Andre, The Unselfish Giant
All hail the "Eighth Wonder Of The World"!
"We do not live long, the big and the small" - so said Andre The Giant to Billy Crystal on the set of The Princess Bride. At 5' 7'' in his stocking feet, Billy Crystal isn't really that little. But the 7' 4 1/4'' Andre Rene Roussimoff was larger than life in every sense of the word.
Professional wrestling has always been a big man's game. And while WWE head honcho Vince McMahon prefers his monsters well-muscled, he's long been happy to embrace the behemoths that have walked through the doors of Titan Towers. The 7' 2'' Giant Silva, the 7' 3'' Great Khali, the 7' 7'' Giant Gonzalez - all have entered the squared circle under McMahon's auspices. Unathletic and immobile in equal measure, these ogres look decidedly pygmic when compared with the 500lbs colossus from Coulommiers; the man better qualified than most to live up to being billed as the "Eighth Wonder Of The World".
Andre The Giant was extraordinary from a very early age. The son of Polish immigrants, Andre was well over six foot by the time he turned 12. The reason for his remarkable size was an excess of growth hormone caused by a fault with his pituitary gland. Height and weight weren't the only things that made this giant stand out, mind you. A gifted athlete, Andre was also a pretty decent student, excelling at maths. The only problem with his schooling was the difficulty of getting to class. Too big to it comfortably on the school bus, the Roussimoffs - who were now living to the north-east of Paris - asked their neighbour if he wouldn't mind driving Andre to class in his pickup truck. So it was that Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett would occasionally do the school run. And what did the pair talk about en route? Cricket, the sport with which both men would remain obsessed for the rest of their lives.
Andre's other main interest was wrestling. Surprisingly athletic for a youth of his size - his arsenal included a mean standing drop-kick - Roussimoff moved to Paris in the early '60s where he caught the eye of the Canadian wrestler and promoter Frank Valois. Or rather, on his introduction to Andre, Valois was blinded by all the dollar signs that appeared before his eyes. Rechristening his find Geant Ferre, the Canuck and the kid from the Alps jetted off around the world.
A hit wherever he wrestled, Andre proved particularly popular in Japan where he competed as 'Monster Roussimoff'. It was while in Tokyo that he discovered that he was suffering from acromegaly. The same condition that left actor Rondo Hatton so hideously disfigured that he was billed as the "Monster That Doesn't Need Make-Up", acromegaly is a growth hormone condition, the symptoms of which include excessive hand and foot growth, the enlargement of the skull, brow and jaw, and the swelling of the heart and lungs. Since excessive height and weight gain are also associated with the condition, it's not perhaps surprising to learn that this relatively rare disease isn't that uncommon in wrestling circles. The Great Khali, The Big Show, both the French and Swedish Angels and Giant Silva have each had their lives blighted by acromegaly. And though it might have helped him to become a wrestling phenomenon, the condition also made life incredibly uncomfortable for Andre The Giant.
To live in a world where no seat is big enough and every ceiling is too low must be misery. And that's before you take into account the constant pain. Arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, constant headaches - it's little wonder Andre hit the bottle. Recorded as having drunk 72 pints in one six-hour session, Roussimoff's massive frame made him a drinking machine. However, alcohol was less about enjoyment for Andre than a means of helping him cope with his chronic condition.
Professional assistance, on the other hand, came the Giant's way in 1973 when he hooked up with Vince McMahon Sr's World Wide Wrestling Federation, the forerunner of today's World Wrestling Entertainment. Booked as a babyface, Andre enjoyed an unbeaten streak that lasted 14 years. In actual fact, the Giant lost a handful of bouts during this period but wrestling being wrestling, these were conveniently overlooked. As for those who Roussimoff feuded with, they included fellow big beasts like Big John Studd, Killer Khan and King Kong Bundy, as well as a muscle-bound heel by the name of Hulk Hogan, more of whom later.
Since he was an attraction in and of himself, Andre didn't need a championship to draw an audience. Because of this, he was never a part of the WWWF title scene. All of this changed after Vince McMahon Jnr purchased the company from his father in 1982. The brains behind the twin phenomena of WrestleMania and Hulkamania, the younger McMahon transformed wrestling from low-rent carnival entertainment into the biggest thing going. To further cash in on the popularity of 'sports entertainment' - another term he coined - he persuaded Andre to turn heel so he could pit him against Hulk Hogan who, as the now WWF's babyface world champion, was selling out arenas and shifting more merchandise than a dozen touring rock bands.
McMahon's plan was to have the Hogan-Andre feud culminate at WrestleMania III, set to take place at Michigan's massive Pontiac Silverdome on March 29th 1987. That night, 93,173 people witnessed their oiled-up hero bodyslam Andre for the first time in the Giant's career. Or so the WWF would have the audience believe. In actual fact, Roussimoff had been manhandled in this manner any number of times before. Oh, and the attendance figure was more in the range of 78,000. But that's wrestling for you.
Since there was still meat on the bone, Vince McMahon didn't have the Hogan-Andre saga end there are then. After clashing once more at November's Survivor Series, the two Superstars - McMahon the Younger hates the term 'wrestler' - became embroiled in 'Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase's quest to lift Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship. Having tried to buy the belt from La Grand Orange, DiBiase hired Andre to win the title for him. This he did with the help of an evil twin referee. Why? Because wrestling, that's why.
The controversial finish combined with Andre forfeiting the belt helped kick-start a new storyline which saw the title held up and awarded to the winner of a knockout tournament at WrestleMania IV. The Giant, meanwhile, would clash with Day-Glo newcomer the Ultimate Warrior before slowly making his way down the card to the tag ranks where it was easier to disguise the fact his health was failing him.
Andre The Giant wrestled his last televised match for the WWF at 1990's WrestleMania VI. Fittingly the bout ended with Andre turning face once again, a feat he accomplished by slapping his conniving manager Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan. Over the following years, he'd occasionally show up at events, invariably on crutches and often looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. He also returned to the Far East. Indeed, Andre The Giant would retire from professional wrestling after competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1992. Alas, within a year, he would be dead.
It was while he was in France to attend his father's funeral that Andre Roussimoff succumbed to congestive heart failure. He was just 46. Among the many who rushed to pay tribute to him was the Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman, whose adaptation of his novel The Princess Bride showcased Andre in the role of Fezzik, Greenland's greatest grappler-turned-henchman extraordinaire. Writing for the Associated Press, Goldman remembered Roussimoff as among the most generous people he'd ever encountered, always quick to pick up the bill and point blank refusing to allow others to pay for their drinks.
Further stories about Andre's willingness to put his massive hand in his pocket were spun by Arnold Schwarzenegger who'd worked with Andre on Conan The Destroyer. The 'Austrian Oak' had particularly vivid memories of the time he'd sneakily attempted to pick up a tab only to be rumbled by Mr Roussimoff. "He had me up in the air! He turned me so I was facing him, and he said, 'I pay.' Then he carried me back to my table where he set me down in my chair like a little boy!"
Andre The Giant - bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger, bigger than pro wrestling, bigger than life.