STW - Andre the Giant [Show Notes] (Patreon)

We knew him as Andre the Giant, The Giant Machine or even Fezzik from The Princess Bride but he was born André René Roussimoff on May 19, 1946 in Coulommiers (Coul-Uh-Me), Seine-et-Marne (Sen-a-Marne), France. He was the third of five children to Boris and Marianne Roussimoff Stoeff.

Andre’s father, Boris, was a Bulgarian immigrant to France who had fled arrest after being caught trafficking illegal goods and being caught by the police in 1936. A story from one of Andre’s nephews, in the amazing book The Eighth Wonder of the World by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade, was that Boris jumped from the second floor of a police station and was able to escape. As he made his escape from the law, he traveled to a small hamlet in Molien, France about 40 miles northeast of Paris. That’s where he met Marianne. The two had two children - Andre’s older brother and sister - but World War 2 broke out and Boris had to go off to fight in the French army. He was taken prisoner in Germany and this time, wasn’t able to escape. His family thought he was dead but he was freed when the war ended. Once he was back home, Marianne became pregnant again and on May 19, 1946, 3:10 PM, Andre Rene Roussimoff was born. He weighed six kilos which is a little over 13 pounds. That’s big enough to make national news.

Andre was born with a rare glandular disease known as acromegaly. Very early in his life, he began to display symptoms. He was said to be “a good head taller than the other kids” in school. By the time he was age 12, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall.

Can you describe what it was like when you first met Andre? What was he like to stand next to?

The disease comes from the body's continual oversecretion of Growth Hormone. It caused him to grow and grow and be one of the largest and most powerful men you could imagine. He became what doctors would say would be the ultimate result of too many megadoses of Human Growth Hormone, both in positives and in side effects. But once he could no longer grow in height, his body would turn against him. The continual growth would go to his head, his hands and his feet, causing them to continually thicken and somewhat distort his already unique oversized proportions, known as some circles as "giantism." He would start aging extremely fast at this point. And it was doubtful he'd ever see his 50th birthday.

But as a child, Andre was in good health, generally. The only real issue, aside from him being bigger than everyone, was that he didn’t start speaking until he was five years old.

By the time Andre was in school, he played what might have been his first sport: soccer, as we know it, or football as the rest of the world calls it. Andre served as goaltender - which was perfect for him with his large hands and long arms. It was the first time he learned he could use these unique traits as gifts. He also played rugby and while training in the gym, had his first exposure to wrestlers who he said in an interview wanted him to train and eventually, get in the ring.

Was it money signs that those wrestlers saw in Andre?

School was mandatory up until the age of 14 in France at the time. Andre left school at the time, as he planned to work on his family farm. It was at that same age Andre began to grow significantly. By around 15 years old, Andre was said to be close to 6 feet 6 inches. The family took Andre to the doctor but the doctor said it was normal. Indeed, the entire family has big, thick hands. All of them were tall. Andre’s great grandfather was told - probably somewhat fictionally - to be around eight feet tall by Andre himself.

André got his driver’s license at 18. His first car was an old Renault 4CV, once the bestselling car in France. Sometimes, André would have fun with the small car: as he was getting out of it, he would pretend to be stuck, half of his body inside and the other half outside. When people started staring, he would try to stand up straight and lift his car a little. It was a prelude to all the pranks he later played.

Did Andre enjoy making people laugh, even at his own expense, from your experiences around him?

Also at 18, Andre moved to Paris to train to become a wrestler. His trainer was Michel Saulnier (probably pronounced Michelle) and Andre was trained in the middle of Paris’s wrestling scene.

At 19, Andre was featured in a French wrestling magazine. He was billed as Jean Ferre six foot nine, 300 pounds. 44 inch neck. Size 16 feet. But Andre was mostly lean muscle at this point. He was billed as a lumberjack! He was told by wrestling promoters to bulk up, which he began working to do.

On Friday, February 11, 1966, matches were televised from the Léo-Lagrange Hall in Stains, just outside of Paris. A deal was made between Lageat, Siry, and matchmaker Maurice Durand for André to be on that show. That is the earliest existing known footage of André. He wore a dark robe with “Jean Ferré France” written on the back. He was announced at two meters 15 (close to seven foot one) and 150 kilos (330 pounds). The most interesting note from that footage is that he was already entering the ring by stepping over the top rope, a move he brought with him to North America.

What does stepping over the top rope do any differently in presentation of a wrestler from going through under the top rope?

In 1967, Andre made his debut as an actor. It was in a film called Chinese Puzzle for the Judoka. Andre fought the film’s protagonist in a limited role. But Andre wouldn’t let his mother see the film, funny enough - because Andre died in the movie.

In 1968, on January 20, Andre wrestled in his most important match yet against the French heavyweight champion Franz Van Buyten. Andre was a French hero, arriving with the national flag of his home country. His opponent carried the Belgium flag. The national anthems of both countries were played, making a real spectacle for the time out of the event. Besides using a bear hug and a body slam, he worked a completely different kind of match than North American fans would see him in just a few years later, but it was a typical match for him at this stage of his career. He worked a lot on the mat, doing some technical wrestling; he took a hip toss, head scissors, and he exchanged some European forearms. But the fast paced match blew him up. Andre won the match after three back breakers and a bodyslam. He was the heavyweight champion.

When he started making some money, he replaced his Renault 4CV with something a little better, an Opel Admiral. “He was a good driver,” said his brother Jacques. “The wrestlers used to carpool when they were on the road. Often, he was the one driving. He liked to drive. He liked traveling.” On one occasion, after a match, he was in a terrible accident. “It was late at night, something like two a.m.,” remembered Jacques. “He was coming back from giving a lift to some other wrestlers. A guy on a moped ran a red light and André hit him. The guy died. Thankfully, André had not been drinking.” This tragedy left a mark on André. “I’m the one who picked him up after. He was in shock,” continued Jacques. “I told him he should get back behind the wheel as soon as possible if he didn’t want to remain traumatized. Police investigation cleared André on any wrong doing.”

That had to be hard on the Giant, right?

In 1969, Andre made his debut in the UK working in Scotland on May 22. He worked under the name Jean Ferre, although he was being labeled Giant Ferre by some magazines. On June 7, 1969, Andre was pitted against a major name in the UK wrestling world: Kendo Nagasaki. It was Andre’s first loss. In his autobiography, Nagasaki wrote that Andre pulled him aside before their match and told him he was new and here to learn. Andre said if he was clumsy to forgive him and please don't hurt me!

Would you say Andre wasn’t an aggressive person or at least, the type to pick a fight?

In Japan, the story was always that Isao Yoshihara, the president of the International Wrestling Enterprises, at the time the distant No. 2 promotion in a two-party Japanese wrestling world, was in Europe scouting talent for his annual Grand Prix tournament. Yoshihara had "discovered" other European attractions and gotten them their first notice in the Western World, most notable of which was Billy Robinson a few years earlier. Billed as the 7-foot-tall Monster Rousimoff, Andre debuted in Japan for the IWE on January 3, 1970 as part of a six-week tour which included Michael Nador, a European star, and Jim Shields, an AWA wrestler known in the U.S. as Bull Bullinski.

In early February, during the final week of the tour, Verne Gagne, who supplied the IWE with talent, arrived in Japan to defend his AWA title against the IWE's top star, Shozo Kobayashi. Gagne got his first glimpse of Monster Rousimoff, and immediately saw the dollar signs, but not where you'd think. Verne talked with young Andre, who was at the time a physical specimen at 335 pounds, and wanted to turn him into a boxer, figuring the boxing world was at the time desperately in search of a white heavyweight title contender, and a white giant would be that much the better at the box office.

Why do you think Verne saw money in Andre as a boxer instead of a wrestler?

Going back for a second...in late 1969, Adnan Alkaissy - or General Adnan of Sgt. Slaughters Corps - came in to the UK to wrestle for a short period before he was to return home to Baghdad, Iraq for vacation. That’s when Andre met him. Well, Adnan returns to Iraq and meets up with his childhood buddy - Saddam Hussein. Adnan became a promoter in Iraq under Husseins directions! And on January 6, 1971, Adnan brought Andre the Giant in to work a match. Andre had armed guards, a custom bed, and an oversized Mercedes to drive him around. Adnan had scheduled a best-of-three falls match with Andre, planning to trade victories before ultimately winning. However, just before the match, he said Saddam came up to him. He had become a big fan of pro wrestling and didn’t know it was scripted.

“Be victorious, Adnan; we are all counting on you. Be victorious,” Alkaissy remembered Saddam saying. “This guy is big, but he is a pussy. I know that you can beat him. If he hurts you in any way, he is going to get this.” And Saddam lifted his coat and showed Alkaissy a solid gold, British-made gun. “I will put every bullet in there in his fat head and send him back to France in a pine box.”

So General Adnan went over two falls to none and even slammed the Giant. As is custom, when Adnan won, Iraqi commandos shot their rifles in the sky to celebrate. Well, Andre didn’t know if he was being shot at or what and rolled outside to hide under the ring. Andre ended up wrestling another match and even met with Saddam. But he apparently wasn’t in a hurry to return to the country after his first rip.

In hindsight, how many people do you think met and wrestled in front of both President Saddam Hussein and President Donald Trump?

Big in Japan

Andre returned to Japan for a second tour, scheduled to start on March 31, 1971. It was then he got over as a big star. He was in the World Series round-robin tournament and three wrestlers were in the finals - Billy Robinson, Karl Gotch, and Andre. Andre ended up winning the tournament.

Andre’s gimmick in Japan was that he hated Japanese people. He also would never speak in Japan.  And it was then he began to use a new finishing move: A Tombstone Piledriver.

Andre worked for many years as a heel in Japan. What is it about him that made him seem evil to Japanese audiences?

Coming to North America

In June, 1971, Andre made his North American debut in Montreal. The next day, La Presse, a prominent French newspaper in Montreal, ran a picture of André. This is notable because unlike the two other popular newspapers of the era, La Presse didn’t cover pro wrestling as much. The results were not mentioned; they only printed a picture of André and Jones with the caption: “The monster has no mercy! The French wrestler Jean Ferré, from the French Alps, measuring more than 7 feet, weighing around 380 pounds, is a good attraction for professional wrestling. He made his debut at the Verdun Auditorium, last night, against Cowboy Jones. He showed no mercy for his opponent.”

Andre showed up and got immediate press. Was this one of the many examples of what made him an attraction?

It was during this time that Andre wrestled his first one-on-two handicap match. In a bit of a callback to an earlier episode we did this year on Rick Martel...Andre’s opponents were Jean Vigneault and Michel (Me-chelle) Martel, Rick Martel’s late brother.

Around this time, Paul Vachon told Andre not to let wrestlers bodyslam him. Andre wanted to make his peers look good but the promoter realized it would help business if that was saved to mean more down the road.

Are there edicts on stuff like this today? For example, no one slam Braun unless approved by the office?

News of his box office potential started leaking to the United States promoters when Ferre was booked in his first main event, billed as "The Match of the Century" in the Montreal Forum against Jonathan. The Battle of the Giants with Andre (billed as 7-4, 385) against Jonathan (billed as 6-9, 320, although he was legitimately closer to 6-5 and 285 at the time) set Canada's indoor wrestling attendance and gate mark with more than 20,000 fans selling out the Forum. Officially, the always-smiling Ferre "lost his temper" for the first time in that match, and was disqualified with every wrestler on the undercard trying in vain for moments to pull his huge hands off Ferre's throat, with one swat of the huge paw sending one big wrestler after another flying. The idea was set in stone. He's the nicest guy in the world, but if you get him mad, there is nobody or nothing that can physically stop him. During that time period Ferre worked some big-card matches as a special attraction on major AWA spectaculars, which was actually his first foray into the United States.

On July 24, 1971, at the Minneapolis Auditorium, André was scheduled for his first booking in the United States. Because his English was so bad, Édouard Carpentier went along to help the Giant; this was before Frank Valois became his official handler and traveling partner. There was an angle where Bull Bullinski was going to find himself a partner against the team of “Pretty Boy” Larry Hennig and “Luscious” Lars Anderson. The week before the July 24 card, Bullinski was asked by TV announcer Marty O’Neill who his partner would be, and Bull answered only by saying ‘Ferré,’ and then he walked off the interview area. The following week, on the 24th, André debuted and was introduced as ‘André Russimoff.’

But the day before, two wrestlers were driving from Winnipeg to Minneapolis to pick up Andre at the airport. One of them was Hercules Cortez, who had just wrestled Nick Bockwinkel on the 23rd in Winnipeg. They crashed their car and in the accident, Cortez died.

It’s a tragic way to begin in the territory for Andre. Do you think it was hard on him knowing that?

On January 15, 1973, the Vachons wrestled in Madison Square Garden for Vince McMahon Sr. That night, the Vachons talked to Vince Sr about the Giant and the Vachons even suggested he book the giant all over the country. With Andre having been in Montreal for several years, there was not much more that could be done with him by the Vachons.

On March 24, 1973, Andre made his debut for the World Wide Wrestling Federation in Philadelphia. It was in a handicap match. But for several days, posters had been hung on walls of Madison Square Garden in New York to hype the March 26 Garden debut of...Andre The Giant.

It took one week for Vince McMahon Sr. to offer a contract to Andre to become his agent. He booked Andre like the NWA booked its world champions, getting a percentage every time another promoter used his services. So, he was able to use Andre in his territory but also, never to allow the mystique to wear off by booking him in other territories, too. Andre averaged three shows per year at the Garden from 1974-1979.

Is that logically the only way Vince Sr. could have booked Andre at the time? Without expanding outside of the northeast, he would wear off Andre’s luster, one might think...

1974

By 1974, Vince Sr. had adopted the expression the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” (It was first said by Grand Prix Wrestling’s ring announcer Fernand Ste-Marie). He also refined the Giant’s style into a more, well, giant like style instead of using dropkicks and showing off his agility.

In 1974, Inoki, who didn’t have access to NWA wrestlers since Baba was the one with the strongest relationship with the alliance, had to make deals for other performers. He liked André a lot and knew his value. “Inoki and his booker, Hisashi Shinma, had started to negotiate with McMahon to get André in August 1973 through [Los Angeles promoter] Mike LeBell,” revealed Koji Miyamoto. “So it was a long negotiation, but Vince McMahon, in order to fulfill his working relationship with New Japan, sent André in 1974. Even Vince Sr. came to Japan for the very first time on that same tour. Andre wrestled his first singles match against Antonio Inoki on this tour. Andre was still a heel in Japan and got the win.

Also in 1974, Andre wrestled his first match against the Big Cat Ernie Ladd. While in LA, he was invited on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Unfortunately, Carson was off that night. It was rare that a wrestler got on the show in the 70s. Meltzer wrote that everyone talked about the Tonight Show and who was on it the next day, back then.

How big of a deal was it for Andre to be on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (even if Carson wasn’t there)?

Andre ended 1974 as the fifth-biggest draw in the world. He was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-paid wrestler in the world that year, with documented earnings of over $400,000.

Adjusted for inflation, in 2020, that’s about $2.2 million. So he did okay, right?

What did Andre like to spend his money on?

1975-1977

On July 8, 1975, the Washington Redskins, yes the NFL team, held a press conference to announce the team was interested in Andre the Giant. Tim Temerario, the team’s director of personnel, said that four months before, Coach Allen, who was not at the news conference, said he was looking for “something unusual” for his defensive unit, such as a seven-footer who could move. Temerario then contacted Vince McMahon about the possibility. “But there are problems, such as his heavy wrestling schedule and the fact he makes so much money from it. However, nothing is impossible,” adding he wasn’t expecting André at training camp. Both United Press International and the Associated Press ran the story, and it made news everywhere.

Apparently, it was all a huge publicity stunt that everyone went along with by Vince Sr. There was never any real chance or even interest by Andre in it. The average NFL salary at the time was in the mid $50,000 range. Andre was making ten times that.

Like father, like son? (How great was this for wrestling?)

By 1976, Andre was the most well known pro wrestler in the world and one of sport’s biggest draws. However, he wasn’t on the level of Muhammad Ali. On March 25 of that year, Japanese promoters were able to arrange Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki on closed-circuit (Ali wanted $6 million). Andre was on the card as well, preceding the main event. During a press conference, Ali asked Andre, “You think you can beat me up?” to which the Giant responded, “I could beat you up and throw you out of this building.”

In 1976, do you think he was telling the truth?

Andre ended up on the card in a wrestler vs. boxer worked match against Chuck Wepner. While Inoki/Ali was happening in Japan and broadcast on closed circuit, live crowds across the US including at Shea Stadium saw a mix of action on the screen and in person. At Shea, fans saw Bruno vs. Stan Hansen and Andre vs. Wepner. On commentary was Argentina Rocca and Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

Right after the match, a melee started outside the ring between Gorilla Monsoon, who was in André’s corner with Frank Valois, and Wepner’s cornermen. Monsoon was accused of giving a boot to Wepner as he was on the ground. A melee broke out at this point with Wepner breaking his fingers in a punch against Andre’s shoulders.

The event was a flop in America, with 250,000 tickets sold in over 100 closed circuit venues. However, in Japan, almost 60 million people saw the fight.

Why did this event flop in the US?

On October 7, Inoki scheduled another big event to defend his Real World Martial Arts championship. His opponent was Andre the Giant. Inoki won by referee stoppage. Inoki went on to defeat Wepner, too.

Andre made his Hollywood debut in 1976. During season 3 of The Six Million Dollar Man, Andre played Bigfoot in a two part episode called The Secret of Bigfoot. Star, Lee Majors, told Vanity Fair he loved working with Andre, who he described as a gentle giant. He said during their fights, Andre would never hurt him and always took good care of him. Andre didn’t return to do the character afterward, saying he didn’t like waiting around the back lot all day in a big ape suit.

Just imagining a big guy having to wait all day in a hot suit on a production lot, that had to be harder for someone like him than a normal person could understand, right?

On April 5, 1977, Andre was booked against Jerry The King Lawler in Louisville, Kentucky. Photos of the match were sent to Bill Apter in New York. Apter liked the photos and published them in “The Wrestler” under the tagline “The night a ‘midget’ defeated Andre the Giant.” The story described Lawler, said to be about 5’6”, using his quickness to surprise the giant, throw him over the top rope with supernatural strength, and defeat him by count out.

But Jim Cornette had a different record of the event. “Lawler was in his element here, bumping like a ping pong ball for the world’s largest athlete,” wrote Cornette. “Finally Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey ran in to help and Lawler was DQ’d, and Rocky Johnson came in to even the odds.”

What? So André actually won the match by DQ? How could it be? How could the magazine and Apter be reporting otherwise?

Vince Sr. was furious over this and apparently, his ire was such that it caused a big rift between Apter and Lawler for years. To make it up to McMahon, Apter put Andre on the cover of the Wrestling 1977 Annual with the headline “Andre the Giant: Wrestling’s Only Undefeated Superstar.”

His first NWA title match was on March 10, 1976, in Miami Beach against Terry Funk. And like most title matches that involved André, the champ lost by DQ. Disqualifications or count-outs were the smart finishes in those circumstances because they protected both the title holder and the Giant. Harley Race was the NWA champion André faced the most. Their first encounter was in Calgary, Alberta, on July 15, 1977. Race was someone Andre highly respected. Bobby Heenan once said the only two men in the world that Andre the Giant feared were Meng and Harley Race.

How bad would someone have to be to make the Giant fear them? Realistically, who was tougher in their prime - Harley or Meng?

The late 1970s saw André enjoying his peak in popularity and demand. He was known everywhere he went. Back home, in Montreal, he became a partner in an established downtown restaurant. Le Pichet was a French cuisine restaurant and bar located at 2155 Mackay. It had opened in 1976, and every time André was home, he would go there to eat and drink.

In 1978, Andre worked with Ronnie Garvin, who was in Knoxville, Tennessee as the “One Man Gang,” which - unlike Akeem - was being treated more in the sense of a guy who could beat up several attackers at once. Basically, a tough guy. Andre came in and teamed with another man to face Garvin. In a non-televised or taped event, Garvin defeated both men by pinfall. He even pinned Andre!

Andre must have loved Ronnie Garvin to do the honors for him like this, right?

On Christmas Day, 1978, Andre worked with Dusty Rhodes in New Orleans in a tournament to crown the new NWA United States tag team champions. Andre and Dusty made it to the finals against the team of Stan Hansen and Ernie Ladd. Andre and Dusty won the match and the title. Andre wasn’t there for long though, because he was on tour, and Dusty (defending with a fill-in) lost the titles a month later.

“This one time we were in New Orleans and they had a show at the Superdome, Dusty’s mom had joined us for the trip,” remembered Michelle Runnels, Dusty’s second wife and mother of wrestler Cody Rhodes. “Well, at 3 a.m. André called our room and told Dusty that Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett were down at the bar and wanted to meet him. So Dusty not only gets up and gets dressed, but he wakes me up and then calls his mom’s room to wake her up so all of us could go down and meet them. When we went down to the bar, it was deserted except for a cleaning woman vacuuming. André loved to rib Dusty.”

Was Andre a big ribber? What kind of stuff did you see him pull on others that stands out to you?

Fighting with Mulligan

One person who did challenge Andre - and several times apparently - was Black Jack Mulligan.One time, in the late 1970s, after the matches in Amarillo, Texas, André and Mulligan were playing cribbage with Dick Murdoch and Manny Fernandez at Fernandez’s home. Everyone was drunk, and André and Mulligan got into an argument. Mulligan actually punched André and they started to brawl. No one really knows who won or how the fight ended, but it caused $1,800 worth of damage. It wasn’t the only time that André and the big Texan went at it. Another time, André threw Mulligan right through a wall in a motel, into the next room — which was occupied.

Their most notorious brawl happened in Virginia Beach. André and Mulligan were again with Murdoch and a young Ric Flair this time. Mulligan, known for his short temper, told Murdoch to watch him, as he sucker-punched the Giant. André got up, grabbed both Mulligan and Murdoch by their shirts, and dragged them to the beach and into the ocean, threatening to drown them. His intention, of course, wasn’t really to murder them, just to scare them. And as the story goes, it worked. Meanwhile, Flair walked away from the scene, hoping André wouldn’t touch him. “We all got back to the bar and started drinking again!” said Flair.

Andre didn’t seem like the type to want to fight. Was he just trying to communicate to them here that he could crush them and maybe, just maybe, they should back off?

The biggest “What If” match that never happened was Bruno vs. Andre. In the late 70s, after Bruno had lost the title, he wanted to work with Andre but babyface vs. babyface matches weren’t big in that era. The match in 1972 between Bruno and Pedro Morales at the first Showdown at Shea was a big disappointment and may have scared McMahon away from trying it. But Meltzer said that Bruno’s suggestion included him losing to the Giant.

Why do you think this never happened?

The 1980s and Hulk Andre Part One

In 1977 at a high school gymnasium in Gainesville, Florida, Hulk Hogan - wrestling as the Super Destroyer - had his first match with Andre the Giant - a battle royal. Andre won. But by 1980, the two would be working matches in New York on a much bigger scale. Hulk Hogan was managed by Freddie Blassie and billed as a muscled monster with a big ego. Their first singles match in the WWF was a house show in Binghamton, New York on March 28, 1980. Eight days later, they main evented in Baltimore in front of a 10,000 plus crowd.

In May and June 1980, Vince Sr. booked Hogan in Japan, where he first teamed with Andre alongside Dusty Rhodes in a six-man tag.

Dusty...Hogan...Andre...sounds like a fantasy team, doesn’t it?

When Andre and Hogan returned, the idea was put together for them to have a match at the big Shea Stadium show under the main draw, Bruno vs. Zbyszko. The match had no big build-up, but it wasn’t the main event either. Both were booked to look strong in their bout, with Hogan slamming Andre. Andre slammed Hogan back and delivered a big splash to get the three count. After, Hogan used a foreign object and left Andre bloody in the ring.

Both Andre/Hogan and Bruno/Zbyszko were the two matches of the year in Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Bruno/Zbyzsko had the slight edge in votes.

The two continued their blood feud after this.

During a Championship Wrestling broadcast that aired on September 6, Vince McMahon Jr. interviewed André at ringside and was interrupted by Hogan and Blassie. Blassie challenged André to a match the following week, which the big man accepted. In his answer to the challenge, André told a story about taking out Don Leo Jonathan and Jonathan later warning him that one day someone would come along to replace him. This was his way of putting over Hogan. The match, taped in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, on August 20 but broadcast on September 13, only lasted four minutes. After the match ended up in a no contest, Hogan body slammed André and used a foreign object in his elbow pad to bloody André with his Hogan Hammer lariat, similar to what they had done at the Shea Stadium. McMahon interviewed André after the match, who was screaming for Hogan to come back and fight.

The angle built to the main event at Madison Square Garden on September 22 in front of 21,000 fans. The match, refereed by Gorilla Monsoon, was not broadcast on TV that night. Hogan again slammed Andre but lost the match when trying for a second slam.

Andre’s feud with Hogan continued in Japan for Inoki’s NJPW from October to December, 1980. They feuded for the rest of the year and into early 81 until Hogan and Vince Sr. had a falling out over the Rocky movie.

How important was Andre’s early work in establishing Hulk Hogan here?

While touring in Japan in 80 and 81, Andre had an infamous incident with Bad News Allen, or Bad News Brown - an African American wrestler who won a bronze medal in judo in the 76 Olympics. Allens version of the story is that Andre was drunk and using offensive racial language. Allen asked Andre to stop but the Giant told him to go fuck himself so Allen had the driver stop the bus and called out Andre, ready to fight. Stan Hansen calmed Allen down. The next day, Andre apologized.

What’s it say about a situation where Stan Hansen has to be the peacekeeper?

As stories go, Andre was legendary among wrestlers for his capacity to drink. Stories of him drinking 50 beers and not having a buzz are legendary. How exaggerated they are is another story. One of the most famous stories was of him drinking 119 bottles of beer at one sitting and passing out in a hotel lobby. Since he was so huge, nobody could move him. They simply put a piano cover over him and let him sleep it off and acted like it was covering a large piece of furniture.

Did you ever see the Giant consume massive amounts of alcohol? What about food - what was he like at dinner?

1981

The first chink in the invincible armor came in 1981 when he woke up one day, got out of bed, and collapsed on the floor. His ankle had been badly broken. It was attributed to a match with Killer Khan, real name Masashi Ozawa, a 6-4, 280 pound Japanese star billed as the Mongolian giant, whose feud with Andre in 1981 after the legitimate injury was his main claim to fame in wrestling. Andre was already closing in on the 500 pound mark by this point. While his mobility was limited because of the weight, he still had enough left to have numerous genuinely exciting matches with Khan.

Andre was out of the ring for about eight weeks to recover. That’s pretty incredible, since that’s an average recovery time and he was so much larger.

Andre returned that summer and on June 17 in Glens Falls, New York, the two had their first match of more than 40 total matches together. On August 24, they sold-out The Garden in a Texas Death Match where Andre defeated Khan in the match of the year in Pro Wrestling Illustrated. The two closed out 1981 wrestling a series of Mongolian stretcher matches.

The cast is the largest ever made at the Beth Israel Hospital and was on display in Andre’s interview on Late Night with David Letterman in 1984. It’s still part of the WWE collection.

So Killer Khan was able to base the rest of his career on this one big feud, right?

It’s a detail that is hard to nail down with accuracy but stories suggest Andre’s visit to a doctor in 1982 was when he learned he had acromegaly. The doctor told HBO interviewers that Andre had told him he had never been diagnosed with this. There was some speculation that perhaps Andre kayfabed the doctor and had known longer, but…

Why do you think Andre might never have been diagnosed after all of this time? Was he afraid of getting a death sentence from the doctor?

In 1982, Andre continued acting, although not in the best of roles. He played in a shitty TV show called The Greatest American Hero, playing a genetic monster named Monster. Also, he had reconnected with Lee Majors in his new series The Fall Guy, where Majors played Colt Seavers, a stunt man/bounty hunter. In a wrestling-centric episode, André played a wrestler called Killer Typhoon who wrestled with Seavers’s friend, undercover as a wrestler. A rarity for the time, the episode included wrestling lingo, and André’s character goes off-script and breaks his opponent’s leg, even tossing Majors’s character into the crowd for good measure. Although American Hero and The Fall Guy weren’t André’s finest moments in Hollywood, they kept his acting career alive.

Until the Princess Bride, Andre wasn’t given speaking roles.

Do you think Andre wanted to get into acting more because of his body breaking down?

Also in 1982 while on tour in Japan, Andre ended up getting on the wrong side of The Iron Sheik. While in a bar, according to Sheik, Andre stuck his hand in Sheik’s pocket and ripped his pants. If that’s how the events happened, then presumably, it was Andre ribbing him. But Sheik was so mad, he wanted to break his back...well, actually, he just threatened to cut Andre with a razor blade until Andre offered to buy him a new pair of pants.

The two hated each other going forward, according to various accounts from different wrestlers.

Did you ever hear about ire between the Sheik and the Giant?

While we’re on this chronology, we should mention on June 5, 1982, Vince Jr bought the company from his father. He also began to book Andre more in New York, going from three times a year in 80 and 81 to six times in 82 and seven times in 83.

In 1983, Andre worked in the Mid-South territory against a new opponent. The Ugandan Giant, Kamala. They got off on the wrong foot with their first encounter including Kamala pissing off Andre and Andre grabbing him by the neck and picking him up off the mat. Kamala wrote in his book that he got his ass kicked for about a minute. After that first match, Kamala started wrestling with a .22 pistol in his trunks and later a pocketknife. In the second match, things didn’t get much better. Kamala took the Giant down at the wrong time and Andre allegedly called him a racial insult. With a gun in his pocket, Kamala confronted him the next day and Andre apologized, which was all he wanted. Andre ended up liking him enough to let Kamala bodyslam him and do a blade job for him to sell an attack.

Is this a good lesson in letting cooler heads prevail, on both sides, so that two great lives could continue on? Because just a few bad choices here could have ended one or two lives…

In the fall of 83, Andre did a lengthy tour in the AWA - and his last. Gagne had been one of the first promoters to bring him to the United States but Andre had a lot of problems with him. Andre didn’t like Verne making him work twice in one night (a match and a battle royal). Andre wrestled many tag matches during this time with his friends, Mad Dog Vachon and Rick Martel.

In one of his last matches with the AWA in November, 1983, Andre teamed with Hogan before the two went to Japan on a four week tour. Neither Hogan nor Andre ended up going back after that tour. By then, Vince Jr. had come to Minnesota to secretly meet with and sign Hogan to a deal.

On December 27 in St. Louis, Hogan returned to the WWF.

On January 23, 1984, Hogan subbed in for Bob Backlund in a title match against The Iron Sheik - and won the world title. But the same night, Andre was teaming with tag champions Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas against the three Samoans. In Hogan’s backstage celebration segment, Andre interrupted and poured champagne on Hogan’s head. He shook Hogan’s hand and told him he was proud.

Was that to help give some Andre shine to Hogan?

Weirdly enough, Andre was on Late Night with David Letterman, taping earlier in the day before the title match and airing at 1 a.m. that night/January 24 morning.

At a TV taping the next day, Andre was asked what he thought about the new world champion by Mean Gene Okerlund. He acknowledged the fact that he had both wrestled against and with Hogan. Andre said he preferred to be a Giant than a champion. But also, he said, “We never know, maybe someday, I’m maybe going to challenge him too.”

Do you think Vince Jr. told him to say that and knew all along...or maybe Andre knew? Or could this just be a fun little coincidence?

Four months later in May, Vincent James McMahon died from cancer while Andre was in Japan.

Vince’s Expansion

Vince began to take over the wrestling world in 1983 and 1984. Simply put, he bought the local promotion or got the WWF television to air in new targeted markets and then ran live shows in the same markets. It began in LA, when promoter Mike Lebell sold to him and in March, 1983, Vince ran a show headlined by Andre.

That pattern repeated itself over and over. Cincinnati in October 1983, San Jose in September, and Detroit in December. Then in 1984, when Vince’s strategy became even clearer, it continued: Oakland in April; Minneapolis, Memphis, and Nashville in June; Atlanta, Miami, and Birmingham in August; Kansas City in September; Calgary, Alberta, in November; and last but not least Dallas in December. André was a featured act in every city. Even a year later, when Vince invaded Don Owen’s Portland, Oregon, territory, André was Vince’s go-to star.

Is this where a lot of Vince’s admiration for the Giant comes from?

Andre also worked in April 1984 in Texas for Fritz Von Erich and in Florida for Eddie Graham. He worked in Mexico that year alongside Mil Mascaras and other legends as well.

Andre also appeared in another Hollywood production in 1984: Conan the Destroyer, which was the sequel to Conan the Barbarian. He played a monster and was uncredited in the film. But it was on the set that the famous photo of Andre, Arnold, and Wilt Chamberlain was taken.

In the summer of 1984, Andre had pushed the Freebirds to Vince but the group came in partying hard. As Bret Hart told in his book, Andre took them aside and fired them. The Freebirds protested the decision but Andre countered “We’ll see tomorrow if you’re gone or I’m gone.” They were gone.

He really was the Boss, wasn’t he?

Toward the end of the year, on November 13, 1984, at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, André shot one of his most famous angles. With S.D. Jones, he battled Ken Patera and Big John Studd, who were backed by their manager, Bobby Heenan. What made this unforgettable was the fact that the bad guys cut the Giant’s famous hair! They snipped the signature afro that added a few extra inches to his already intimidating height. “It was the greatest angle I was ever involved with,” recalled Patera, adding that it was all André’s idea. “We met Vince and George Scott, who was the booker at the time. We were sure this thing was going to be hot.” Aside from the “Killer Khan breaking his ankle” storyline, it was probably the most heat that had been put on André’s opponents.

It seems like getting heat on a babyface giant is a challenge. Do you still face that challenge today with the likes of Braun, or a Big Show, or the like?

Although Andre’s health wasn’t improving, he was still one of the top ten draws in wrestling in 1984 and 1985 and in the WWF, he was only behind Hogan and whoever Hogan was working with on a regular basis. Andre worked many tag or six-man tag matches during early 1985, teaming with Junkyard Dog, Mad Dog Vachon, Rocky Johnson, Tony Atlas, and Pat Patterson, among others in a bid for revenge on Heenan’s family.

The climax to the feud was set to be at the biggest event in the history of pro wrestling - Wrestlemania. One. The first one. It was one of the main matches of the night and today would probably be considered a co-main event: Andre vs. Studd in a $15,000 Body Slam Challenge. Studd had been doing the gimmick since 1982 in the WWF. Andre vowed to retire if he was unable to slam Studd on the March 22 episode of Tuesday Night Titans. In fact, during that interview, Andre grabbed Vince by the tie and stormed off set. So about 12 years before Bret Hart grabbed Vince at the commentary table…

Do you think there was any consideration for Andre to retire at the first Mania or was it just something to sweeten the pot?

Big John Studd had taken absurd amounts of steroids to become not just heavier but taller over the years. The stories go that he didn’t just idolize Andre: He wanted to be Andre. Many said that’s why Andre didn’t like Studd, and although we don’t know what the reason might be, we can pretty safely say for sure one thing: Andre didn’t like Studd. At Wrestlemania, Andre won in 5:54 and was never in danger. He slammed Studd. He grabbed a bag of cash and started throwing it out to the crowd, most of which just floated down on the floor out of reach of fans. Bobby Heenan grabbed the bag from the Giant and ran to the back with it.

Readers of the Observer voted the Andre Studd feud the worst of 1984.

What didn’t connect with the Observer readers about this feud?

Andre went to New Japan for a month-long tour in May and June of 1985, mostly tag matches but some singles matches, too. Andre had a singles match with Antonio Inoki, the second biggest drawing match behind Hogan/Inoki two days later.

Andre returned to the US and appeared on the talk-show segment few remember on the WWF: The Body Shop, hosted by Jesse Ventura. He was entering into his next program that was with another giant: King Kong Bundy. At the time, Andre said he was 520 pounds. Bundy was over 450, although much differently proportioned. Bundy joined up with Heenan, continuing the Giant’s feud with The Brain. But Bundy, like other large men, said Andre didn’t like him.

That said, Bundy stayed with the WWF for three years and was in a big angle with André. In fact, the storyline called for André to be injured by Bundy’s devastating avalanche splash, where he would splatter his opponent, dropping all of his weight on him. André even did a stretcher job, as it was said Bundy broke the Giant’s sternum. However he felt about Bundy from first working with him, the Giant didn’t block Bundy or nix the program with him. Business was important to André, and Bundy was a brand-new opponent for whom he could sell convincingly.

Their feud led to a main event at the Garden and two matches on the WWF’s newest TV show: Saturday Night’s Main Event. The feud with Andre elevated Bundy who was able to headline Wrestlemania 2 the next year. In trying something new, Andre was given Lou Albano as a manager during this time in response to Bobby Heenan. The two didn’t last long as a pair.

Why do you think that is?

In the fall of 1985, Andre returned to Montreal for the first time in two years. In September, Bundy and Andre worked the Garden again.

By this point, Andre lived in North Carolina. His handler on the road had been Arnold Skaaland - but at age 60 in 1985, he didn’t want to be on the road as much. So, Skaaland introduced Andre to someone else - Tim White. He began traveling with the group and learning the ropes of what needed to be done for Andre on the road. After a while, Andre agreed to travel with White. The office also got him a customized van they took all the seats out of and put a captain chair in, along with a TV, phone, and fridge. Because Andre was a drinker, you know…. The WWF travel office called them Big Bear and Little Bear, in code. Since Tim White was on the road full time, Jay Strongbow suggested he learn how to referee and so White learned that job as well, refereeing part time until Andre left the company, then becoming full time for two decades.

How important was Andre to Tim White and vice-versa?

Andre and John Studd continued their work again in 1986 with the WWF on tour in Australia. The two were also working together in April when the WWF held Wrestlemania 2. Held in three different cities (NY, Chicago, LA), the Chicago event was host to one of the shows main attractions: the WWF vs NFL battle royal. Chicago Bears had won their first Super Bowl two months earlier, so it was a perfect spot to host such an attraction. Rookie sensation and defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry and pro-bowler Jimbo Covert got the call, while a third, Tom Thayer, was approached and interested, but ultimately wasn’t invited to the press conference and didn’t wrestle. Six NFLers in total were part of the match: Russ Francis, a pro-bowler who was the son of Hawaii wrestling promoter Ed Francis; Ernie Holmes and Harvey Martin, two Super Bowl champions who were the only ones retired from football; and another another rookie sensation, Atlanta Falcons’ Bill Fralic. Fralic took the most advantage of the press conference, held on March 25, when he talked trash about André. “I guess the only way André could hurt me is if someone pushes him over and he falls on me,” he said, referring to André’s lack of mobility in recent years. Andre told him “You talk too much, you know what I mean?”

Is Fralic’s line most likely an ad-lib? Seems like the wrong thing to say about Andre at this time...

Chicago Bears legend and Hall of Famer Dick Butkus and Ed “Too Tall” Jones, who was a legitimate six foot nine, were the special guest referees, while wrestling and football legend Ernie Ladd was the special guest announcer. WWF had asked all-time great Joe Namath to be the special announcer, but he declined the invitation. On the wrestling side, legends Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales, Big John Studd, The Iron Sheik, King Tonga, and Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were among the many who completed the 20-man field.

The Fridge and Andre were the last two to make their appearance. Andre stayed in a corner, worked with Studd whenever possible, and held the ropes at times to keep his balance. Andre selected the Hart Foundation to be the final two with him. They were good workers, he felt, and could make him look good. In Bret Hart’s book, he wrote this: Andre said what he wanted the finish to be but Bret suggested something else. The dressing room went silent. No one ever did that to Andre, but after a few seconds, Andre said he liked it and they went with it: Hart would whip Neidhart into the corner, who would reverse it and Hart would fly in for the tackle - only to catch Andre’s boot in the face.

Andre won the match.

Andre seemed friendly to the Harts, especially Bret here. Do you think he saw the talent and work and respected it?

After that match, the company ran an angle where Bobby Heenan petitioned WWF president Jack Tunney to ban the Giant from competing because he had failed to show for a tag match against the Heenan family. He succeeded at the end of May, which was the storyline explanation for Andre to spend three months in Japan.

On April 29, 1986, Maeda was booked against André in a match refereed by Frenchy Bernard. “Maeda wanted to play along with the New Japan style, but Seiji Sakaguchi [co-founder of NJPW and booker at the time] wanted to rib him, and put André out there opposite him,” recalled former company board member Akehiko Age in 2014. Well, one can wonder about who got pranked here: Maeda, André, Inoki, or the fans. The match didn’t start like a usual pro wrestling match. Both were observing each other and circling, as you would see in a modern UFC fight. The first move of the match was a stiff kick to the leg from Maeda, playing on his shoot style. Then, as he tried a leg takedown, André caught him in a double arm underhook and used his weight to bring the Japanese star down to the mat, immobilizing him. They continued to struggle against each other in a shoot for over 20 minutes with Andre never being able to get a clear advantage due to his limited mobility.

This looked bad but it takes a new level of sad when you think about how immobile Andre was during this time. Did you ever see footage of this? Would Vince have been upset about one of his guys getting taken advantage of overseas?

On June 17, New Japan ran a TV taping in Nagoya, headlined by André and Inoki. At nine minutes and 30 seconds of an IWGP League semi-final match, Inoki submitted André with an arm bar, on his way to winning the tournament. Not only was it a rare loss for André, it was the only recorded submission defeat of his career. André was leaving the territory and did the right thing by putting over Inoki.

Does this speak to the respect Andre had for Inoki?

In August 1985, Bill Eadie and Andre were booked on a tour for New Japan when the office offered them the idea of becoming a new and better Machine tag team.

In September, Andre returned to the US. Instead of having him wrestle as Andre, they had him wrestle as Giant Machine so that Andre’s last match could be going out on top at Wrestlemania 2. Instead of wearing his normal wrestling trunks, Andre wore a singlet with a single strap, which hid his back brace. He would do battle against the Heenan family, to which Bobby the Brain would complain about, saying it was obviously Andre. The company even flew Mean Gene to Japan to film interviews but the story ended with Big Machine, Blackjack Mulligan, replacing Andre. The storyline eventually fizzled out with the Heenan family winning in the end.

A criticism that has been written is that the Machine gimmick never got over. Were you a fan of it?

At the same time as Andre’s return, he was set to film among his most memorable roles: Fezzik in The Princess Bride.

André was the first name brought to casting director Jane Jenkins. According to her, she contacted WWF and was told André was wrestling in Japan during the dates proposed for filming. WWF added he would be paid $5 million for that tour. “They asked, ‘Will you pay him five million dollars?’” remembered Jenkins. “And I said, ‘I don’t think so! That’s like half the budget of this movie!’” André wasn’t being paid that, as the most he ever got in Japan was just little under $10,000 per week. Although New Japan did have a tour in November and December 1986, an educated guess is, at the time the company was asked, WWF didn’t want to lose one of its main stars for several months. Perhaps Vince McMahon Jr. remembered when his father told Hogan he had to choose between being a wrestler and a movie actor. In any case, the production met other people such as Richard Kiel, who had played Jaws in multiple James Bond movies; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a fan of the book; Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk; None were right. But at the last minute, the WWF told them Andre’s booking was canceled and he could meet with Rob Reiner.

Who would have made the decision to tell them the $5 million lie?

The filming for the movie was going to take place in the same town for 15 straight weeks, something a world-traveler like André could have found challenging. “I do it, boss,” answered André, before adding, “You want me to play these three pages for fifteen weeks?” André thought those were his only lines! After being told he would have more lines and be in a lot of scenes, his answer didn’t change. André was in.

Reiner decided to go all in and to record every line of the script exactly the way he needed them so that André could study for his part. André studied so hard and delivered each line just the way the director had envisioned it, that the production didn’t need to loop him (recording lines of dialogue in a studio after the end of principal photography). According to Reiner, André’s ring instinct made him a natural actor, always spot-on in his performance. He also considered André an important piece of the puzzle, without whom he couldn’t have made the movie. The movie was shot in Ireland, an incentive for André as he could visit his home country whenever he had downtime.

The story is about a young boy, sick and missing school, being told the fairy tale of Princess Buttercup and her true love, Westley, a farm boy destined to become the dreaded Pirate Roberts. The young boy is played by Fred Savage, just before he became the star of the television show The Wonder Years, while Peter Falk, better known as Columbo, played his grandfather and the narrator of the story. Much like in a wrestling storyline, the Fezzik character starts as a villain because of the evil influence of the Sicilian Vizzini, who behaves much like a wrestling manager, making him do his bidding. Slowly, Fezzik turns into a hero, becoming an ally to the main character, Westley. Much like André, Fezzik always has a good heart. Fezzik is vital to the story because he rallies the three heroes together after they first fight each other. Fezzik also finds a way to help bring Westley back to life with the aid of Miracle Max, played by Billy Crystal. Robin Wright, better known for the role as Claire Underwood on Netflix’s House of Cards, played Buttercup, or, if you prefer, the Princess Bride.

Andre was so proud of the movie, he would carry a VHS copy and play the tape endlessly to his friends at home, on tour, etc.

Have you seen the Princess Bride? Did you get to see how much it meant to Andre to be in that film?

Some other interesting stories came out of Andre’s time on the movie...

“Once, André had one of the most monumental farts any of us had ever heard,” wrote actor Cary Elwes in his book. “Now, I suppose you wouldn’t expect a man of André’s proportions to pass gas quietly or unobtrusively, but this particular one was truly epic, a veritable symphony of gastric distress that roared for more than several seconds and shook the very foundations of the wood and plaster set we were now grabbing on to out of sheer fear. It was long enough and loud enough that every member of the crew had time to stop what they were doing and take notice.”

“André so enjoyed flatulence,” recalled Vince McMahon. “When he passed gas, it was an event!”

Not only did he enjoy it, he even had a special position.

“That was his trademark. And he had a real knack for lifting his left leg,” remembered Gene Okerlund.

“I would see him go into the launch position,” continued Tim White, “and I’d say, oh my god, here it comes. You’ve never heard anything like it.”

Please tell us you heard Andre the Giant fart….and can you do an impression?

Filming ended by December 1986. The movie was originally scheduled for a July 1987 release but because of editing, was pushed back until October. The movie earned $31 million, which was 41st best of 1987, and twice its budget.

And did we mention by the time it came out, Andre was a heel?

Although the film didn’t do monster numbers at the time, it’s since become a cult classic.

Why do you think Andre was able to make the Fezzik character so endearing?

1987

We’re finally here. This is the year most of us probably heard about this episode and thought would be the story. And it is - but look how we got here.

While Andre was in the UK filming Princess Bride, Vince flew over to speak with him. Andre was falling apart. His back was messed up, stories from the production were that he couldn’t do action scenes well. As Vince tells the story to HBO, Andre was ready to give up the business - so Vince pitched the biggest match of his life. Headlining the Pontiac Silverdome against Hulk Hogan. The only hitch was that Andre had to turn heel.

Andre needed surgery. The legends tell that he received surgery before Wrestlemania 3 but in information coming from André’s working permit paperwork that was uncovered in the research for the book The Eighth Wonder of the World, it indicates clearly that the operation to relieve pressure from marked spinal stenosis took place on July 21, 1987, four months after Wrestlemania.

Both for the match and the surgery, Andre needed to get in better shape. He had never been much on working out besides the workout he would get when wrestling. Vince offered to let Andre train twice a day in his Connecticut home gym. Andre started early in the morning so by 9:30 AM, he could have a beer. Andre didn’t like protein shakes because they made him fart - more than usual.

What’s Vince’s home gym like?

The build began on November 29, 1986 when an interview from London announced Andre’s suspension had been lifted. In December, the first seed was planted. Jack Tunney confirmed Andre’s reinstatement adding that the Giant wasn’t at the hearing - but Bobby The Brain Heenan was. Heenan and Andre neither gave a straight answer about how he got reinstated.

On January 17, 1987’s WWF Superstars, there was a Piper’s Pit segment seeing Roddy give a six-feet-tall trophy to Hulk Hogan to mark his three year reign as champion. Footage was shown of Andre pouring champagne on Hulk and many believed McMahon had planned all along for Andre to be the ultimate challenger to Hulk. Andre told Hogan three years was a long time, shook his hand - and left the set. Hogan sold the handshake like he had been hurt.

The following week on Superstars, another presentation was scheduled where a smaller trophy was given to Andre to celebrate his undefeated record. Almost perfectly timed, after a few words by the Giant, Hulk Hogan walked in to hand him the trophy and unwittingly to take the spotlight away. Andre walked off in what seemed like anger or disgust.

The week after, Jesse Ventura was on Piper’s pit saying he didn’t know what went down with Andre’s reinstatement. Ventura and Piper both agreed: Hogan and Andre would be on Piper’s Pit the next week to address all of the issues.

It aired on February 7 from Tampa Florida. Piper makes good on his promise bringing Hogan on set first. Soon enough, Andre comes onto the set - followed by Bobby Heenan. At first, Andre didn’t speak. Hogan was in disbelief. Heenan confirmed he was the Giant’s new manager. Hulk tried to reason with Andre. Andre told him “Take your hands off my shoulders. I am here for one reason. To challenge you for a world championship match in the WrestleMania.” Andre tore the Hulkamania t-shirt off, broke Hulk’s cross necklace, and drew blood on Hogan’s chest.

Bobby Heenan had nuclear heat around this time, right? Is that why Andre was put with him? And is Heenan the only one who could have turned Andre so effectively?

The following week was our final segment to build to the PPV. Piper’s Pit hosted Hogan, with Piper asking him if he would accept the challenge. Hogan responded, after several times, “YESSSSSSS” and the crowd went nuts like they all won cars on Oprah.

André only wrestled one time during the whole buildup to Mania. It wasn’t necessary for him to do more. The interviews alone created interest. During the one match, on Saturday Night’s Main Event taped Feb. 21 and broadcast on March 14, a battle royal saw Hulk and Andre come face to face. The show drew a monster 11.6 rating. It was a record for SNME at the time. Andre headbutted Lanny Poffo, who bladed to make him look more vicious. Andre eliminated Hogan in the match before the remaining eight competitors teamed up to push Andre out.

At the contract signing, broadcast on February 28, Heenan demanded a new championship belt be commissioned — one that would fit André. André remained silent. To add more reality to the angle, Jack Tunney called André “Mr. Roussimoff.” Hogan blamed Heenan for André’s change of heart. “If you wanted a title shot, all you had to do was ask me,” he said. “I would have given you anything, man. André, you were bigger than the world title to me.” After they both had signed, André answered Hogan: “You think I tell you everything you know in professional wrestling. But I didn’t. And believe me, WrestleMania III will be your last lesson.”

How is it that the biggest wrestling angle ever was pulled off with such a simple set up? Was it because Vince had maybe spent years leading to this moment?

Wrestlemania 3

One of the legends leading up to the event is that no one knew whether Andre would go through with letting Hogan beat him. Andre joked, playing on Hogan’s already high anxiety. Hogan didn’t know that and worried the Giant might not cooperate in the ring. Another situation like with Maeda would not be good for WWF business and in fact, might have destroyed it.

Andre arrived at the arena drinking a huge bottle of wine. Hogan said when he sat next to him, Andre had ingested two quarts of Crown Royal. So as the story goes, Andre was probably drunk in the ring that night. But he might not have been able to perform due to the pain if not for that.

Hogan said he wrote the entire match layout down on a legal pad, except for the finish, and gave it to Vince to go over with Andre.

Does that sound accurate?

The match begins with Hogan blocking Andre’s attack and throwing several punches. Hogan goes for a slam but Andre falls on him and we get a really close two-count that will be part of storylines going forward for the next year, when Heenan claims Andre beat Hogan here. When André missed one of his famous head butts, hitting the turnbuckle instead of the Hulkster, Hogan finally took over. But it was just a short-lived reversal, and André halted Hogan’s comeback with a big boot to the face.

Andre grabbed a bear hug and Hogan tried to support his weight. Hogan would continue to try to mount comebacks only for Andre to cut him off. The match was Hogan working all around an immobile Andre. Hogan ducked one of the headbutts and Andre hit the ring post. They got back in the ring and Hogan did his Hulk Up, with the crowd going banana. He bodyslammed Andre - which Hulk says was after Andre called the spot to him. And when going down for the slam, Hogan said Andre called for the leg. Hogan hit the legdrop, got the pin, and the torch was passed.

What did this moment mean for pro-wrestling? Talk about the growth that could occur because Andre passed the torch here.

93,173 (78,500 paid fans) generating $1,599,000 in ticket sales, closed-circuit drew 450,000 fans and $5.2 million, and there were yet another 450,000 PPV buys, making it the biggest pro wrestling event of the time. Hogan and Andre were both reportedly paid $750,000 for the match with Andre earning a $250,000 bonus for doing the job.

Do you think there was really any doubt on Andre or Vince’s part of him doing the job? Or was he just messing with Hulk?

Meltzer said, “It is also the most important match in modern wrestling history. The match between Hogan and Piper in 1985 came when the war had just started. But in 1986, Jim Crockett Promotions was still number one in some markets. The difference was that Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes couldn’t draw 30,000 people. The André-Hogan match solidified WWF as number one.”

Do you agree with that? What did Wrestlemania 3 do that Wrestlemania I did not?

Post-Mania III

As he had been preparing for, Andre had spinal surgery months after the big event. The surgery was performed at Cromwell Hospital in London, England. Andre began taking painkillers after, medicating himself in a way he had not before.

Andre had wrestled just once after Mania, on an April 28 taping for Saturday Night’s Main Event. He teamed with Hercules to face Hogan and Ken Patera. It was during that broadcast that Heenan began to say Andre had pinned Hogan and should get the title or a rematch, at least.

Andre continued making appearances, often at TV as a corner man for the Heenan Family. On October 23, he refereed a match between JYD and Harley Race in Paris, if you can imagine that. But a month later, WWF wanted to launch a new PPV and the Giant was going to be a big part of the plans.

Survivor Series

Thanksgiving night, November 26, 1987, was an important evening for the WWF. The company needed to continue capitalizing on the great business done at Wrestlemania 3 but they needed a way for Andre to work against Hogan without having to work the entire match. The Survior Series was born. Multi-man elimination matches would be showcased so Andre didn’t have to do all the work. Hogan teamed with Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow while André teamed with One Man Gang, Butch Reed, Rick Rude, and former foe King Kong Bundy, managed by Bobby Heenan and the Doctor of Style, Slick. The last one to make his way to the ring, André was announced by Heenan as the “uncrowned heavyweight champion, and the next heavyweight champion,” still playing on that WrestleMania two-count storyline.

Andre didn’t wrestle much. Hogan was counted out. Andre ended up facing Bam Bam Bigelow and defeating him with a (very safe) double underhook suplex. Andre had his victory back over Hulk. Backstage, Heenan called for a rematch between Hogan and Andre.

We’ve talked about before how this is Hogan giving the victory back to Andre but this also was setting up another series for a storyline going into Wrestlemania 4, right?

1988

On the January 2 edition of SNME, the year began with Andre replacing Heenan at ringside for a match between Hogan and King Kong Bundy. Hogan defeated Bundy but Andre famously attacked him from behind, strangling the champion with his large hands while showing a sadistic grin. The Bulldogs and others came in to try to pull Andre off and no one could stop him. It took Hacksaw Duggan and his 2x4 to get Andre to retreat.

During the same time frame, Ted DibIase had revealed plans to buy the WWF world title from Hogan - who refused the offer, of course. But Dibiase had another plan: buy Andre’s contract from Heenan the week after the January 2 SNME. If Dibiase wasn’t able to buy the championship from Hogan, he would sign the one man who could beat Hogan.

Was the plan to put Dibiase with Andre because Dibiase, unlike Heenan, could wrestle?

On January 24, Hamilton, Ontario hosted the first Royal Rumble and Andre and Hogan signed their rematch contract for an event on February 5 called The Main Event. The storyline was that Andre agreed to win the championship and sell it to the Million Dollar Man. After signing the contract, Andre slammed Hulk’s head on the table and flipped it over on him. Royal Rumble drew an 8.2 on USA Network.

You’ve said that Indianapolis was selected as the venue because it was a good market for the WWF at the time, it was already on the schedule, and Market Square Arena looked good on television.

According to the rumor and innuendo, Andre wasn’t a fan of how hands-on the NBC television production staff would be with Saturday Night’s Main Event and didn’t like Dick Ebersol, at first.

Mean Gene told one story that Ebersol was giving all these instructions . . . do this and that and don’t do that. André told him, ‘Fuck you!’ and walked right by him, straight to the ring, the way he wanted to. He violated Ebersol’s authority as the executive producer of the show. It wasn’t a rib. He just didn’t like the guy. He recognized his authority, but he just didn’t want to do it. If he didn’t want to do it, he just would not do it. You can talk to Pat Patterson or any other agents. If he felt it was a bad idea, he would find a way to slip around it.”

Can you speak to that? Did Andre dislike the overproduced atmosphere of these shows?

Viewers of the event found Andre to appear to be in better shape than he was at the Survivor Series and to be in less pain than at Wrestlemania III. With Dibiase and Virgil at ringside, this match had a different creative dynamic than the Mania match. The match lasted about nine minutes and was designed to be easy on Andre’s fragile back. For example, Hogan went up to the top rope when Andre grabbed him and slammed him, perfectly executing what would have probably been impossible for the giant to do otherwise.

Hogan hits the legdrop but the referee, Dave Hebner, is distracted by Virgil. Hogan starts to argue with him until Andre gets up, hits him with several headbutts to the back of the head, and then uses a double underhook suplex that he avoided landing on his back in, similar to Survivor Series. Andre goes for the pin. At two, we see Hogan raise his shoulder from the pin in the clearest example of getting a shoulder up ever. But the unthinkable happens. The referee counts three. Hulk Hogan had been pinned by Andre the Giant and lost the WWF championship after 1,474 days as champion - the second longest behind Bruno Sammartino. Andre became the 14th WWF World Heavyweight champion.

On commentary, Vince McMahon sold it with fury. He said he couldn’t believe what a stupid mistake the referee had made. But it wasn’t a mistake!

Was Andre always the top choice to take the belt off of Hogan when the time came? And why did the time come for Hogan to lose the title, here? Movie?

As the heels were leaving, a second referee showed up and he looked exactly like the first referee, Dave Hebner. Hogan grabbed both referees. Then, the fake Dave Hebner (who was really his little brother, Earl Hebner. The screwjob referee) beat up the real Dave Hebner. Hogan press slammed the fake Hebner and threw him over the top rope to Dibiase and Andre, who were supposed to catch him. Hebner sailed right over their heads.

Was he okay? Scary to imagine being thrown by Hulk Hogan so hard, he throws you over the people supposed to catch you!

In the post match interview, Andre had a memorable slip.

“This is not a surprise,” said André. “I told you I was going to win the world tag team championship. And now I surrender the world tag team championship to Ted DiBiase.”

Any idea what happened here?

In his post match interview, a frantic Hulk Hogan asked how much Dibiase paid for the plastic surgery to make the imposter look like the real Dave Hebner. That became, at least initially, the explanation in the story for what happened.

So is that the storyline explanation, officially? :) (Nerd question)

In this instance, many people within the company were brought in to help coordinate the big moment and because of that, the information leaked out that Hogan was going to lose. It ended up not hurting and if anything, helping the company do a monster rating that night. Hogan didn’t lose. Andre wasn’t hurt. Wrestlemania was set. And oh yeah, it drew a 15.2 and 33 million viewers.

By comparison, that year, the NBA Finals had 21.7 million viewers and the World Series had 34.5 million.

Please describe your reaction and Vince’s reaction to these numbers because...damn.

Is this the greatest wrestling angle of all time? Why?

Between February and WrestleMania IV at the end of March, André was on the road teaming with DiBiase against Hogan and Bigelow. Some of those main events, in Minneapolis and Montreal, for example were part of a tour to honor Mad Dog Vachon, who had recently lost a leg in an accident. It was the busiest schedule André undertaken since 1986.

Did the surgery and the exercise give Andre a second wind here to continue performing longer than he would have otherwise?

Wrestlemania IV

The impossible task of following up Wrestlemania III was one the company took head on, holding the event from Trump Plaza. There are pictures of now-President Trump holding the WWF title between Hogan and Andre at the event.

One of the celebrity guests at the event, Bob Uecker, interviewed Andre during this show in what was one of the most memorable clips of the Giant. At the end of the interview, when Uecker asked Andre to get his foot off of his shoulder (Andre’s hand was on him), Andre grabbed him and choked him and Uecker sold it epicly.

Was that a planned spot beforehand or spontaneous?

This show was a busier show than most people remember for the Giant. He made an appearance in Dibiase’s first round match against Duggan, helping Dibiase win. Andre and Hogan both received first round byes so they faced off in the second round, with Dibiase and Virgil at ringside with Andre. The match began and Andre immediately attacked Hogan, seemingly full of energy. Gorilla Monsoon even commented that he looked awesome! Near the end, Hulk was about to slam Andre again when Dibiase ran into the ring to hit Hogan with a chair while referee Joey Marella was distracted by Virgil. Both Andre and Hogan hit each other with a chair and caused a double DQ. It lasted 5:22, the shortest of their three matches. Hulk then ran Dibiase off, took care of Virgil, and slammed the Giant.

The thing that is so cool about this is...you didn’t beat Hogan...you didn’t beat the Giant...but Hogan got a win at the end and still looked good. Who was most responsible for the genius booking of this scenario?

So now, Dibiase gets a bye to go straight to the finals. There, he met Macho Man Randy Savage. Once again, Andre came down to the ring to be in Dibiase’s corner. At one point, Andre stepped in front of Dibiase on the floor to block Savage from doing his signature axe handle smatch off the top. Savage made the call to ask his valet, Miss Elizabeth, to go back to the locker room for help. As one could expect, she came back with none other than Hulk Hogan.

Even though they weren’t wrestling in it...Hogan and Andre were still in the main event at Wrestlemania - right?

After Andre attacked Savage through the ropes, Hogan would interfere. He clobbered Dibiase’s back with a chair while the referee was distracted, giving Savage a chance to hit a beautiful flying elbow drop for the win. Hogan ran to the title belt as Andre paced toward it, almost as if he was going to grab it and keep it for himself (or Dibiase). Luckily, Hogan got there first. We got our happy finish and, as a bonus, we set up the main event for next year’s Wrestlemania!

Immediately after Wrestlemania, Andre went to Europe for a tour. He returned and renewed his feud with Jim Duggan, culminating in a feud at the Garden on July 25, 1988 - in the main event, no less.

Andre also wrestled Bam Bam Bigelow at the Garden earlier that year - and by all accounts, beat the shit out of him pretty bad. At the time, Bam Bam was known for bragging a lot in some circles and Andre, as we have seen before, didn’t seem too fond of people with a bad attitude. Bigelow ended up quitting around that time, possibly because of Andre kicking his ass, and later said it was the best thing that could have happened because it fixed his attitude.

Was Andre the original lockerroom leader? Who would have been like him before and after (not sure before. After: Taker?)

Andre also wrestled Randy Savage that year. Apparently, he didn’t like him either. Hogan told HBO he hated him. Andre hated that Randy wore too much baby oil and in general, just seemed to dislike Savage. But, the baby oil was probably hard for him to wash off in a tiny hotel shower.

Once Hulk returned from filming No Holds Barred, Andre picked back up working with him. At a major event called WrestleFest 88, July 31 at the County Stadium in Milwaukee, Andre and Hogan had their only cage match ever. Hogan and Andre wrestled their last two matches on August 7 in Greensboro and on October 23 in Atlanta. It might not seem like big towns for those two, but...that’s JCP territory. And Vince was sending in the big guns.

Andre worked on top against champion Savage through August to set up Hulk’s return as Savage’s partner at SummerSlam - the WWF’s newest PPV spectacle - at MSG. After being attacked, Macho challenged both ment o a match with a partner of his choosing. Heel Jesse Ventura would be the special referee and fans knew he could be bought. But with so much of the deck stacked against Savage, he brought out his big gun: Hulk Hogan.  In the main event, August 29, 1988, the Mega Powers - Hogan and Savage with Elizabeth - were scheduled to face the Mega Bucks, Andre and Dibiase with Virgil and Heenan.

It was Andre’s last main event for a major WWF show.

Did this happen by design at the Garden? Or is it just fate that was the last location he would headline a major WWF show in?

It was a good match, full of theatrics, based more on the personalities in the ring than on pure athletic ability. André didn’t wrestle much. He choked Hogan and made Savage’s life miserable. He also made a big save toward the end, trying to get a count-out win for his team. However Elizabeth distracted Ventura as she unleashed her team’s “secret weapon,” taking off her dress to distract the heels. The Mega Powers won, defeating Dibiase, and the show was a big success with a sold out Garden and 400,000 buys on PPV.

It was also the last PPV built on the Hogan/Andre feud. Between WrestleMania III and IV, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, the February 5 Main Event on NBC, SummerSlam, and some other big shows, the rivalry was the driving force behind some of the best business the company ever did.

Was this the most important feud of all-time? What else is in the league with this (Austin/McMahon?)

Most of the rest of 1988 was Andre working with Savage in championship bouts throughout the country.

On November 7, Andre represented WWF at a boxing event in Caesars Palace promoted by McMahon! Andre sat in the crowd alongside Bob Dylan, Chuck Norris, Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Willis, Mike Tyson, and other celebrities. He sat next to Donald Trump.

As stories go, 1988 was a big year for Andre’s bank account. He made millions that year - between two and five according to who you believe. He was 42 years old and had been wrestling for 22 years. And while he winded down his career significantly after this year, few could argue that 1987 and 1988 were some of the most important in WWE’s history and thanks to Andre, some of the most successful.

Was this a transformative two years for the company? How important was Andre to that and could it have been done without him?

On the October 25, 1988, episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Andre and Jake Roberts began a feud. After a match between Roberts and Bobby Heenan’s protégé “Ravishing” Rick Rude, André came to the rescue of his friends. He head butted Roberts a few times, before the latter came back to the ring with his python. André was not the wrestler he used to be, but to his credit, he could still act. After Roberts threw Damien at Andre, the Giant had a storyline heart attack that left him unconscious.

That led us to the second Survivor Series, 1988, when Andre and Roberts captained their respective teams.

Did the snake create new storytelling opportunities for Andre?

1989

Things weren’t the same for Andre after 1988. He was not headlining PPVs but instead, worked in the middle of the card from then forward. At the Royal Rumble 1989 PPV, he entered at number three and was eliminated at number five when he threw himself over the top rope fleeing from Jake Roberts’ snake Damien.

Meanwhile, Big John Studd made his return looking larger than ever and won the Royal Rumble that night. It was the setup for him to....be the guest referee in Andre’s match. Yeah, kind of anti-climatic. But John Studd refereed the match between Jake Roberts and Andre the Giant.

Was the plan always to have Studd win the Royal Rumble just to referee a match at Wrestlemania?

The match wasn’t much. Near the end of the match, Ted DiBiase came ringside and stole Damien. Meanwhile, André attacked and choked Studd. But Roberts finally got his snake back and scared André off. Roberts was declared the winner by disqualification. The match served two new storylines, as DiBiase would feud with Roberts, and André would renew his feud with Studd. They feuded for two months, but André was still not a fan of Studd. Studd started to get paranoid, as the gossip around the dressing room warned him that André was going to beat him up. André was just stirring the pot, having fun roughing him up a little bit every night and feeding the other wrestlers the story of his dislike of Studd. It might be called bullying now, but in 1989, especially in the context of a pro wrestling locker room, it was nothing more than a guy who didn’t like someone deciding to have fun with it. However, that’s not how Studd saw it. “Vince, I can’t do it. I just can’t get in there. I’m scared to death of this man, he’s going to kill me,” Studd told McMahon.

Among all the people Andre hated most, Big John Studd seems like the man he hated most. Do you think he WAS joking when he said he would kill him?

And so in the afternoon of June 6, 1989, in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was supposed to wrestle André, Studd quit. Hillbilly Jim took Studd’s place as Andre’s opponent but McMahon’s next plans for Andre were different. The next program would be against The Ultimate Warrior, starting in July, 1989.

Warrior had been with the company for two years and had lost the Intercontinental title to Rick Rude at Wrestlemania 5. He was also being groomed to be the likely successor to Hogan down the road. Andre was asked to make the Warrior and he did - in a big way.

Live event matches were booked where Andre would lose to the warrior in under a minute. Warrior would hit a few clotheslines and a big splash and that was it. Andre didn’t like the Warrior and didn’t want to spend time in the ring with him, and according to Bret Hart, Andre was the one who asked for the matches to be so short.

Although the fans felt cheated by the short matches, the Warrior has the most pinfall victories over the Giant out of anyone, ever, because of it. It was voted the worst feud of the year by Wrestling Observer readers that year.

How much of Andre’s dislike for this was from him having to put someone over in a way like never before and how much of it came from that person being Jim Hellwig?

Andre was left off of the Summerslam 1989 card. Instead, Randy Savage teamed with Tiny Lister (RIP). Apparently, it didn’t make Andre happy being left off the card. He thought he should have been teaming with Savage.

In that mindset, Andre wrestled Warrior a week before Summerslam on August 21 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He lost in 30 seconds but he showed his legendary moodiness off to the public that day. A local TV cameraman was filming that night, with permission, but under orders to stop filming before the Andre match (which makes sense). Apparently, as he walked away from the ring with his camera off, Andre crawled under the ropes and shouted “I want the camera, I want that camera!” Andre hit the cameraman in the side of the face - not necessarily on purpose, we don’t know - and security arrived. Police were called and Andre was arrested for simple assault and third degree criminal mischief for damaging the camera.

Andre was taken to the police station without restraints - mainly because the handcuffs were too small to fit him. He saw a pair of leg shackles and, putting his hand on the officer’s shoulder, said “You’re not going to put those on me.” Because the police station couldn’t properly measure his height or weight, he was listed as 7’4” and 520 pounds.

Always in character, right?

Why do you think this time might have been hard for Andre, emotionally?

On August 31, André and Titan Sports Inc. were sued by the cameraman for compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit read, “His rage in having to lose the match together with his misguided zeal to enforce the Titan policy culminated in an unscripted explosion of violence against the plaintiff.” On November 6, as André was working in Japan, he received the amount he would have to pay: a $100 fine and $233 in damages to the television station.

Andre and the Ultimate Warrior main-evented Survivor Series 1989 on November 23. The Warrior team included Jim Neidhart and The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty). André’s team consisted of Haku, Arn Anderson, and Bobby Heenan, replacing the suspended Tully Blanchard.

Was that perhaps a little payback for leaving Andre off the card at Summerslam?

Two nights later, on Saturday Night’s Main Event, Warrior faced André for the Intercontinental title he had won back at SummerSlam. They wrestled for close to eight minutes before André was disqualified. The match was at least eight times longer than they were used to, and there’s little wonder why it was voted worst match of 1989 by Wrestling Observer readers.

It was the last time Andre wrestled on Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Andre wrestled twice at the Garden that year - in September and at the end of October, losing both times to the Warrior. In the last match, he lost in less than 30 seconds. Ironically, Warrior defeated him with a big splash, the same finish André used on Buddy Wolfe during his very first match at the Garden. It also marked the only pinfall loss André ever suffered at the Garden. But since the match was televised on the MSG Network, McMahon had found a way to protect the Giant. As he would generally do, Warrior came running to the ring as his music played. In this case, his music never stopped, the bell never rang, but still Warrior hit André with a few clotheslines before finishing him. After the pin, André took the mic and protested to the referee, in vain, that the bell never rang and the loss should not count. It was as close to a clean win by pinfall he could have gotten.

Vince stayed loyal to the Giant here, true?

Because of the program with the Warrior, Andre finished 1989 as eighth on the list of biggest draws in wrestling.

At the end of his feud with Warrior, Andre began teaming with Haku. They became the Colossal Connection and on house shows, worked with Ax and Smash of Demolition, the tag team champions. Ax was Andre’s friend so it all worked out well.

Did this begin because the Brainbusters left the company?

On December 13, 1989, the Colossal Connection beat Demolition to win the tag team championship when Andre pinned Ax in less than five minutes. It aired on Superstars of Wrestling on December 30.

André and Haku both had great respect for each other. They almost exclusively worked Demolition in return matches all over the country. The matches were better than most of André’s recent feuds since Haku was carrying the load, but André’s work was not getting any better. To be fair, no opponent could have changed that.

The whole program with Demolition was about them getting a rematch at WrestleMania VI. That’s why, in the 1990 Royal Rumble match, the four of them faced off, with Ax and Smash double teaming André and eliminating him. It would be André’s last Royal Rumble.

Do you guys know you’re on borrowed time with Andre at this point?

Aside from Demolition, the Colossal Connection also defended the titles against The Rockers and The Hart Foundation. On March 24, 1990, they even faced Hulk Hogan and Big Bossman, as WWF was trying to build Bossman as a top babyface. It was André’s very last match against Hogan.

The rematch with Demolition was scheduled for WrestleMania VI at the SkyDome in Toronto, in what would be the most well-attended WrestleMania since André faced Hogan in Michigan. Three short years after WrestleMania III, André was still in a championship match but relegated to going out second on a 14-match card. André never tagged in. He interfered a few times, looking very slow. Haku did all the work. That was actually André’s idea. Again, showing his generosity, he knew his time with WWF was at a close. That spelled the end of the Colossal Connection, so he wanted Haku to look good and be in position to have a decent storyline following the end of their team.

In a similar scenario to that of their December match, André was holding Smash, ready for Haku’s superkick, but this time Smash ducked and Haku hit the Giant right on the kisser. André fell onto the ropes and into his tied-up spot. With the Giant immobilized, Demolition pinned Haku to become tag champions for a third time.

So even there, Vince protected the Giant?

We’ve heard you talk about the emotions of the main event, seeing Hogan step down off his thrown for Warrior. But this had to be an emotional moment, too, right?

Bobby Heenan was the catalyst in turning André heel three years prior, and was going to be just as crucial in bringing him back from the dark side. While the Brain chewed André out and poked him on the chest more times than anyone else had ever dared, André tried, in vain, to explain he had been hit by his partner. That’s when Heenan slapped André’s face. That slap was one slap too many. The Giant grabbed his manager by the collar and slapped him back multiple times. And just like that, André was once more a babyface.

Was it easier for Andre to be a babyface, since he couldn’t really ever be disguised or hidden in a crowd?

On top of being one of the best in the ring, Bret Hart is also a very talented cartoon artist. Since he knew it would be one of André’s last matches with the company, he had worked on a special cartoon for the Giant, a montage of every name wrestler who had worked in the WWF since the early 1980s. Before his match, he passed around the drawing for all the wrestlers to sign and brought it over to André. “André grasped it in his big hands and turned it over in order to sign it too,” remembered Bret. “I stopped him and said, ‘It’s for you, boss. That’s you there, right in the middle, carrying everyone on your back.’” André got emotional. He didn’t expect such a nice gesture from his friends. Fighting back tears, he thanked Bret. It was a gesture André never forgot.

Everyone thought that would be the end of his wrestling career but he had a few more matches, including on April 13 wrestling in front of the largest Japanese crowd of his career at the Tokyo Dome.

Around this time, Andre’s relationship with Vince soured somewhat, something Vince has admitted in interviews. Things were so cold that Andre appeared twice for the newly created Universal Wrestling Federation in October and November.

What happened? What did you see that caused a rift?

By the time the UWF was on TV, Andre had a new deal with the WWF. In December, Andre was announced as a participant in the 1991 Royal Rumble match! He even said he would win the match in an interview but a week later, Vince said Andre would not be able to compete due to an injury in Japan. Andre was pulled from the match. It was the only time Andre and The Undertaker were booked in the same match, if only for a moment.

It would have been awesome to see them touch in the ring, right?

At Wrestlemania 7, Andre made his official return with the company. company. “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, now part of the Heenan family, was defending the Intercontinental title against the Big Bossman. As Bobby Heenan was about to take an unfair advantage over the challenger, André came to ringside to the surprise of everyone in the crowd. The fans were going nuts and started chanting the Giant’s name. He might have been too old to wrestle, but he was a legend and that still meant something. After Haku and The Barbarian interfered for the disqualification, everyone but Heenan took a shot from André. They all sold — oversold would be a better word — for the Giant. Even if they were three-on-one and the logic dictated a gang beatdown, it wasn’t going to happen.

The Giant got one more big moment on the big show here. How important was that to him? How happy was he backstage? Did you know it was probably going to be his last Wrestlemania moment?

A week later, he officially broke all ties with Heenan and became a storyline free agent. WWF then recycled the plot in which every manager made a play for the hottest talent, a scenario that was very successful with Randy Savage and Bam Bam Bigelow. Every week, a manager was turned down in humiliating fashion by André. In the parking garage, “The Doctor of Style” Slick was thrown in the trunk of a limousine with André sending him to New Jersey. In a restaurant, Mr. Fuji got his face shoved into a cake. In a bar where André was drinking with his friends Arnold Skaaland and Pat Patterson, Sensational Sherri tried to seduce him. She promised him anything he wanted but was turned down and spanked for her troubles.

Did you produce these?

That left “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart. Hart tried to convince Gene Okerlund that he had signed André. When André showed up, Hart went to meet him and André put his arm around Hart’s shoulder. It actually served two purposes: making the fans believe André had signed with Hart and helping André walk to the ring. Still playing the Giant, he got in the ring stepping over the top rope like he had always done. When asked by Okerlund if he had signed with Hart, André, with his rasping voice, replied with a loud “NO!” to the delight of the fans in attendance. Hart lost it so André grabbed him by the collar. However, Hart’s protégé Earthquake attacked André’s left knee with Hart’s famous megaphone. Earthquake was John Tenta, a former sumo wrestler from Vancouver, Canada, billed at six foot seven and 468 pounds. He continued his attack while André sold his knee perfectly.

In reality, this was done because Andre needed knee surgery, right? But Andre was willing to make another star on his way out?

André had knee surgery in June at the River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, Mississippi. It was performed by Dr. Gene R. Barrett, who had a reputation among wrestlers as the best knee surgeon in the country. At the hospital, he received a giant “get well soon” card, with a drawing of André’s knee in a cast, signed by the majority of the roster and Vince McMahon.

Who took that card around to get it signed? Who had that idea?

By June 23, Andre - on crutches - was back at events in the corner of his old foe Jake Roberts in matches against Earthquake. Several more matches that year included the Giant in this capacity, usually in Roberts corner but in several other stars’ corners anytime they faced Quake.

On July 15, a Prime Time Wrestling episode aired in which André was interviewed by Sean Mooney. André, walking with crutches, claimed that he was two or three months away from a return and that the doctor had to remove two bone spurs almost the size of golf balls from his knee. He had noticeably regained a lot of the weight he had lost from earlier that year, and his ankles were also swollen.

The rumor and innuendo is that the plans were to bring Andre back to the ring, teaming with Roberts at Summerslam, against Earthquake and Typhoon. It was even mentioned in the WWF magazine’s Summerslam pre-view edition.

Is that true?

Instead, The Bushwackers were set to fight The Natural Disasters on August 26, 1991 in the Garden and Andre would be in their corner. Andre got a few crutch shots in on Earthquake for revenge. But that was as close as he came to returning to the ring. Summerslam 91 was Andre’s last appearance for the WWF in North America. Five weeks after Summerslam, he was sent to Europe to be in Davey Boy’s corner against Quake. That would be the end of the WWF’s giant with the company. By getting to go on the European tour, he was able to end his career where it began.

Did Vince want to let the Giant have his swan song where it all began for him?

Life after WWF

Andre went back to his North Carolina ranch to his Texas longhorns after his time in the WWF came to a close. The ranch had everything he needed to feel comfortable, from a huge chair to a giant television set where he would show people The Princess Bride. 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.

Andre actually worked a few matches after this, as late as in 1992, in Japan. They were mostly just for spectacle.

On September 2, 1992, Andre baffled many in the wrestling world by appearing on WCW Clash of the Champions 20 from Atlanta. The event celebrated 20 years of wrestling on TBS. Andre arrived on crutches and didn’t say much but was happy to be there.

“When André showed up on Ted Turner’s broadcast, it was just such a shock,” recalled Shane McMahon. “I remember my dad called André and said, ‘Boss, I’ve just gotta say that you really hurt my feelings. After everything, to see you with a competitor really hurt.’ I think André apologized.”

Why do you think Andre did that?

Andre actually wrestled after that, as late as in December of 1992 in Japan in tag matches.

On January 10, Boris had a message from André on his home answering machine in Montreal. André had to leave for France as his dad was not feeling well and he wanted to see him.

The Giant arrived with just enough time to see his father at the hospital. On January 15, 1993, Boris Roussimoff Stoeff passed away at the age of 85. “It was a shock for [André],” said Hortense, André’s sister-in-law. “I believe that’s what finished him.” André decided to stay to attend the funeral and to be home for his mother’s birthday on the 24th.

On January 27, he played cards and drank beer at the coffee shop in Ussy-sur-Marne. Those with him have said he looked tired and was experiencing back pain — they didn’t know this because he told them but because of the way he leaned up against the wall. As usual, he got back to his hotel after midnight, he took the elevator to room 108 and went to sleep. On Thursday morning, January 28, his driver was back to pick him up around 9:30 a.m. But André didn’t answer the phone. It was unusual, because André always answered the phone. His driver thought he was perhaps a little tired, so he decided to let him rest. The driver and the doorman tried again at 11 a.m. and then at noon — but there was still no answer. Around 3 p.m., the driver called again. No answer. The driver and the doorman, under the supervision of the hotel’s director, went upstairs and knocked on André’s door. André didn’t answer. They hesitated but realized they had no other choice but to break into the room. When they got there, André was lying on the bed, not breathing. It was too late.

Did the sadness of everything happening to him and the stress finally end up being too much for the Giant’s body to bear?

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 in Ellerbe, North Carolina. In addition, in accordance with his will, he left his estate to his sole beneficiary: his daughter Robin.

Andre’s death led to the creation of the WWE Hall of Fame, of which he was the inaugural inductee.

Roussimoff was the inspiration for the 1998 film My Giant, written by his friend Billy Crystal, whom he had met during the filming of The Princess Bride.

Andre never married. He was engaged once in the 70s, but reportedly got cold feet. He had one daughter, at the time 13.

The week after his death, Meltzer wrote this:

The World Wrestling Federation, at its cards over this past weekend and later on 2/1 on the USA network's Monday Night Raw announced the death of Andre and gave him a ten-bell salute. Fans chanted his name after it was over in some of the cities. All Japan, on its Sunday show in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, did a similar ceremony. Andre's death received major news coverage in Montreal, where it ran on page one of the newspaper, and the AP story hit many newspapers throughout the United States. Both CNN and ESPN covered it as part of their sportscast, as did many local news shows on Friday night. All the Japanese sports papers ran major stories as did many newspapers throughout Europe and Australia. Ironically, even though Andre did the bulk of his wrestling in the United States, his death received far more coverage internationally.

The Canadian Wire Services, which sent a far more in-depth story than the U.S. services, reported that there was an incredible demand for information regarding the life and death of Andre, with the biggest demand coming out of Europe.

Everyone that ever saw Andre the Giant will never forget him. He had that unique look and that unique presence. Probably everyone reading this, particularly those who saw him in the 1970s, can vividly remember the first time they saw him live. It's a moment you don't forget. Anyone who ever shook that gigantic hand will never forget it. Even the largest men in the world felt small in the grasp of the monster hand. Those memories only made the sight of him toward the end of his career that much sadder. But it can't be denied that Andre made his mark in his profession in a way that only a handful will ever be able to.

What do you think the legacy of Andre the Giant is? What was his impact on Sports Entertainment?

END SHOW

Further Reference:

Observer Obituary

One of the largest men and biggest gate attractions in the history of pro wrestling, Andre the Giant, passed away on January 27 in his sleep of an apparent heart attack. Andre, who was 46 at the time of his death, was probably the second most famous pro wrestler on a world wide basis, and correspondingly, probably the second biggest drawing card internationally, in the history of the business.

Known in the business simply as "The Giant," Andre wrestled professionally for 28 years, and was an international superstar attraction for most of that period. During the 1970s, Andre was undeniably the most famous wrestler in the world, the biggest international box office attraction and the highest paid performer. He was also one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. Andre headlined before the largest recorded paid wrestling crowd in history, the 90,817 paid fans who sold out the Pontiac Silverdome on March 29, 1987 for his Wrestlemania III main event match against Hulk Hogan. The bout was the first million dollar live gate in history ($1,599,000), was the largest closed circuit gate in history ($5,200,000) and set a pay-per-view buy rate record (reported at 10.2 percent, but probably closer to eight percent legitimately, which has since been broken by boxing, but the figure hasn't been even approached again in wrestling). The closed-circuit and buy rate figures appear to be safe bets to remain on the books for many years. On February 5, 1988, Andre's rematch with Hulk Hogan from Indianapolis aired on the first live prime-time network special in the United States in more than 30 years, and the viewing audience, 33 million, made it by far the most viewed pro wrestling match in U.S. history. That record also appears safe for many years to come.

The story of Andre the Giant's life was the ultimate Faustian bargain. Only, his destiny was determined, almost at birth. Born Andre Rene Rousimoff on May 19, 1946 in Grenoble, France, Andre was born with a rare glandular disease known as acromegaly. The disease comes from the body's continual oversecretion of Growth Hormone. It caused him to grow and grow and be one of the largest and most powerful men around. He became what doctors would say would be the ultimate result of too many megadoses of Human Growth Hormone, both in positives and in side effects. But once he could no longer grow in height, his body would turn against him. The continual growth would go to his head, his hands and his feet, causing them to continually thicken and somewhat distort his already unique oversized proportions, known as some circles as "giantism." He would start aging extremely fast at this point. And it was doubtful he'd ever see his 50th birthday. Although the most famous, Andre was not the first wrestling attraction to suffer this fate. The famed French Angel (Maurice Tillet), who was much shorter, had the big hands and huge, misproportioned face perhaps even more than Andre. Although he was never any kind of a worker, Angel was a major box office attraction, and also died at a relatively young age.

In his youth, the size and power from the acromegaly made Andre one of the biggest and, in some ways, one of most powerful men in the world. The upside was that wherever he went, he was always the center of attention and loaded with friends and hangers-on. The downside was that this would all be short-lived and the long-term results would be as the years go by, almost grotesque physical features, tremendous physical pain from joints having to carry around so much weight, a depressing rapidity in the aging process and ultimately a shortened life span. When he was in pain, the same public was still mesmerized by his transforming look. In many ways, Andre was luckier than most with the same disease because he was able to live life to its fullest during his short period as a veritable superman among men. He saw the world, earned tons of money, was recognized everywhere, loved and admired by millions, and in his passions, eating and drinking, he was able to consume more than just about anyone he came in contact with. In the world he lived, pro wrestling, a world filled with tough guys, the youthful Andre the Giant was respected not only because he was an amazing athlete for his size, and also because it was well-known in the business that "you don't f--- with The Giant." It's really hard to say just how strong he was or just how tough he was. He was almost never really challenged. But certainly when he first hit his stride in North America around 1973, just from the looks of things, he may very well have been the most physically intimidating man around. Almost from the start in the United States, he became the most famous figure, the most popular figure and biggest drawing card in the game, going from territory-to-territory around the world.

Andre left Europe in late 1970 to live in Montreal. Later he moved to a 200-acre estate in Ellerbe, N.C. where he raised longhorn sheep and quarterhorses. He lived on his farm for the remainder of his life. He received word on January 9 that his father, Boris Rousimoff, who was in his early 80s., was on his deathbed. Andre flew home to France two days later, and on January 15, his father passed away. Andre had decided to remain with his family for two more weeks, before he was scheduled to return home. He went to sleep on Wednesday night and when his chauffeur showed up Thursday morning, Andre never answered the phone in his hotel room. Finally the staff broke down the door and found him dead. No autopsy was performed so there is no official cause of death, but it is believed he went to sleep and never woke up, dying of heart failure. Andre had requested being cremated 48 hours after his death, but as of Tuesday, this hadn't occurred because they couldn't find a place in France that could accommodate someone of such size. Lawyers are currently working on getting that taken care of. His ashes, by his request, are to be scattered on his farm, where a memorial service will be held. The service has not been confirmed, but they are looking at around Feb. 16.

Andre was from a family of five, two brothers and two sisters. His father was 6-foot-2, his mother 5-2. The remaining siblings were all normal size. Legend has it that Andre inherited his size from his grandfather, who died before Andre was born, but reputedly was 7-foot-8 and more than 500 pounds. Of course, like many of the tall stories surrounding the most physically imposing man on the planet who was prime subject material for a world of tall-story tellers, it's hard to know where truth ends and fiction begins.

Many men claim to have started Andre in wrestling, to have first discovered him in France, to have talked him into entering pro wrestling, to have brought him to the United States, etc. His beginnings are somewhat mired in mystery. Already 6-foot-3, Andre left home at the age of 12. Because of his size, he tried rugby, soccer and even a little boxing, before falling in with a crowd of wrestlers. His first pro match was in France in late 1964, at the age of 18. At the time, he was about 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, certainly a huge man for his age, but nothing out of the ordinary. How big he wound up itself will forever be part of the legend of Andre the Giant.

Andre will forever be known as being 7-foot-4 and 520 pounds. His size and his legend may even grow bigger as the years go on. At times, particularly in his later years, that weight figure was probably accurate. Some say his weight was in excess of 550 pounds at the time of his death. He was not 7-foot-4, or even close to that height. The 7-4 figure, created when he first came to Montreal in late 1970, was probably because the most famous tall athlete in the world at the time, basketball superstar Lew Alcindor (who became more famous as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), was 7-2 and promoters wanted to bill him as the tallest and largest athlete in the world. At his tallest, he was probably around 6-10, maybe he could have been 6-11 before he ever made his mark in North America. Basketball players who met him generally estimated his height at around 6-9, although he was proportioned completely different than any 6-9 man around with relatively short legs, a long torso and huge head, their estimates could have been deceptive. In a photo with 7-2 Wilt Chamberlain and Arnold Schwarzeneggar taken when both were in Mexico City around 1984, Wilt appeared to have Andre by about three inches, although Wilt was bare-footed in the photo while Andre was wearing thick heels. Arnold looked like a small midget in between them, although Andre appeared to have basketball's goliath by about 150 pounds. In the mid-70s, Andre appeared in a TV series called "The Six Million Dollar Man," playing the character "Bigfoot." Later that season, "Bigfoot" was brought back for a return bout with Steve Austin, the hero character played by Lee Majors in what was at the time one of the most popular shows on television. The second "Bigfoot" was the late actor Ted Cassidy, who was always billed at being 6-9. Cassidy was most well-known for his role as Lurch on the Adams Family television show in the 60s. Comparing the two episodes it was obvious Lurch was taller than Andre. In 1976, when Andre had his famous boxer vs. wrestler match at Shea Stadium against Chuck Wepner on the undercard of the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki fiasco, legitimate sportswriters who took notice of Andre for the first time estimated him at 6-9, 370. However, later in his career, Andre posed in numerous photographs with Shohei "Giant" Baba, and he appeared to be around an inch or two taller than the 6-foot-8 Japanese giant. Those photos were taken in his later years, after gravity had taken its toll on his aching spine and lower back. It would probably be fair to say his size was his gimmick, the reason for his popularity and his drawing power. Yet, there have been a few wrestlers who were legitimately taller, yet to this point, none ever even made a mark in the business. There were a few who were heavier, some of whom, the original Haystacks Calhoun comes to mind, turned out to be genuine attractions, but certainly nothing comparable to Andre.

In the mid-60s, when Andre "The Butcher" Rousimoff started wrestling in France, there was no such thing as international news or communication. He actually wrestled for about six years before all but the most ardent wrestling fans and promoters in North America were even aware he existed. Although legend may have that differently as well. Frank Valois, who was Andre's best friend and business manager during his wrestling barnstorming heyday, said that he first met Andre in 1966 while he was wrestling as a headliner in France and brought him to England and Germany with him the next year before bringing him to Montreal in 1971. Edouardo Carpentier was always given credit for discovering Andre as part of the first legendary "worked" story introducing him to fans in Montreal. Carpentier claimed Andre approached him in France in 1964 and Carpentier saw to it that he got started in the business. Carpentier claimed that he went back to France in 1969 and set up bringing Andre to North America. Carpentier claimed he told Valois about Andre after the 1969 meeting, at a time when Andre was already a well-known name in Europe and put the two of them together.

In Japan, the story was always that Isao Yoshihara, the president of the International Wrestling Enterprises, at the time the distant No. 2 promotion in a two-party Japanese wrestling world, was in Europe scouting talent for his annual Grand Prix tournament. Yoshihara had "discovered" other European attractions and gotten them their first notice in the Western World, most notable of which was Billy Robinson a few years earlier. Billed as the 7-foot-tall Monster Rousimoff, Andre debuted in Japan for the IWE on January 3, 1970 as part of a six-week tour which included Michael Nador, a European star, and Jim Shields, an AWA wrestler known in the U.S. as Bull Bullinski. In early February, during the final week of the tour, Verne Gagne, who supplied the IWE with talent, arrived in Japan to defend his AWA title against the IWE's top star, Shozo Kobayashi. Gagne got his first glimpse of Monster Rousimoff, and immediately saw the dollar signs, but not where you'd think. Verne talked with young Andre, who was at the time a physical specimen at 335 pounds, and wanted to turn him into a boxer, figuring the boxing world was at the time desperately in search of a white heavyweight title contender, and a white giant would be that much the better at the box office. Boxing fans could be just as much marks for size as wrestling fans, witness Primo Carnera. Andre didn't take Verne's advice, but in Japan the story was Verne was the first American promoter to find out about Andre, and then sent him to Montreal to live, since at the time he only spoke French, and brought him in a few times as an undercard attraction for major shows.

But that story may not have been true either. Andre, as Monster Eiffel Tower, had already appeared in New Zealand and did great guns as an attraction there in 1969. By early 1971, American wrestling magazines started showing pictures of this "7-foot-4, 385 pound" superman, who in Montreal was given the ring name Jean Ferre, the always-smiling giant, with little bodyfat, who could do dropkicks. He went back to the IWE in Japan from March to May of 1971 for the annual Grand Prix tournament which included such luminaries as Billy Robinson, Karl Gotch and Don Leo Jonathan. Rousimoff had a draw with Robinson and wins over Gotch and Jonathan to send him into the finals against Kobayashi. The Gotch match is remembered to this day in Japan, because there was a ref bump, and Gotch picked Rousimoff up in a perfect german suplex but there was no ref to count the fall. Andre came back to attack Gotch from behind and score the pin to get him into the championship match. Kobayashi won the two out of three fall match, via count out in the third fall.

Jean Ferre, who was billed upon arrival as "The Eighth Wonder of the World," was an immediate sensation in Montreal. He arrived with the famous Paul Bunyan-like storyline. Carpentier, whose real name was Ed Wiecz but took the name Carpentier after a famous French boxing contender and became in the 50s the biggest draw in wrestling-mad Montreal, introduced him to the new world. Carpentier said he was driving around in the French Alps when a huge redwood tree had fallen in the road. Carpentier, who although only 5-7, was one of the most muscular men of his era, said he tried in vain, but couldn't even budge the tree. Suddenly out of the woods came the biggest man he had ever seen, who lifted up the redwood tree as if it were a twig and Carpentier befriended him and brought him to Montreal to become a wrestler. The young Giant got over fast as Carpentier's big buddy, and started making big money and living life like there was no tomorrow. Carpentier, now 67 and still living in Montreal, remembered when he first made it big.

"Andre was really living fast," Carpentier said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. "As soon as he started making money, he bought a big white cadillac and drove it all over town. He'd have a stogie (cigar) in his mouth and had women draped all over him. I used to worry about him living so fast but I guess he felt he didn't have a long time to live so he had to make the most of it."

Jean Ferre was usually booked in handicap matches against two men, or in 3-on-2 matches teaming up with Carpentier, who was the most popular wrestler in Montreal. He occasional singles matches were limited to the huge heels of the time, which in the Montreal territory were either Killer Kowalski or Don Leo Jonathan. Photos of this huge newcomer who made the giant Kowalski look like a skinny midget hit all the wrestling magazines. News of his box office potential started leaking to the United States promoters when Ferre was booked in his first main event, billed as "The Match of the Century" in the Montreal Forum against Jonathan. The Battle of the Giants with Andre (billed as 7-4, 385) against Jonathan (billed as 6-9, 320, although he was legitimately closer to 6-5 and 285 at the time) set Canada's indoor wrestling attendance and gate mark with more than 20,000 fans selling out the Forum. Officially, the always-smiling Ferre "lost his temper" for the first time in that match, and was disqualified with every wrestler on the undercard trying in vain for moments to pull his huge hands off Ferre's throat, with one swat of the huge paw sending one big wrestler after another flying. The idea was set in stone. He's the nicest guy in the world, but if you get him mad, there is nobody or nothing that can physically stop him. During that time period Ferre worked some big-card matches as a special attraction on major AWA spectaculars, which was actually his first foray into the United States.

Jonathan, real name Don Heaton, now 61 and living in Delta, British Columbia, was known at the time as the most agile big man in the game. "What I remember most about wrestling Jean (Andre) was how far it was to the canvas when I was over his head. He was so big and so tall, it was nearly impossible to get the leverage you needed to get him off the ground. We met maybe 20 times during our career. We had some awfully hard matches over the years, but I never lost respect for him. I remember Jean with much fondness. I knew him fairly well in the early years, and we came to travel together in Montreal, Texas, Europe and Japan. I'm really, deeply sorry that I haven't had the time in recent years to speak with him. I always wanted to tell him that I considered him a friend, but you know, you're always a day late."

Just before his first meeting with Vince McMahon Sr. and being christened Andre the Giant, Jean Ferre was given a shot at headlining a few AWA towns in singles matches against that territory's top heel, the ever colorful and controversial Superstar Billy Graham.

"I was probably the first person he ever let take him off his feet," remembered Graham about their early meetings. "At the time, nobody ever took him off his feet. It wasn't a planned spot, either. I was holding him in a bearhug and he said, `lift me up and take me over to the ropes.' I told him, `I can't do that.' He just told me to do it. I was amazed at the time he let me do it. He was a real nice person in that if he liked you, he'd let you do things with him in the ring. I don't believe there was ever anyone in wrestling who could impress you as much by looking at him like Andre the Giant in his prime. He was a super athlete, for his size, when he was still able to move. For a man that huge, he was a little clumsy, but he was light on his feet. And he was a great worker in that he never hurt anyone. You'd never hear of anyone getting an injury against Andre. He'd throw that big punch with that big paw and never threw a potato. His hand was so big but you'd never feel it."

The name Andre the Giant was born in 1973. The Montreal territory, which had been going great guns behind Ferre, had started to falter because fans didn't believe there was anyone who stood a chance against him. The promoters knew they had to get him out of the territory because no heel could get any serious heat, because he was so physically impressive nobody was even perceived as a threat to him. But his gimmick drawing power was gone because everyone had seen him for a few years week-after-week. Frank Valois, a wrestler who had been a major star in France during the 60s, became Andre's caretaker, taking care of everything for him. Valois represented Andre and set up a meeting with Vince McMahon Sr. McMahon Sr. changed his name from Jean Ferre to Andre the Giant, debuted him in Madison Square Garden where he became an immediate sensation, and realizing the mistakes that had been made in booking him in Montreal because of overexposure, sent him on the road around the world doing one-night stands working every territory that was affiliated with the NWA, WWWF and AWA, which in those days meant just about everywhere, and not only in North America. McMahon Sr. booked The Giant during the days when all the major promoters cooperated with one another, and Andre toured the world, staying a week or two in each territory until the wrestling war broke out in 1984 and Vince McMahon Jr. no longer allowed Andre to work for any other promotion aside from his New Japan tours. Andre, on his first go around, was billed as 7-4, 424 pounds of solid muscle and before he'd hit a territory, the promoters would air a photo of him with his long arms outstretched with two women wrestlers apparently sitting down in each arm, to give the illusion that with his arms outstretched he was easily holding up about 300 pounds of weight in each arm. Of course the photo was gimmicked in that the weight of the four wrestlers wasn't really totally supported by Andre's two arms. As if his size needed any illusion added to it, often the announcers would sit down while interviewing him with only a shot from the chest up which made him appear to be eight-feet-tall. All this illusion would have worked once in every territory, if there was nothing to the live package.

"People went to see him originally as a novelty," said Valois, now 71 and living in St. Marguerite, Quebec. "But after seeing him, they recognized he wasn't a one-night stand."

But by the time he hit New York, and then the rest of the United States, the dropkicks and the like went out the window. "I remember being amazed at seeing a man that big do a dropkick," noted Wladek (Walter) "Killer" Kowalski, one of Andre's first major opponents in Quebec. "But when he moved to the WWWF they told him, `We only want you to be a big hulking monster who goes into the ring and destroys people.'"

Actually, Andre's life was a series of one-night stands as promoters couldn't get enough of him. His first go-around the territories in 1973-74 as the ever-smiling Giant saw him break attendance records throughout the country. He was generally booked in handicap matches and Battle Royals and kept away from the top heels so as not to damage the territory for the long-term. In most cases, his opponent in the handicap matches would be Valois, his manager, who would call the match, and a local small preliminary wrestler who would take all the bumps. In the Battle Royals, which at the time were the biggest drawing gimmick match, he more often than not was put over. When Eddie Einhorn in the mid-70s challenged the entire wrestling establishment with his ill-fated IWA, Andre was booked in whatever town the IWA would run so the established NWA or WWWF promotion could run head-to-head and keep the IWA from getting a foothold. He was the most in-demand wrestler in the world. Every promoter booking a major event wanted Andre in as the so-called French dressing. The Guiness Book of World's Records used to list Andre as the highest paid wrestler ever with documented earnings of $400,000 in 1974. In later years, when Andre spent more time working the major Northeastern arenas, his income probably topped the $500,000 mark and he certainly earned more than that during the mid-80s when Titan Sports went national. Sam Muchnick, then president of the NWA said that Andre, Buddy Rogers and Jim Londos were the three biggest drawing cards in wrestling history.

"He was like a big, loveable baby," Valois recalls of his days barnstorming with The Giant. "I used to treat him as a son and he used to treat me as his father." Barnstorming wasn't even the word, as Valois recalls days where he had to get The Giant to a Saturday afternoon booking in Sydney, Australia and then to a Sunday, afternoon booking in Toronto. While it wasn't always like that, life was hectic and Valois' main job was to make sure Andre made the arenas, even when it took chartering flights to get there.

Somewhere along the line, the ever-smiling giant also became the undefeated giant. Wrestling legend has it that he was never pinned until that fateful Pontiac Silverdome match with Hulk Hogan. While not entirely accurate, Andre did exceedingly few jobs during his career. He certainly lost a few during his early years in Europe, since in the early days he was a big, but not monstrous, young, green guy. Kowalski and Jonathan scored gimmicked wins in backwater Quebec towns as part of programs to build up returns. Kobayashi and Jerry Lawler scored count out wins during the 70s. Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi pinned Andre in Japan in 1974 during his first tenure as a monster heel for New Japan, a totally different role than in the U.S. but one where he was every bit as much of a sensation in. Inoki probably pinned him on at least a second occasion as well. Valois and later Arnold Skoaland, who became Andre's caretaker and business manager after Valois left the road, took care of Andre in Japan and worked at ringside as heel managers for his matches against Inoki and company. The Sheik, when he never lost in Detroit and Toronto, beat Andre in blow-off matches in feuds during his early touring days, although obviously the finishes were heavily gimmicked. Harley Race may have pinned him for single falls in best-of-three fall matches when Race was NWA champion. I believe it happened once in Houston, if not again. Stan Hansen beat him via count out in a New Japan tournament in the late 1970s. Canek pinned Andre after a bodyslam in a famous match at El Toreo bullring for the UWA title match somewhere between 1982 and 1984. Inoki had a famous submission victory over Andre in June of 1986 with an armlock during Andre's final tour with New Japan. There was the famous Hogan match at the Silverdome. He also put over Otto Wanz in Graz, Austria, although that may have been via count out. The only other jobs Andre did were probably a few dozen less than one minute jobs to the Ultimate Warrior in late 1989, during Andre's final go-around as a main eventer for the WWF.

As the years went by, people no longer wanted to see Andre laugh through comedy matches with undercard wrestlers and he'd start going into territories and face the top heels. His best drawing matches would be against men who were at least close to his size, with famous feuds with the likes of Big John Studd, Hulk Hogan (when Hogan was a heel not only in his first WWF tour but even earlier in Alabama and Georgia as Terry Boulder and Sterling Golden), Blackjack Mulligan, Killer Khan, Bruiser Brody, Superstar Billy Graham and perhaps his biggest opponent during the 1970s, Ernie Ladd, a 6-9, 320 pound former all-pro football lineman whom he drew many big gates against in Battles of the Giants. Ironically, because Ladd had achieved so much fame in football before wrestling as his real height of 6-9 was known, promoters never tried to exaggerate his height as would have normally been the case in those days. It was funny, because Andre at the time was billed as 7-5, yet the two were roughly the same height. Some wrestlers have said Ladd was actually a shade taller.

In the late 1970s, Valois went back home and Frenchy Bernard, a former referee out of Florida, became Andre's road mate and lived with him until the time of his death. Valois still received a check from the New York office until Sr. passed the torch to Jr. in 1984, at which point he was cut off and lost touch with Andre.

"I never took it personally," Valois said. "He was such a huge attraction at the time. He was a great friend. I lost touch with him in 1985 or 1986. We never had a falling out. Life just took us in different directions."

Within wrestling, stories of Andre are legion. While there are stories of his awesome presence and strength when he was still in his 20s, before the disease that made him famous turned on him, the most famous stories are eating and drinking stories. There would be fighting stories as well, but Andre got into such few fights that the stories were more like a fight about to break out, Andre showed up, and the fight ended before the first punch was thrown, so Andre stories mainly revolved around drinking. A rare fighting story came out of South Africa, where the country's most popular wrestler, Jan Wilkens (who naturally doubled as the promoter), who held that country's version of the world title for most of the 70s, apparently wanted to embarrass Andre to build his own reputation, or perhaps believed in his own self-created hype. The story has it that Andre threw once punch, and Wilkens woke up three days later. Another story was out of Los Angeles, when Andre had a match against "The Monster," a guy named Tony Hernandez who dressed up in a Frankenstein outfit with huge boots to make him look about 6-7 and doing an indestructible gimmick. Apparently Andre wanted to unmask him, not realizing the promotion had billed the man as a Frankenstein built in a laboratory rather than as a masked man, and the guy fought for all he was worth to avoid it because it would kill the gimmick, and wound up getting way on the short end of that stick. Some of the stories are no doubt exaggerated, but legendary just the same.

Andre was legendary among wrestlers for his capacity to drink. Stories of him drinking 50 beers and not having a buzz are legendary. How exaggerated they are is another story. One of the most famous stories was of him drinking 119 bottles of beer at one sitting and passing out in a hotel lobby. Since he was so huge, nobody could move him. They simply put a piano cover over him and let him sleep it off and acted like it was covering a large piece of furniture. There are dozens of stories just like them. Wrestlers joke about being out in bars in the mid-70s with Andre, and some local wanted to provoke a fight with the "normal sized" wrestlers to prove how tough he was or that they were fakes, and they'd laugh about it and signal for Andre, and the locals' face would turn eight shades of albino and he'd high-tail out of the pub. McMahon Sr. built a special trailer so Andre would be comfortable as he was driven from town-to-town, and always kept it stocked full so Andre could pass the time with his favorite pastime. Andre was a notorious eater with stories of him going into restaurants and ordering everything on the menu. There were also legendary stories about Andre's strength. Andre never lifted a weight, but he had the thickest bone structure and largest in condition torso that anyone had ever laid eyes on. With his big butt and huge legs, he looked physically like he could squat a ton. Andre was invited to the World's Strongest Man contest when CBS-TV sponsored the event, but declined and wrestling sent names like Billy Graham, Ken Patera, Ivan Putski and Jerry Blackwell (the latter as a practical joke by Patera) to compete. Stories of Andre being able to pick up and move big cars in his youth are legendary. But how strong was he really?

"When it comes to pulling power, he was enormously strong," remembered Graham. "Pushing power, he was nothing exceptional. Anything having to do with a pulling motion like pulling you around the ring, he could pull anything with the greatest of ease. Pushing he wasn't that strong, like in doing something like pressing guys overhead or something that would be like a bench press or military press motion."

As the years went by, Andre got older, and heavier. For a while he was billed as 7-5, but 7-4 become much more famous and a little less of an exaggeration. The weight went to 445, 485 and passed the 500 pound mark. At this point he was far from being solid muscle. Many have said that if Andre had taken care of himself physically, had gone to the gym, had drank less, that he could have been the most awesome specimen ever. But it never seemed to interest him, and really his fate was sealed at the time he was born anyway. As the years went by, the ever-smiling giant smiled less and less. Perhaps it was the pain of his incredible body turning against him. Perhaps it was the pain of the realization of his own inevitability.

"I remember the quantity he could drink," remembered Kowalski in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. "He used to drink to numb himself from the reality that he wouldn't live long in this world."

"I wrestled a lot of years for a lot of different promotions," remembered one of his most frequent foes, Big John Studd (John Minton), now 44, an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Everywhere I went, everyone was glad to see Andre come. They knew the arenas would be full. I look around my house right now and I see a lot of things I wouldn't have if it wasn't for Andre the Giant.

This is a hard death for me. I had a lot of respect for Andre. This is a real loss, although I expected it because of his disease.

Andre was a real loner. The last time I saw him he was an angry man. I'd like to think the real Andre was the character he played in `The Princess Bride'--a nice, big gentle guy."

In the 1970s, when wrestlers never received any mainstream publicity--it was almost like there was a law against it--Andre was the lone exception. He appeared on the Tonight show and compared hand size with Joey Bishop, he did the Six Million Dollar Man, and had a lengthy feature article in Sports Illustrated about him. In 1974, many newspapers around the country aired photos of Andre talking about him getting a tryout with the NFL's Washington Redskins. Andre never took the tryout, which was mainly a publicity stunt, with the story being that he asked the Redskins for the same $400,000 he was earning as a wrestler which was almost unheard of in those days for an NFL player. When he first arrived in Quebec, the Montreal Alouettes had similar ideas about trying to make him a football player.

Around 1982, Hulk Hogan caught fire in Minneapolis and Japan and surpassed Andre as the leading draw in the business, and two years later took Andre's spot as the most popular and most famous wrestler on an international basis.

The first chink in the invincible armor came in 1981 when he woke up one day, got out of bed, and collapsed on the floor. His ankle had been badly broken. It was attributed to a match with Killer Khan, real name Masashi Ozawa, a 6-4, 280 pound Japanese star billed as the Mongolian giant, whose feud with Andre in 1981 after the legitimate injury was his main claim to fame in wrestling. Andre was already closing in on the 500 pound mark by this point. While his mobility was limited because of the weight, he still had enough left to have numerous genuinely exciting matches with Khan. Andre's peak as a worker was probably the late 70s, when he had picked up the ring psychology, his weight hadn't gotten too far out of control although he was no longer a physical specimen, and he still had his mobility and stamina. He had good matches in the United States, at least for what he was, even doing occasional 60:00 draws against Nick Bockwinkel and Race, but he excelled as a monster heel while in Japan. Perhaps his most entertaining matches were his cat-and-mouse encounters with the much smaller but gifted Tatsumi Fujinami, then a junior heavyweight champion, who worked a believable series of spots with Andre before finally getting caught and squashed at the end. Andre even let Fujinami, barely 200 pounds at the time, slam him.

Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan wrestled for the first time around 1978 in Dothan, AL at the Houston Farm Center. Hogan was the newest big guy who could presumably be built into an attraction to give Andre a new opponent. Two years later, Andre participated in the angle which made Hogan a national star. On a WWF taping, Hogan, then a heel managed by Freddie Blassie, loaded his armpad and busted Andre's head with a lariat and left him laying. Just before the finish, Hogan lifted Andre up for a bodyslam. While Andre had been slammed before, surely no slam in the United States at least up to that point had been seen by so many people. Andre and Hogan took their feud to all the major arenas, and not just in the old WWF territory, but across the United States and Canada and into Japan. The first Andre-Hogan match in New York was at Shea Stadium on August 9, 1980, underneath the Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko cage match main event, which drew 35,771 paid and a then-record $541,730.

Unfortunately, Andre's most famous matches were also among his worst. The two Hogan matches, one setting the PPV and attendance record, and the other on NBC, both came when he was long past his physical prime and badly crippled from injuries. His matches with the likes of Warrior and Studd were even worse, since neither were Hogan's calibre when it came to charisma in hiding that Andre wasn't moving, or in working ability at carrying him. Few of his main events from the 70s in the U.S. were ever videotaped. With the exception of the Hogan matches, perhaps the most famous match of his career was in many ways one of the strangest matches ever. And could have been the most dangerous.

In April of 1986, Andre got into the ring with Akira Maeda. The circumstances behind what happened were never explained. Maeda was one of the leading stars for the first UWF in Japan in 1984-85, which worked matches in a so-called "shooting-style" and many of its wrestlers, particularly Maeda, decried pro wrestling for not being true sport and Maeda in his youth often had outbursts at fans, wrestlers and reporters regarding such a thing. The first UWF went out of business at the end of 1985, and Maeda, who was first trained in New Japan, was invited back to the fold. Apparently swallowing his pride because he needed to work and it was the only way to remain in the business, Maeda agreed, and actually turned into a phenomenal worker combing his submission style (which was the catalyst in changing the entire work style of Japanese wrestlers) moves with some pro spots. Maeda never did a job in the New Japan rings except to Yoshiaki Fujiwara, which was okay since Maeda acknowledged Fujiwara as a true wrestler. Maeda's statements about wrestling and American wrestlers in general often led to a lack of cooperation in those matches. It was well-known in those days that Maeda's matches would be phenomenal against the Japanese, but largely nothing with Americans. The two got into the ring and whatever spirit of cooperation he had with other Americans wasn't even there. Andre never sold any of Maeda's submissions, and was almost mocking his shooter gimmick. It appeared Andre kept going for Maeda's eyes, which would be scary when someone of that size makes a move in that direction. Soon, all cooperation was gone and the match had fallen apart and nearly turned into a real fight. Andre, as immobile as he was by this time, was still more than 500 pounds. Maeda started getting into a fighting stance and throwing wicked kicks at Andre's knee time after time. Andre just stood there, acting like he didn't feel a thing, and maybe he didn't. The few times Maeda got closer and went for a single-leg, Andre's lack of balance was evident as he went down easily like a redwood tree that had just been chopped through. Maeda never jumped on him, because strategically, if Andre snatched him, the size difference could prove embarrassing to the self-proclaimed super shooter. Andre would get to his feet, Maeda would kick the knee, go for the single-leg and Andre would go down. Andre, who wasn't in any kind of condition by this time in his career, after a few series, just decided to stay down and dare Maeda to jump on him. At this point Maeda asked one of the older wrestlers if he had permission to finish Andre off, but the wrestler shook his head no. Antonio Inoki, the promoter, finally jumped into the ring with no explanation and they broke the match up without an ending. Andre was furious and screamed to Frenchy Bernard, his traveling companion and the referee of the match, that he wanted Maeda back in the ring. Maeda threw his best kick of all after being ordered out, only the opponent was the guard rail.

Just a few weeks earlier, Andre won the most famous Battle Royal of his career, at Wrestlemania II in Chicago, a match which included a half-dozen NFL football players including William "Refrigerator" Perry, who was coming off a season where he was the most popular player in the league. Andre got some wire service coverage again because being around the 500 pound mark, he dwarfed the 6-3, 330 pound Fridge. Because the football players weren't workers, they did a dress rehearsal a few days earlier in secret. A few of the wrestlers and footballers were travelling back from the rehearsal when one of the football players, Ernie Holmes, a former all-pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was bragging about how tough he was. Everyone was getting tired of it but nobody said anything until suddenly Andre blurted out in that guttural voice, "You talk too much, you know what I mean" and Holmes didn't say another word the rest of the trip as apparently one of the wrestlers whispered to Holmes that you don't know what tough is until you get this guy mad.

It was hardly a stroke of genius to turn Andre heel and have him feud with Hogan, which led to Wrestlemania III. Andre had been a heel for 14 years in Japan. He knew what to do and when to do it as a heel, probably better than in his more familiar U.S. role as a face. He looked the part as well. Unfortunately, by the time his biggest money run was about to start, his physical condition had already badly deteriorated.

Andre's last run as a babyface came under a hood as Giant Machine. About one year earlier in Japan, as a gimmick that was largely decried and considered unsuccessful, manager Ichimasa Wakamatsu brought in Andre as The Giant Machine and teamed him with Super Machine (Bill Eadie) and Strong Machine (Junji Hirata, who still uses that name in New Japan) as the Machine Gun Army. Titan ran an angle where Andre was unjustly suspended by Jack Tunney, and he came back as Giant Machine, teaming with Super Machine against long-time nemesis Studd and massive King Kong Bundy (Chris Pallies, a 6-3, 440 pounder who once headlined a Wrestlemania against Hogan and retired in the mid-80s). Unlike most angles involving Andre, this one was not a success, and he quickly disappeared from the scene and headed to England to make "The Princess Bride," a movie where he played a loveable giant and got rave reviews. This led to a few commercials, most notably for Honeycombs cereal.

Andre's back and spine were already giving him major problems by this time. He walked with a major stoop and his long-time smiling face had a hard time making the smile. He became reclusive and was largely introverted except around his trusted friends, who were mainly wrestlers. In late 1986, Andre underwent major back surgery while in England. Because of his immense proportions, the operating crew had to build customized surgical equipment for the operation.

Andre went heel in January of 1987, leading to the most successful wrestling show of all-time. Nearly every wrestling attendance and gate record was shattered for the "first" Hogan-Andre match (Titan went to the extent of actually denying they had ever wrestled previously, let alone had a big money feud which spanned many territories). The Silverdome sold out two weeks in advance and it's no exaggeration to believe that if the building had been large enough, they could have put 125,000 people in the Silverdome that day. By this time, his physical condition was all but gone. Andre, who wore a backbrace underneath his long wrestling tights into the ring, was almost completely immobile. Legend has it that he had total numbness from his knees down when he was in the ring. He was largely kept out of the ring until the rematch on NBC, where he won the WWF title from Hogan with the famous twin Hebner referee finish and he immediately made the famed faux paus of selling "the world tag team title" to Ted DiBiase. He went back on the road working programs as a heel against Studd, Jake Roberts (where he faked a heart attack from fright the snake) and Ultimate Warrior (where he did the bulk of the total number of jobs of his entire career) and in his last run as a heel, held the tag team title with King Haku, winning and losing the titles to Demolition. He did very little walking by this point, except when in front of a crowd. Backstage he spent all his time sitting. He was often wheeled to and from his hotel to the car that would take him to the arenas. While in the ring he usually held onto the ropes to keep his balance. Andre disappeared again at that point.

He returned as a babyface and did his final U.S. angle being attacked from behind by Earthquake, since he was legitimately going to undergo knee surgery and this would be the wrestling cover reason. However, Andre never returned for his expected series with Earthquake. The closest he got was an appearance at Summer Slam where he came out as a cripple and the Legion of Doom kept Earthquake and Typhoon from attacking him so set up their tag program. He only made one more appearance on U.S. television, this past September in Atlanta for the 20th anniversary Clash of the Champions on TBS, walking with two canes.

In 1990, Seiji Sakaguchi and Giant Baba had a meeting. It's a famous story in that it marked two competing promotions, one asking its competition to use a major drawing card because they had so much respect for what the man had accomplished. Andre stopped touring for New Japan in 1986. The final submission job for Inoki was well-known as his last stand as athletically he just wasn't viable for a company so athletically based. Since Andre was able to earn so much money working for Titan over the next few years, there were apparently no significant inquiries back and forth about Andre returning. With Andre's career in the U.S. just about over, Sakaguchi asked Baba to bring Andre back to Japan. He'd always be able to draw money, but New Japan worked a very serious style and he had no place. All Japan always booked one pure comedy match per show, largely to give Baba a place on the tour, and the idea of Baba & Andre as a tag team would be a nice touch. Andre toured for All Japan three times per year from September 1990 until his final tour at the end of 1992. It was not a pretty sight. Each tour he grew progressively worse. However, out of loyalty, probably more than anything since his shows were doing sellout business without Andre and Andre's price tag (probably in the $15,000 per week range) was no doubt the heftiest ever for a wrestler working in the third match on a card, Baba continued to book him. This past year Baba didn't even put him as his partner in the tag team tournament as he had done in years past. Andre's last big match would have been the All Japan legends match on October 21, 1992 at Budokan Hall, teaming with Jumbo Tsuruta and Terry Gordy to beat Dory Funk and Baba and Hansen. The final match of his career came December 4 in the same building, teaming with Baba and Rusher Kimura against Haruka Eigen & Motoshi Okuma & Masa Fuchi. Ironically, Okuma also passed away less than a month later.

Andre never married. He was engaged once in the 70s, but reportedly got cold feet. He had one daughter, now 13, although he only saw her once or twice.

The World Wrestling Federation, at its cards over this past weekend and later on 2/1 on the USA network's Monday Night Raw announced the death of Andre and gave him a ten-bell salute. Fans chanted his name after it was over in some of the cities. All Japan, on its Sunday show in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, did a similar ceremony. Andre's death received major news coverage in Montreal, where it ran on page one of the newspaper, and the AP story hit many newspapers throughout the United States. Both CNN and ESPN covered it as part of their sportscast, as did many local news shows on Friday night. All the Japanese sports papers ran major stories as did many newspapers throughout Europe and Australia. Ironically, even though Andre did the bulk of his wrestling in the United States, his death received far more coverage internationally.

The Canadian Wire Services, which sent a far more in-depth story than the U.S. services, reported that there was an incredible demand for information regarding the life and death of Andre, with the biggest demand coming out of Europe.

Everyone that ever saw Andre the Giant will never forget him. He had that unique look and that unique presence. Probably everyone reading this, particularly those who saw him in the 1970s, can vividly remember the first time they saw him live. It's a moment you don't forget. Anyone who ever shook that gigantic hand will never forget it. Even the largest men in the world felt small in the grasp of the monster hand. Those memories only made the sight of him toward the end of his career that much sadder. But it can't be denied that Andre made his mark in his profession in a way that only a handful will ever be able to.

Thanks to Dave Stebbs/Montreal Gazette and Mark Madden/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for help on this story

Official Website Bio

At 7’4″ and 500 pounds, Andre the Giant could have been famous for his size alone. His drive, talent, and ambition, however, proved to be as big as Andre himself, and the wrestler became legendary for his achievements in and out of the ring.

Andre was born Andre Rene Roussimoff in Grenoble, France on May 19, 1946. His parents, Boris and Marian Roussimoff, and four siblings were of average size. Andre, however, suffered from acromegaly, a disease that results in an over abundance of growth hormones. Also known as Giantism, this disease caused Andre’s body to continue growing his whole life, and by the time he was 17, he stood 6’7″.

Due to his immense stature, it seemed inevitable that Andre would excel in the wrestling world. He had just started to make a name for himself in the ring as “Monster Eiffel Tower” or “Monster Roussimoff” when French-Canadian wrestler Edouard Carpentier first laid eyes on him. Carpentier was impressed with Andre’s raw talent and decided to bring him to North America. Andre began wrestling under the name Jean Ferré in Canada for Grand Prix Promotions. In a short time, Andre went from the undercard to being a headlining name. Inspired by the movie King Kong he acquired the nickname, “The 8th Wonder of the World,” which stayed with him for the rest of his career.

By the time Andre had performed in front of 20,000 wrestling fans in Montreal, his legend had reached Vince McMahon, Sr. at the World Wide Wrestling Federation’s (WWWF) headquarters. McMahon would forever alter Andre’s life. In 1972, McMahon signed Andre to wrestle for the WWWF and changed his name to capitalize on his colossal size. “Andre the Giant” became one of the most recognizable names in wrestling. Andre performed under his new name at Madison Square Garden, where he easily defeated his opponent, Buddy Wolfe, without breaking a sweat. Before long, Andre’s venues were sold out and wrestlers lined up to perform in his shadow. As Andre’s fame grew to stardom, he was featured in Sports Illustrated in the largest feature they had ever published.

In 1987, Andre drew the biggest crowd in WWF (formerly WWWF) history thus far. A record 90,000 fans packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan to watch Andre wrestle fellow legend Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania III. In all, Andre participated at six WrestleManias and faced some of the toughest opponents in the business, including Big John Studd and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. For many years, he was known as the “Uncrowned Champion,” until he found his place in infamy and held the WWF title for the shortest reign in history. This wasn’t the only championship Andre captured – he also won titles in the (NWA), (IWA) and the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Andre’s fame also opened the door to Hollywood. He made his acting debut in 1975 as “Big Foot” in The Six Million Dollar Man. Andre enjoyed the experience and went on to appear in television shows including B.J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, and The Greatest American Hero, and movies such as Conan the Destroyer, Micki and Maude, and Trading Mom. His favorite role, and the one for which he is best remembered, was the lovable giant “Fezzik” in Rob Reiner’s classic, The Princess Bride.

Andre’s last television appearance was on a celebration of 20 years of NWA/WCW wrestling on TBS. Sadly, over the years, the effects of acromegaly had continued to wear down his body. Eventually, his immense size was just too much for his heart, and Andre the Giant died in Paris, France in his hotel room on January 27, 1993. His ashes were later taken home and spread over his North Carolina ranch.

Though professionally Andre will always be remembered as The 8th Wonder of the World, he is known and loved by fans across the globe as The Gentle Giant.

Biography.com

Andre the Giant was a professional wrestler with the WWF (now the WWE). He was 6' 11" tall and weighed 500 pounds. He also acted in the film The Princess Bride.

Who Was Andre the Giant?

Andre the Giant had the hormonal disorder acromegaly, which causes the release of excess growth hormone and in Andre's case, resulted in gigantism. His size helped Andre dominate the sport of wrestling in the 1970s and '80s. He made millions, became world famous, and found crossover success in the movie The Princess Bride. Near the end of his career, Andre faced off with Hulk Hogan in 1987's Wrestlemania III. Andre died at the age of 46 in his native France.

Early Life

Andre the Giant was born as André René Roussimoff on May 19, 1946, in Coulommiers, France. He reportedly weighed 13 pounds at birth. Though billed in wrestling as hailing from Grenoble in the French Alps, Andre actually grew up in the small town of Molien, forty miles east of Paris. He had four siblings, two older and two younger. Sometimes while walking to and from school Andre was given a ride by famous playwright Samuel Beckett, who was a neighbor.

Andre left school at 14 (the legal age at the time) and began to work. According to his family, it was around this time that his acromegaly became noticeable. He grew to be nearly 6-foot-6 by the time he was 15.

Book Link:

https://books.google.com/books?id=tYPCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23#v=onepage&q&f=false

HBO Documentary:

(THR)

Executive producer Bill Simmons tells THR the upcoming HBO documentary 'Andre the Giant' was one of his first ideas for '30 For 30.'

Andre the Giant knew from a fairly early age that he would not grow into an old man due to his medical condition that turned him into a towering, legendary sports and media superstar.

Born André René Roussimoff, the late athlete and actor who died at the age of 46 in 1993, was afflicted with acromegaly, a disorder in which the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone.

In the upcoming HBO documentary detailing his life and times, Andre the Giant, one of the most striking revelations is Roussimoff declined medical attention that may have prolonged his life because he was worried it would have adverse effects on his beloved professional wrestling career.

"I use what God gave me," the booming-voiced, French wrestler — who was billed at 7-feet 4-inches and nearly 500 pounds — said in an archival interview featured in the doc. "I am not supernatural. I'm just myself. So, what God gave me, I use it to make a living."

And it is for that reason, Dr. Harris Yett, Roussimoff's physician, said Andre the Giant declined medical treatment, which would not have reversed his acromegaly, but would have helped his health and likely life expectancy.

"He decided that he did not want treatment at that time because it might interfere with his career as a wrestler," Yett says in the HBO doc.

Documentary executive producer Bill Simmons told The Hollywood Reporter this project is near and dear to his heart.

A lover of pro wrestling, and seeing Roussimoff at his family's favorite French restaurant while growing up in Connecticut (where the World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment, is headquartered), Simmons tells THR this was a story that had been in his crosshairs for years.

"When I started 30 For 30 with Connor [Schell], we made a list of 12 can't-miss docs and Andre was on that list," Simmons says of his ESPN series, which premiered in October 2009. "We ended up making half the list and there were others we couldn't make for a variety of reasons — Andre's being one of them — because the WWE didn't do anything with other entities then."

Now, Simmons is with HBO and has the ability to finally tell Roussimoff's life story.

"I developed a better relationship with the WWE," Simmons says. "In 2015, we (at HBO) tried to convince Vince McMahon to do it. The WWE had their network and created a lot of content, but they also saw the big picture and they saw the value that this is with HBO. And then it unfolded and worked out."

Andre the Giant tells the story of a man who was never comfortable in his own gigantic body, but adored being a wrestler and had a heart of gold. The HBO documentary also shows the struggles The Princess Bride star endured with his body breaking down rapidly as he aged in adulthood and the abuse he had to endure from those who saw him only as a freak of nature. The documentary, directed by Jason Hehir, features interviews with McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Rob Reiner and Roussimoff's daughter, Robin Christensen Roussimoff, among others.

Calling the Oscar-winning 30 For 30 installment O.J.: Made in America "the best documentary I have ever seen," Simmons tells THR he is confident Andre the Giant will have the same mass appeal, reaching beyond wrestling and sports fans.

"We knew we could get the wrestling fans and people in my age range who remember Andre on the 6 Million Dollar Man, but we didn't know if we could get the rest," Simmons says. "Now, I think we will." Andre the Giant premieres April 10.