Maurice Tillet Maurice Tillet ( October 23 , 1903 – September 4 , 1954 ) was a Russian - born French professional wrestler known as The French Angel . Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice recognized world heavyweight champion by the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser in Boston . Early life . Tillet was born in the Ural Mountains in Russia to French parents . His mother was a teacher and his father was a railroad engineer . Tillet ' s father died when he was young . As a child he had a completely normal appearance and Tillet was nickname d " The Angel " due to his angelic face . In 1917 , Tillet and his mother left Russia due to the Revolution and moved to France , where they settled in Reims . When Tillet was 17 , he noticed swelling in his feet , hands , and head , and after visiting a doctor was diagnosed with acromegaly - a condition usually caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland , resulting in bone overgrowth and thickening . He had wanted to become a lawyer , but his acromegaly prevented him from doing so . Tillet served in the French Navy for five years as an engineer . Professional wrestling career . In February 1937 , Tillet met Carl Pojello in Singapore . Pojello was a professional wrestler , and convinced Tillet to enter the business . Tillet and Pojello moved to Paris for training , and Tillet wrestled for two years in France and England until World War II forced them to leave for the United States in 1939 . In Boston , Massachusetts , in 1940 , promoter Paul Bowser pushed Tillet , who was wrestling as The French Angel , as a main eventer , and he became a large draw in the area . As a result of his popularity , Tillet was booked as unstoppable , going undefeated for a span of 19 consecutive months . Tillet won the Boston - version of the World Heavyweight Championship in May 1940 , holding it until May 1942 . In early 1942 , he also held the Montreal - based world heavyweight championship . He regained the Boston - based title for a short time in 1944 . As a result of his success , several Angel imitators emerged , including the Tony Angelo ( Russian Angel ) , Super Swedish Angel , Jack Rush ( Canadian Angel ) , Wladislaw Tulin ( Polish Angel ) , Stan Pinto ( Czech Angel ) , Clive Welsh ( Irish Angel ) , Jack Falk ( Golden Angel ) , Gil Guerrero ( Black Angel ) , and Jean Noble ( Lady Angel ) . Tillet actually competed against Tor Johnson billed as The Swedish Angel on several occasions . By 1945 , Tillet ' s health began to fail and he was no longer booked as unstoppable . In his final wrestling match , in Singapore on February 14 , 1953 , he lost to Bert Assirati . In 1950 , Chicago sculptor Louis Linck befriended Tillet and made a series of plaster busts commemorating him for his wrestling career . One of the busts is in the Chicago ’ s International Museum of Surgical Science . In 1954 , Robert Manoogian Jr . who went by Bobby Managoff , friend and fellow wrestler to Maurice , asked if he could take a mold of Maurice ’ s head . Maurice agreed . From that mold three identical life casts , also called death masks were created . The first was given to Milo Steinborn . Milo donated his mask to the York Barbell Museum & USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame . The other two went to Patrick Kelly , a close friend of Maurice that he used to play chess with . Patrick donated both until 2006 . One went to the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard , and the other to the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum . Recently a 4th death mask has been identified . The owner is asserting it is the master bust , that was molded in order to create the other masks above . DreamWorks character Shrek is widely believed to have been inspired by Maurice Tillet . DreamWorks has yet to reference their inspirations for Shrek specifically , however there is an undeniable physical , and character similarities . There was an old Shrek script , and character , that was set to go into production created around Chris Farley . Then in 1997 Farley dies sending production into a tailspin . It was at that juncture Shrek , the movie , completely changed . The old Shrek was a teenage Ogre , longing to be accepted , and wanting to be a knight . The new Shrek becomes an older , wiser Ogre , longing to be left alone in his swamp . There is a professional style wrestling scene in the movie that may be a secret knod to their inspiration , Maurice Tillet . There are rumors that someone at DreamWorks visited the York Barbell Museum , and from viewing the mask at that location , the inspiration for Shrek was acquired . Death . Tillet died on September 4 , 1954 , in France , from heart disease . Tillet is buried at Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice , Illinois in ( Cook County , Illinois )