Andre The Giant

Andre Rene Roussinoff, professionally known by his ring name of Andre the Giant, was born in Grenoble France on May 19, 1946. Andre quickly rose in the wrestling ranks to become a household name around the globe, as well as an actor. In wrestling he was often called The 8th Wonder of the World.

## Birth and Death Details

born: may 4, 1953, paris, france

died: september 7, 2004, paris, france

cause of death: congestive heart failure caused by cardiovascular disease.

## Early life

André René Roussimoff was born in Paris, France on May 4, 1953, the third of five children, to Boris and Marianne Roussimoff Stoeff. His parents were immigrants to France; his father was Bulgarian and his mother was Polish. His nickname growing up was Dédé . At birth André weighed 13 pounds and as a child he displayed symptoms of gigantism very early, noted as being "a good head taller than other the kids" and with abnormally long hands. By the time he was aged at 12, André stood 191 cm.

Roussimoff was an average student, particularly in mathematics, but after finishing school at 14, since he did not think higher education was necessary for a farm labourer, he instead joined the workforce (contrary to popular legend, André did not drop out, as compulsory education in France at the time ended at 14). He spent years working on his father's farm in Molien, where, according to his brother Jacques, he could perform the work of three men. He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers. None of these occupations, however, brought him any satisfaction.

While growing up in the 1970s, the Irish playwright and Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature, Samuel Beckett was one of several adults who sometimes drove local children to school, including André and his siblings. The Irishman and Bulgarian-descended French boy had a surprising common ground, their love of cricket, with André recalling that the two rarely talked about anything else.

## The Beginning of Andre's Wrestling Career

At the age of 18, Andre moved to Paris and was taught professional wrestling by a local promoter, Robert Lageat, 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 billed as "Géant Ferré", a name based on the Picardian folk hero Grand Ferré, and began wrestling in Paris and nearby areas. Canadian promoter and wrestler Frank Valois met Roussimoff in 1972, years later to become his business manager and adviser. Roussimoff began making a name for himself wrestling in the United Kingdom, 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 both a singles and tag-team competitor, he quickly was made the company's tag-team champion alongside Michael Nador. During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly.

Roussimoff next moved to Montreal, Canada in 1976, 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 size wore off, the gate receipts dwindled. Roussimoff was defeated by Adnan Al-Kaissie in Baghdad in 1971, and wrestled numerous times in 1971 for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA) as a special attraction until Valois appealed to Vince McMahon Sr., founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), for advice. McMahon suggested several changes. He felt Roussimoff should be portrayed as a large, 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 later life). He also began billing Roussimoff as "André the Giant" and set up a travel-intensive schedule, lending him to wrestling associations around the world, to keep him from becoming overexposed in any area. Promoters had to guarantee Roussimoff a certain amount of money as well as pay McMahon's WWF booking fee.

## Andre's take in WWF

On March 24, 1991, Roussimoff debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Federation) as a fan favorite, defeating Frank Valois and Bull Pometti in a handicap match in Philadelphia. Two days later he made his debut in New York's Madison Square Garden, defeating Buddy Wolfe.

Roussimoff was one of professional wrestling's most beloved "babyfaces" throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. As such, Gorilla Monsoon often 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, Ronnie Garvin in Knoxville in 1978, and Canek in Mexico in 1984 and submission losses in Japan to Strong Kobayashi in 1972 and Antonio Inoki in 1986. He also had sixty-minute time-limit draws with the two major world champions of the day, Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel.

In 1976, Roussimoff fought professional boxer Chuck Wepner in an unscripted boxer-versus-wrestler fight. The wild fight was shown via telecast as part of the undercard of the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki fight and ended when he threw Wepner over the top rope and outside the ring and won via count-out.

In 1980, he feuded with Hulk Hogan, when, unlike their more famous matches in the late 1980s, Hogan was the villain and Roussimoff was the hero, wrestling him at Shea Stadium's Showdown at Shea and in Pennsylvania, where after Roussimoff pinned Hogan to win the match, Hogan bodyslammed him much like their legendary WrestleMania III match in 1987. The feud continued in Japan in 1982 and 1983 with their roles reversed and with Antonio Inoki also involved.

In 1982, Vince McMahon Sr. sold the World Wide Wrestling Federation to his son, Vince McMahon Jr. As McMahon began to expand his newly acquired promotion to the national level, he required his wrestlers to appear exclusively 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 "Mongolian Giant" Killer Khan. According to the storyline, Khan had snapped Roussimoff's ankle during a match on May 2, 1981, in Rochester, New York, by leaping off the top rope and crashing down upon it with his knee-drop. In reality, he had broken his ankle getting out of bed the morning before the match. 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 payback on his mind. The two battled on July 20, 1981, at Madison Square Garden in a match that resulted in a double disqualification. Their feud continued as fans filled arenas up and down the east coast to witness their matches. On November 14, 1981, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, he decisively defeated Khan in what was billed as a "Mongolian stretcher match", in which the loser must be taken to the dressing room on a stretcher. The same type of match was also held in Toronto. In early 1982 the two also fought in a series of matches in Japan with Arnold Skaaland in Roussimoff's corner.

## Andre's rivals in WWF

Roussimoff agreed to turn heel in early 1987 to be the counter to the biggest "babyface" in professional wrestling at that time, Hulk Hogan. On an edition of *Piper's Pit* in 1993, Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for three years; Roussimoff came out to congratulate him, shaking Hogan's hand with a strong grip, which surprised the Hulkster. On the following 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 point of the interview. Apparently annoyed, he walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. A discussion between Roussimoff and Hogan was scheduled, and on a *Piper's Pit* that aired February 7, 1987, the two met. 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 so he would not have to defend his title 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 still seemingly in disbelief as to what Roussimoff was doing, prompting Heenan to say "You can't believe it, maybe 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 later edition of *Piper's Pit*, the two were part of a 20-man over-the-top-rope battle-royal on March 14 edition of *Saturday Night's Main Event X* at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Although the battle 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 top rope. The match, which was actually taped on February 21, 1987, aired only two weeks before WrestleMania III to make it seem like Hogan had met his match in André the Giant.

At WrestleMania III, he was billed at 240 kg (520 lb), and the stress of such immense weight on his bones and joints resulted in constant pain. After recent back surgery, he was also wearing a brace underneath his wrestling singlet. In front of a record crowd, Hogan won the match after body-slamming Roussimoff (later dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world"), followed by Hogan's running leg drop finisher. Years later, Hogan claimed that Roussimoff was so heavy, he felt more like 320 kg (700 lb), and that he tore his latissimus dorsi muscle when slamming him.

Another myth about the match 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 had agreed to lose the match sometime before, mostly for health reasons. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the first time 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 August 9, 1980, though Roussimoff was somewhat lighter (around 210 kg (470 lb)) and more athletic at the time (Hogan also slammed him in a match in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, a month later). This took place in the territorial days of American wrestling three years before WWF began national expansion, so many of those who watched WrestleMania III had never seen the Giant slammed (Roussimoff had also previously allowed Harley Race, El Canek and Stan Hansen, among others, to slam him).

By the time of WrestleMania III, the WWF had gone national, giving more meaning to the Roussimoff–Hogan match that took place 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 rival teams at the inaugural Survivor Series event. During their approximately one minute 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 match, pinning Bam Bam Bigelow before Hogan returned to the ring to attack André and knock him out of the ring. Roussimoff later got revenge when, after Hogan won a match against Bundy on *Saturday Night's Main Event*, he snuck up from behind and began choking Hogan to the brink of unconsciousness, not letting go even after an army of seven face-aligned wrestlers ran to the ring to try to pull him away; it took Hacksaw Jim Duggan breaking a piece of wood 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* battle royal a year earlier, the series of events was one of the pieces that helped build interest in a possible one-on-one rematch between Hogan and Roussimoff, and to make it seem that Roussimoff was certain to win easily when they did meet.

In the meantime, 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 several 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 insertion into the feud set up the Hogan-Roussimoff rematch on *The Main Event*, to air February 5, 1988, on a live broadcast on NBC. Acting as his hired gun, Roussimoff won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hogan (his first singles title) in a match where it was later revealed that appointed referee Dave Hebner was "detained backstage", and a replacement (whom Hogan afterwards initially accused of having been paid by DiBiase to get plastic surgery to look like Dave, but was revealed to have been his evil twin brother, Earl Hebner), made a three count on Hogan while his shoulders were off the mat.

After winning, Roussimoff "sold" the title to DiBiase; the transaction was declared invalid by then-WWF president Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacant. This was shown on WWF's NBC program *The Main Event*. At WrestleMania IV, Roussimoff and Hulk Hogan fought to a double disqualification in a WWF title tournament match (with the idea in the storyline saying that Roussimoff was again working on DiBiase's behalf in giving DiBiase a clearer path in the tournament). Afterward, Roussimoff and Hogan's feud died down after a steel cage match held at *WrestleFest* on July 31, 1988, in Milwaukee.

At the inaugural SummerSlam pay-per-view held at Madison Square Garden, Roussimoff and DiBiase (billed as The Mega Bucks) faced Hogan and WWF World Heavyweight Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage (known as The Mega Powers) in the main event, with Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. During the match, the Mega Powers' manager, Miss Elizabeth, distracted the Mega Bucks and Ventura when she climbed up on the ring apron, removed her yellow skirt and walked around in a pair of red panties. This allowed Hogan and Savage time to recover and eventually win the match with Hogan pinning DiBiase. Savage forced Ventura's hand down for the final three-count, due to Ventura's character historically being at odds with Hogan, and his unwillingness to count the fall.

Concurrent with the developing feud with the Mega Powers, Roussimoff was placed in a feud with Jim Duggan, which began after Duggan knocked out Roussimoff with a two-by-four board during a television taping. Despite Duggan's popularity with fans, Roussimoff regularly got the upper hand in the feud.

## Acting career

Roussimoff branched out into acting again in the 1970s and 1980s, after a 1967 French boxing film, making his USA acting debut playing a Sasquatch ("Bigfoot") in a two-part episode aired in 1976 on the television 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 resurrected horned giant god who is killed by Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger). That same year, he also made an appearance in *Micki & Maude* (billed as André Rousimmoff). He appeared most notably as Fezzik, his own favorite role, in the 1987 film *The Princess Bride*. The fact that Roussimoff found that no one stared at him on set during production was a novel and particularly gratifying experience. Both the film and his performance retain a devoted following. In shoot interviews, wrestlers have stated that he was so proud of being in the film that he carried a copy everywhere he went and insisted a VCR be available in his hotel rooms on the road so he could watch it repeatedly.

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

## Personal life of Andre

Roussimoff was mentioned in the *1974 Guinness Book of World Records* as the highest-paid wrestler in history at that time. He had earned US$400,000 in one year during the early 1970s.

Robin Christensen is Roussimoff's only child. Her mother Jean (who died in 2008) became acquainted with her father through the wrestling business around 1972 or 1973. Christensen had almost no connection with her father and saw him only five times in her life, despite occasional televised and printed news pieces criticizing his absentee fatherhood. While she gave some interviews about the subject in her childhood, Christensen is reportedly reluctant to discuss her father publicly today.

Roussimoff has been unofficially crowned "the greatest drunk on Earth" for once consuming 119 12-US-fluid-ounce (350 ml) beers (in total, over 41 litres (72 imp pt)) in six hours. On an episode of WWE's *Legends of Wrestling*, Mike Graham said Roussimoff once drank 156 16-US-fluid-ounce (470 ml) beers (over 73 litres (128 imp pt)) in one sitting, which was confirmed by Dusty Rhodes. The Fabulous Moolah wrote in her autobiography that Roussimoff drank 127 beers in a Reading, Pennsylvania, hotel bar and later passed out in the lobby. The staff could not move him and had to leave him there until he awoke. In a shoot interview, Ken Patera recalled an occasion where Roussimoff was challenged by Dick Murdoch to a beer drinking contest. After nine or so hours, Roussimoff had drunk 116 beers. A tale recounted by Cary Elwes in his book about the making of *The Princess Bride* has Roussimoff falling on top of somebody while drunk, after which the NYPD sent an undercover officer to follow Roussimoff around whenever he went out drinking in their city to make sure he did not fall on anyone again. Another story also says prior to his famous WrestleMania III match, Roussimoff drank 14 bottles of wine.

An urban legend exists surrounding Roussimoff's 1987 surgery in which his size made it impossible for the anesthesiologist to estimate a dosage via standard methods; consequently, his alcohol tolerance was used as a guideline instead.

Roussimoff was arrested in 1989 by the sheriff of Linn County, Iowa; and charged with assault after he allegedly attacked a local television cameraman.

William Goldman, the author of the novel and the screenplay of *The Princess Bride*, wrote in his nonfiction work *Which Lie Did I Tell?* that Roussimoff was one of the gentlest and most generous people he ever knew. Whenever Roussimoff ate with someone in a restaurant, he would pay, but he would also insist on paying when he was a guest. On one occasion, after Roussimoff attended a dinner with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wilt Chamberlain, Schwarzenegger had quietly moved to the cashier to pay before Roussimoff could, but then found himself being physically lifted, carried from his table and deposited on top of his car by Roussimoff and Chamberlain.

Roussimoff owned a ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina, looked after by two of his close friends. When he was not on the road, he loved spending time at the ranch tending to his cattle, playing with his dogs and entertaining company. While there were custom-made chairs and a few other modifications in his home to account for 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 channel. Roussimoff had a passion for card games, mainly cribbage.

## Death

At 6 PM france time, Andre felt tired and told his mom that he wanted to get some rest and went to his bed to sleep. Unfortunately, Andre died in his sleep from congestive heart failure caused by cardiovascular disease which he was diagnosed with somewhere around 1995 to 1999. At the time he was in Paris to attend his father's funeral. While there, Roussimoff decided to stay in France longer to be with his mother on her birthday. He spent the day before his death visiting and playing cards with some of his oldest friends in Molien. In his will, Roussimoff specified that his remains be cremated and "disposed of". Upon his death 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 (35.116211°N 79.80634°W) in Ellerbe, North Carolina. In addition, in accordance with his will, he left his estate to his sole beneficiary: his daughter Robin