french professional wrestler and actor ( 1946–1993 )

André René Roussimoff ( french : [ ɑ̃dʁe ʁəne ʁusimɔf ] ; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993 ), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French-Bulgarian professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff stood over seven feet tall, which was a solution of giantism caused by excess increase hormone ( acromegaly ). It besides led to him being called “ The Eighth Wonder of the World “. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Beginning his career in 1966, Roussimoff relocated to North America in 1971. From 1973 to the early-1980s, Roussimoff was booked by World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF ) promoter Vincent J. McMahon as a roving “ particular drawing card ” who wrestled for promotions throughout the United States, adenine well as in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. During the 1980s wrestle boom, Roussimoff became a anchor of the WWWF ( by then renamed the World Wrestling Federation ), being paired with the nefarious coach Bobby Heenan and feuding with Hulk Hogan. The two headlined WrestleMania III in 1987, and in 1988, he defeated Hogan to win the WWF Championship, his sole global heavyweight backing, on the first base episode of The Main Event. As his WWF career wound down after WrestleMania VI in 1990, Roussimoff wrestled chiefly for All Japan Pro-Wrestling, normally aboard Giant Baba, until his death.

Reading: André the Giant

After his death in 1993, Roussimoff became the inaugural draftee into the newly created WWF Hall of Fame. He was later a lease penis of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ; the latter describes him as being “ one of the most recognizable figures in the world both as a professional wrestler and as a pop culture icon. ” [ 14 ] Outside of wrestle, Roussimoff was best known for appearing as Fezzik, the giant in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride .

early life [edit ]

André René Roussimoff was born on 19 May 1946 [ 15 ] in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, the son of immigrants Boris Roussimoff ( 1907–1993 ) and Mariann Roussimoff Stoeff ( 1910–1997 ) ; his church father was bulgarian and his mother was polish. He had two older siblings and two younger. His childhood dub was Dédé (, french : [ dede ] ). At birth, André weighed 13 pounds ( 6 kilogram ) ; as a child, he displayed symptoms of gigantism, and was noted as “ a good head tall than early kids ”, with abnormally long hands. In a 1970s television interview, Roussimoff stated that his beget was 5 feet 2 inches tall and his father 6 feet 2 inches grandiloquent, and that according to his father his grandfather was 7 feet 8 inches tall. [ 19 ] By the time he was 12, Roussimoff stood 191 centimeter ( 6 foot 3 in ). Roussimoff was an average scholar, though dependable at mathematics. After finishing school at 14, as he did not think higher education was necessary for a farm laborer, he joined the work force ; contrary to democratic caption, he did not drop out of school, as compulsory education in France at the time ended at 14. Roussimoff spend years working on his beget ‘s farm in Molien, where, according to his brother Jacques, he could perform the work of three men. He besides completed an apprenticeship in carpentry, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers. none of these, however, brought him any atonement. [ 21 ] While Roussimoff was growing up in the 1950s, the irish dramatist Samuel Beckett was one of respective adults who sometimes drove local children to school, including Roussimoff and his siblings. [ 22 ] They had a surprise amount of park ground and bonded over their love of cricket, with Roussimoff recalling that the two rarely talked about anything else. [ 23 ]

professional wrestle career [edit ]

early career ( 1964–1973 ) [edit ]

André the Giant in the early on 1970s At the age of 18, Roussimoff moved to Paris and was taught professional wrestle by a local promoter, Robert Lageat, who recognized the earning likely of Roussimoff ‘s size. He trained at night and worked as a mover during the day to pay living expenses. [ 21 ] Roussimoff was billed as “ Géant Ferré ”, a identify based on the Picardian tribe champion Grand Ferré, and began wrestling in Paris and nearby areas. canadian promoter and wrestler Frank Valois met Roussimoff in 1966, years former to become his business coach and adviser. Roussimoff began making a appoint for himself wrestling in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. [ 21 ] He made his japanese introduction for the International Wrestling Enterprise in 1970, billed as “ Monster Roussimoff ”. Wrestling as both a singles and tag-team rival, he cursorily was made the company ‘s tag-team champion alongside Michael Nador. [ 25 ] During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly. [ 21 ] Roussimoff next moved to Montreal, Canada in 1971, where he became an contiguous success, regularly selling out the Montreal Forum. [ 26 ] however, promoters finally ran out of plausible opponents for him and, as the novelty of his size wore off, the gate receipts dwindled. [ 21 ] Roussimoff was defeated by Adnan Al-Kaissie in Baghdad in 1971, [ 27 ] and wrestled numerous times in 1971 for Verne Gagne ‘s American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) as a limited attraction until Valois appealed to Vince McMahon Sr., fall through of the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF ), for advice. McMahon suggested several changes. He felt Roussimoff should be portrayed as a boastfully, immovable monster, and to enhance the perception of his size, McMahon discouraged Roussimoff from performing maneuvers such as dropkicks ( although he was capable of performing such agile maneuvers before his health deteriorated in late life ). He besides began billing Roussimoff as “ André the Giant ” and set up a travel-intensive agenda, lending him to wrestling associations around the worldly concern, [ 29 ] [ 30 ] to keep him from becoming overexposed in any area. [ 21 ] Promoters had to guarantee Roussimoff a sealed sum of money deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as pay McMahon ‘s WWF book fee .

World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation ( 1973–1991 ) [edit ]

Undefeated mottle ( 1973–1986 ) [edit ]

Roussimoff wrestling a “ local rival ” in June 1973 On 24 March 1973, Roussimoff debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( former World Wrestling Federation ) as a fan front-runner, defeating Frank Valois and Bull Pometti in a handicap match in Philadelphia. Two days late he made his introduction in New York ‘s Madison Square Garden, defeating Buddy Wolfe. [ 32 ] [ 29 ] [ 33 ] Roussimoff was one of professional wrestle ‘s most beloved “ babyfaces ” throughout the 1970s and early on 1980s. As such, Gorilla Monsoon frequently stated that Roussimoff had not been defeated in 15 years by pinfall or submission prior to WrestleMania III ; however, he had lost in matches outside of the WWF : pinfall losses to Don Leo Jonathan in Montreal in 1972, a knockout to Jerry Lawler in Memphis in 1975, [ 35 ] pull with Bobo Brazil at a battle royal in Detroit in 1976, [ 36 ] Ronnie Garvin in Knoxville in 1978, and Canek in Mexico in 1984 and meekness losses in Japan to Strong Kobayashi in 1972 and Antonio Inoki in 1986. [ 40 ] He besides had sixty-minute time-limit draw with the two major earth champions of the day, Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel. In 1976, Roussimoff fought master packer Chuck Wepner in an unscripted boxer-versus-wrestler fight. The crazy fight was shown via telecast as part of the undercard of the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki contend and ended when he threw Wepner over the top r-2 and outside the closed chain and won via count-out. In 1980, he feuded with Hulk Hogan, when, unlike their more celebrated matches in the late 1980s, Hogan was the villain and Roussimoff was the hero, wrestling him at Shea Stadium ‘s third base Showdown at Shea event and in Pennsylvania, where after Roussimoff pinned Hogan to win the meet, Hogan bodyslammed him much like their fabled WrestleMania III equal in 1987. The feud continued in Japan in 1982 and 1983 with their roles reversed and with Antonio Inoki besides involved. In 1982, Vince McMahon Sr. sold the World Wide Wrestling Federation to his son, Vince McMahon Jr. [ 41 ] As McMahon began to expand his newly acquired promotion to the national degree, he required his wrestlers to appear entirely for him. McMahon signed Roussimoff to these terms in 1984, although he still allowed him to work in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling ( NJPW ). One of Roussimoff ‘s feuds pitted him against the “ mongol Giant ” Killer Khan. According to the storyline, Khan snapped Roussimoff ‘s ankle during a match on 2 May 1981 in Rochester, New York by leaping off the top rope and crashing down upon it with his knee-drop. [ 43 ] In reality, he had broken his ankle getting out of bed the good morning before the match. [ 21 ] The injury and subsequent rehabilitation was worked into the existing Roussimoff/Khan storyline. After a stay at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Roussimoff returned with vengeance on his mind. The two battled on 20 July 1981, at Madison Square Garden in a match that resulted in a double disqualification. [ 45 ] Their feud continued as fans filled arenas up and down the east coast to witness their matches. On 14 November 1981 at the Philadelphia Spectrum, he decisively defeated Khan in what was billed as a “ mongolian stretcher catch ”, in which the loser must be taken to the dress room on a stretcher. The same type of peer was besides held in Toronto. In early on 1982 the two besides fought in a series of matches in Japan with Arnold Skaaland in Roussimoff ‘s corner. Another feud involved a valet who considered himself to be the “ true giant ” of wrestle : big John Studd. [ 43 ] Throughout the early to mid-1980s, Roussimoff and Studd fought all over the global, battling to try to determine who the veridical giant star of wrestle was. In 1984, Studd took the feud to a new floor when he and collaborator Ken Patera knocked out Roussimoff during a telecast tag-team match and proceeded to cut off his hair. [ 43 ] After gaining revenge on Patera, Roussimoff met Studd in a “ body slam challenge ” at the first WrestleMania, held 31 March 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. [ 47 ] Roussimoff slammed Studd to win the match and collect the $ 15,000 prize, then proceeded to throw cash to the fans before having the bag taken from him by Studd ‘s director, Bobby “ The Brain ” Heenan. [ 48 ]
The follow year at WrestleMania 2 on 7 April 1986, Roussimoff continued to display his dominance by winning a twenty-man battle royal which featured top National Football League stars and wrestlers. [ 49 ] He death eliminated Bret Hart to win the contest. After WrestleMania 2, Roussimoff continued his feud with Studd and King Kong Bundy. Around this time, Roussimoff requested a forget of absence to tend to his health, since the effects from his acromegaly were beginning to take their toll, a well as to tour Japan. He had besides been cast in the movie The Princess Bride. To explain his absence, a storyline was developed in which Heenan—suggesting that Roussimoff was secretly afraid of Studd and Bundy, whom Heenan bragged were unbeatable—challenged Roussimoff and a spouse of his choosing to wrestle Studd and Bundy in a telecast tag-team match. When Roussimoff failed to show, WWF president Jack Tunney indefinitely suspended him. [ 51 ] Later in the summer of 1986, upon Roussimoff ‘s return to the United States, he began wearing a mask and competing as the “ elephantine machine ” in a stable known as the Machines. [ 15 ] Big machine and Super Machine were the other members ; Hulk Hogan ( as “ Hulk Machine ” ) and Roddy Piper ( as “ Piper Machine ” ) were besides erstwhile members. The WWF ‘s television receiver announcers sold the Machines—a catch that was copied from the New Japan Pro-Wrestling quality “ Super Strong Machine ”, played by japanese wrestler Junji Hirata, [ 52 ] —as “ a new tag-team from Japan ” and claimed not to know the identities of the wrestlers, even though it was obvious to fans that it was Roussimoff competing as the Giant Machine. Heenan, Studd, and Bundy complained to Tunney, who finally told Heenan that if it could be proven that Roussimoff and the colossus Machine were the lapp person, Roussimoff would be fired. Roussimoff thwarted Heenan, Studd, and Bundy at every twist. then, in belated 1986, the Giant Machine “ disappeared ” and Roussimoff was reinstated. Foreshadowing Roussimoff ‘s heel plow, Heenan expressed his approval of the reinstatement but did not explain why .

WWF Champion and respective rivalries ( 1987–1989 ) [edit ]

Roussimoff agreed to turn heel in early 1987 to be the counter to the biggest “ babyface “ in professional writhe at that time, Hulk Hogan. On an edition of Piper’s Pit in 1987, Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for three years ; Roussimoff came out to congratulate him, shaking Hogan ‘s hired hand with a impregnable grapple, which surprised the Hulkster. On the succeed week ‘s Piper’s Pit, Roussimoff was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being “ the only undefeated wrestler in wrestling history. ” Although he had suffered a handful of countout and disqualification losses in WWF, he had never been pinned or forced to submit in a WWF ring. Hogan came out to congratulate him and ended up being the focal indicate of the interview. apparently annoy, he walked out in the midst of Hogan ‘s speech. [ 56 ] A discussion between Roussimoff and Hogan was scheduled, and on a Piper’s Pit that aired 7 February 1987, the two meet. [ 57 ] Hogan was introduced first, followed by Roussimoff, who was led by longtime rival Bobby Heenan. Speaking on behalf of his new protégé, Heenan accused Hogan of being Roussimoff ‘s friend only sol he would not have to defend his deed against him. Hogan tried to reason with Roussimoff, but his pleas were ignored as he challenged Hogan to a match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania III. Hogan was however apparently in unbelief as to what Roussimoff was doing, prompting Heenan to say “ You ca n’t believe it, possibly you ‘ll believe this, Hogan ” before Roussimoff ripped off the T-shirt and crucifix from Hogan, with the crucifix scratching Hogan ‘s chest, causing him to bleed. Following Hogan ‘s acceptance of his challenge on a subsequently version of Piper’s Pit, the two were separate of a 20-man over-the-top-rope battle-royal on 14 March version of Saturday Night’s Main Event X at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. [ 59 ] Although the struggle royal was won by Hercules, Roussimoff claimed to have gained a psychological advantage over Hogan when he threw the WWF World Heavyweight Champion over the exceed rope. The match, which was actually taped on 21 February 1987, [ 59 ] aired entirely two weeks before WrestleMania III to make it seem like Hogan had met his couple in André the Giant. [ 60 ] At WrestleMania III, he was billed at 520 pound ( 236 kilogram ), [ 3 ] and the stress of such huge burden on his bones and joints resulted in constant pain. [ 21 ] After holocene back operating room, he was besides wearing a brace underneath his wrestle singlet. In front man of a criminal record crowd, Hogan won the match after body-slamming Roussimoff ( later dubbed “ the bodyslam listen around the world ” ), followed by Hogan ‘s run peg dismiss finisher. [ 3 ] Years belated, Hogan claimed that Roussimoff was then clayey, he felt more like 320 kg ( 700 pound ), and that he tore his latissimus dorsi muscle when slamming him. Another myth about the meet is that no one, not even WWF owner Vince McMahon, knew until the day of the event whether Roussimoff would lose the match. In reality, he agreed to lose the match erstwhile before, by and large for health reasons. Contrary to popular impression, it was not the first base meter that Hogan had successfully body-slammed him in a WWF match. A then-heel Hogan had slammed a then-face Roussimoff following their match at the Showdown at Shea on 9 August 1980, though Roussimoff was reasonably lighter ( around 210 kilogram ( 470 pound ) ) and more acrobatic at the time ( Hogan besides slammed him in a pit in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, a calendar month late ). [ 62 ] This took place in the territorial days of american english writhe three years before WWF began national expansion, so many of those who watched WrestleMania III had never seen the Giant slammed ( Roussimoff had besides previously allowed Harley Race, El Canek and Stan Hansen, among others, to slam him ). [ 64 ] By the clock time of WrestleMania III, the WWF went national, giving more think of to the Roussimoff–Hogan catch that took topographic point then. The feud between Roussimoff and Hogan simmered during the summer of 1987, as Roussimoff ‘s health declined. The feud began heating up again when wrestlers were named the captains of equal teams at the inauguration Survivor Series event. During their approximately one moment of battling each other during the match, Hogan dominated Roussimoff and was on the brink of knocking him from the ring, but was tripped up by his partners, Bundy and One Man Gang, and would be counted out. Roussimoff went on to be the sole survivor of the catch, pinning Bam Bam Bigelow [ 65 ] before Hogan returned to the ring to attack André and knock him out of the hoop. Roussimoff subsequently got revenge when, after Hogan won a couple against Bundy on Saturday Night’s Main Event, he snuck up from behind and began choking Hogan to the verge of unconsciousness, not letting go even after an army of seven face-aligned wrestlers ran to the ring to try to pull him off ; it took Hacksaw Jim Duggan breaking a musical composition of forest over his back ( which he no-sold ) for him to let go, after which Hogan was pulled to safety. As was the case with the SNME conflict royal a year earlier, the series of events was one of the pieces that helped build matter to in a potential one-on-one replay between Hogan and Roussimoff, and to make it seem that Roussimoff was certain to win well when they did meet. In the meanwhile, the “ Million Dollar Man ” Ted DiBiase failed to persuade Hogan to sell him the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. After failing to defeat Hogan in a subsequent series of matches, DiBiase turned to Roussimoff to win it for him. He and DiBiase had teamed respective times in the past, including in Japan and in the WWF in the late 1970s and early 1980s when both were faces, but this was not acknowledged during this new storyline. The earlier attack and DiBiase ‘s interpolation into the feud set up the Hogan-Roussimoff replay on The Main Event, to air 5 February 1988, on a live broadcast on NBC. Acting as his lease gun, Roussimoff won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hogan ( his first base singles title ) in a equal where it was by and by revealed that appointed referee Dave Hebner was “ confine backstage ”, and a successor ( whom Hogan afterwards initially accused of having been paid by DiBiase to get plastic surgery to look like Dave, [ 67 ] but was revealed to have been his evil match brother, Earl Hebner ), [ 68 ] made a three count on Hogan while his shoulders were off the felt. After winning, Roussimoff “ sold ” the deed to DiBiase ; the transaction was declared invalid by then- WWF president of the united states Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacant. [ 69 ] This was shown on WWF ‘s NBC plan The Main Event. At WrestleMania IV, Roussimoff and Hulk Hogan fought to a double disqualification in a WWF claim tournament match ( with the estimate in the storyline saying that Roussimoff was again working on DiBiase ‘s behalf in giving DiBiase a clear path in the tournament ). Afterward, Roussimoff and Hogan ‘s feud died down after a sword cage match held at WrestleFest on 31 July 1988, in Milwaukee. Hogan was the winner.

The Colossal Connection ( 1989–1990 ) [edit ]

In late 1989, Roussimoff was joined with fellow Heenan Family member Haku to form a new tag team called the Colossal Connection, in separate to fill a void left by the deviation of Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson ( the Brain Busters, who were besides members of Heenan ‘s stable ) from the WWF, and besides to continue to keep the aging Roussimoff in the main consequence spotlight. His stopping point singles equal was a loss to The Ultimate Warrior in 20 seconds at a sign of the zodiac show in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on 11 December 1989. [ 73 ] The Colossal Connection immediately targeted WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition ( who had recently won the belts from the Brain Busters ). At a television taping on 13 December 1989, the Colossal Connection defeated Demolition to win the titles. [ 74 ] Roussimoff and Haku successfully defended their title, by and large against Demolition, until WrestleMania VI on 1 April 1990, when Demolition took advantage of a mistimed move by the champions to regain the belts. [ 75 ] After the match, a angered Heenan blamed Roussimoff for the title loss and after shouting at him, slapped him in the face ; an angry Roussimoff responded with a slap of his own that sent Heenan staggering from the ring. Roussimoff besides caught Haku ‘s kick try, sending him reeling from the ring angstrom good, prompting digest for Roussimoff and turning him face for the first fourth dimension since 1987. Due to his ongoing health issues, Roussimoff was not able to wrestle at the time of Wrestlemania VI and Haku actually wrestled the entire match against Demolition without tagging him in. On weekend television shows following WrestleMania VI, Bobby Heenan vowed to spit in Roussimoff ‘s front when he came crawling spinal column to the Heenan Family. however Roussimoff would wrestle one more time with Haku, teaming up to face Demolition on a house show in Honolulu, HI, on 10 April, Roussimoff was knocked out of the ring and The Colossal Connection lost via count-out. After the peer, Roussimoff and Haku would fight each other, marking the end of the team. His final equal of 1990 came at a blend WWF/All Japan/New Japan show on 13 April in Tokyo, Japan when he teamed with Giant Baba to defeat Demolition in a non-title equal. Roussimoff would win by gaining the pinfall on Smash. [ 77 ]

sporadic appearances ( 1990–1991 ) [edit ]

Roussimoff returned in the winter of 1990, but it was not to the World Wrestling Federation. rather, Roussimoff made an interview appearance for Herb Abrams ‘ newcomer Universal Wrestling Federation on 11 October in Reseda, California. [ 78 ] ( the segment aired in 1991 ). He appeared in an interview segment with Captain Lou Albano and put over the UWF. [ 79 ] The following month on 30 November at a house show in Miami, Florida, the World Wrestling Federation announced his return as a player in the 1991 Royal Rumble ( to be held in Miami, FL two months subsequently ). Roussimoff was besides mentioned as a player on television but would ultimately back out due to a branch injury. [ 80 ] His on-air hark back ultimately took position at the WWF ‘s Super-Stars & Stripes Forever USA Network special on 17 March 1991, when he came out to shake the bridge player of The Big Boss Man after an affray with Mr. Perfect. [ 81 ] The follow workweek at WrestleMania VII, he came to the aid of the Boss serviceman in his match against Mr. Perfect. Roussimoff finally returned to action on 26 April 1991, in a six-man tag-team match-up when he teamed with The Rockers in a winning effort against Mr. Fuji and The Orient Express at a house show in Belfast, Northern Ireland. [ 83 ] On 11 May he participated in a 17-man battle-royal at a house show in Detroit, which was won by Kerry Von Erich. [ 84 ] This was Andre ‘s final WWF match, although he was involved in several subsequent storylines. His stopping point major WWF storyline following WrestleMania VII had the major heel managers ( Bobby Heenan, Sensational Sherri, Slick, and Mr. Fuji ) trying to recruit Roussimoff one-by-one, only to be turned down in diverse humiliating ways ( e.g. Heenan had his hand crushed, Sherri received a alert, Slick got locked in the luggage compartment of the car he was offering to Roussimoff and Mr. Fuji got a pie in his confront ). finally, Jimmy Hart appeared populate on WWF Superstars to announce that he had successfully signed Roussimoff to tag-team with Earthquake. however, when asked to confirm this by Gene Okerlund, Roussimoff denied the claims. This led to Earthquake ‘s attacking Roussimoff from behind ( injuring his stifle ). [ 85 ] Jimmy Hart would late get revenge for the humiliation by secretly signing Tugboat and forming the Natural Disasters. [ 86 ] This led to Roussimoff ‘s final major WWF appearance at SummerSlam ’91, where he seconded the Bushwhackers in their match against the Disasters. Roussimoff was on crutches at ringside, and after the Disasters won the equal, they set out to attack him, but the Legion of Doom made their way to ringside and got in between them and the Giant, who was preparing to defend himself with one of his crutches. The Disasters left the ringside area as they were outnumbered by the Legion of Doom, the Bushwhackers and Roussimoff, who struck both Earthquake and Typhoon ( the early Tugboat ) with the crutch as they left. His final WWF appearance came at a house read in Paris, France, on 9 October. He was in Davey Boy Smith ‘s corner as the Bulldog faced Earthquake. Davey Boy hit Earthquake with Roussimoff ‘s crutch, allowing Smith to win .

World Championship Wrestling ( 1992 ) [edit ]

In his concluding U.S. television receiver appearance, Andre appeared on World Championship Wrestling ‘s ( WCW ) Clash of the Champions XX especial that aired on TBS on 2 September 1992, where he gave a brief consultation. During the same consequence, he appeared aboard Gordon Solie and was late seen talking with him during the gala celebrating the twentieth anniversary of wrestling on TBS .

All Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Association ( 1990–1992 ) [edit ]

After WrestleMania VI, Roussimoff spent the rest of his in-ring career in All Japan Pro Wrestling ( AJPW ) and Mexico ‘s Universal Wrestling Association ( UWA ), where he performed under the list “ André elevated railway Gigante. ” He toured with AJPW three times per year, from 1990 to 1992, normally teaming with Giant Baba in tag-team matches. He besides made a couple of guest appearances for Herb Abrams ‘ Universal Wrestling Federation, in 1991, feuding with Big John Studd, though he never had a equal in the promotion. He did his final go of Mexico in 1992 in a excerpt of six-man rag matches aboard Bam Bam Bigelow and a kind of Lucha Libre stars facing among others Bad News Allen and future WWF Champions Mick Foley & Yokozuna. [ 90 ] Roussimoff made his final examination tour with AJPW from October to December 1992 ; he wrestled what became the final examination match of his career on 4 December 1992, teaming with Giant Baba and Rusher Kimura to defeat Haruka Eigen, Masanobu Fuchi, and Motoshi Okuma. [ 91 ]

Acting career [edit ]

Roussimoff branched out into acting again in the 1970s and 1980s, after a 1967 french boxing movie, making his USA acting debut playing a Sasquatch ( “ Bigfoot “ ) in a bipartite episode aired in 1976 on the television receiver series The Six Million Dollar Man. He appeared in other television shows, including The Greatest American Hero, B. J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy and 1990 ‘s Zorro. Towards the end of his career, Roussimoff starred in several films. He had an uncredited appearance in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer as Dagoth, the revive horned giant god who is killed by Conan ( Arnold Schwarzenegger ). That lapp year, he besides made an appearance in Micki & Maude ( billed as André Rousimmoff ). He appeared most notably as Fezzik, his own favored character, [ 32 ] in the 1987 film The Princess Bride. The fact that Roussimoff found that no one stared at him on fit during production was a novel and particularly satisfy experience. [ 94 ] Both the film and his operation retain a devoted come. In a shoot interview with Lanny Poffo, he stated that the movie meant therefore much to André that he made his writhe pals watch an advance copy of the VHS with him over and over again while supplying dinner, drinks, and sweetly asking each time, “ Did you like my performance ? “. [ 95 ] In his last film, he had a cameo character as a circus giant in the comedy Trading Mom, which was released in 1994, a year after his death .

Filmography [edit ]

personal life [edit ]

Roussimoff was mentioned in the 1974 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-paid wrestler in history at that clock time. He earned US $ 400,000 in one year during the early 1970s. Robin Christensen is Roussimoff ‘s alone child. Her mother Jean Christensen ( who died in 2008 ) became introduce with her father through the wrestle commercial enterprise around 1972 or 1973. Christensen had about no connection with her father and saw him lone five times in her life, despite casual televised and printed news program pieces criticizing his absentee father. While she gave some interviews about the subjugate in her childhood, Christensen is reportedly loath to discuss her don publicly nowadays. [ 97 ] Roussimoff has been unofficially crowned “ the greatest intoxicated on worldly concern ” for once consuming 119 12-US-fluid-ounce ( 350 milliliter ) beers ( in sum, over 41 litres ( 72 imp platinum ) ) in six hours. [ 99 ] On an sequence of WWE ‘s Legends of Wrestling, Mike Graham said Roussimoff once drank 156 16-US-fluid-ounce ( 470 milliliter ) beers ( over 73 litres ( 128 elf platinum ) ) in one sitting, which was confirmed by Dusty Rhodes. The fabulous Moolah wrote in her autobiography that Roussimoff drank 127 beers in a read, Pennsylvania, hotel legal profession and late passed out in the anteroom. The staff could not move him and had to leave him there until he awoke. [ 100 ] In a shoot interview, Ken Patera recalled an affair where Roussimoff was challenged by Dick Murdoch to a beer drink contest. After nine or therefore hours, Roussimoff had drunk 116 beers. [ 101 ] A narrative recounted by Cary Elwes in his book about the reach of The Princess Bride has Roussimoff falling on top of person while drink, after which the NYPD sent an clandestine officer to follow Roussimoff around whenever he went out drink in their city to make certain he did not fall on anyone again. [ 102 ] Another history besides says anterior to his celebrated WrestleMania III match, Roussimoff drank 14 bottles of wine. [ 103 ] An urban caption exists surrounding Roussimoff ‘s 1987 surgery in which his size made it impossible for the anesthesiologist to estimate a dose via standard methods ; consequently, his alcohol tolerance was used as a road map alternatively. [ 104 ] In 1989, Roussimoff was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedly attacked a local anesthetic television cameraman in Linn County, Iowa. [ 105 ] William Goldman, the author of the novel and the screenplay of The Princess Bride, wrote in his nonfiction employment Which Lie Did I Tell? that Roussimoff was one of the gentlest and most generous people he always knew. Whenever Roussimoff eat with person in a restaurant, he would pay, but he would besides insist on paying when he was a guest. On one occasion, after Roussimoff attended a dinner with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wilt Chamberlain, Schwarzenegger had softly moved to the teller to pay before Roussimoff could, but then found himself being physically lifted, carried from his table and deposited on top of his cable car by Roussimoff and Chamberlain. [ 107 ] Roussimoff owned a ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina, looked after by two of his close up friends. When he was not on the road, he loved outgo clock at the ranch, where he tended to his cattle, played with his dogs, and entertained friends. While there were custom-made chairs and a few early modifications in his base to accommodate his size, tales that everything in his home was custom-made for a large man are said to be exaggerated. Since Roussimoff could not easily go shopping due to his fame and size, he was known to spend hours watching QVC and made frequent purchases from the shopping groove. [ 1 ] Roussimoff had a mania for card games, chiefly cribbage. [ 108 ]

end [edit ]

Roussimoff died at historic period 46 of congestive center failure in his sleep at a Paris hotel on the night of 28 January 1993, and was discovered by his drive around the following morning. [ 32 ] He was in Paris to attend his father ‘s funeral. [ 110 ] While there, he decided to stay longer to be with his mother on her birthday. He spent the day before his end visit and act cards with some of his oldest friends in Molien. [ 1 ] In his will, he specified that his remains be cremated and “ disposed of ”. Upon his death in Paris, his syndicate in France held a funeral for him, intending to bury him near his father. When they learned of his regard to be cremated, his body was flown to the United States, where he was cremated according to his wishes. [ 1 ] His ashes were scattered at his ranch ( ) in Ellerbe, North Carolina. [ 21 ] [ 111 ] In summation, in accord with his will, he left his estate to his sole benefactive role : his daughter Robin. [ 112 ]

other media [edit ]

Roussimoff made numerous appearances as himself in video games, starting with WWF WrestleMania. He besides appears posthumously in Virtual Pro Wrestling 64, WWF No Mercy, Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE All Stars, WWE 2K14, WWE 2K15, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, [ 113 ] WWE 2K20 and many others. In January 2005, WWE released André The Giant, a DVD concenter on the life and career of Roussimoff. The DVD is a reissue of the out-of-print André The Giant VHS made by Coliseum Video in 1985, with comment by Michael Cole and Tazz replacing Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura ‘s comment on his WrestleMania match with Big John Studd. The video is hosted by Lord Alfred Hayes. Later matches, including his battles against Hulk Hogan while a heel, are not included on this VHS .

bequest [edit ]

Biopics [edit ]

On 9 May 2016, it was announced that a movie based on the 2015 authorized graphic novel biography André the Giant: Closer to Heaven was in the plans made by Lion Forge Comics along with producers Scott Steindorff, Dylan Russell and consulted by Roussimoff’s daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff.[120]
On 10 April 2018, HBO aired a documentary film called André the Giant.