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wrestler and actor, born Andre Rene Roussimoff, on May 19,
1946, in Grenoble, France. Roussimoff suffered from
acromegaly, or “giantism,” a endocrynological disorder
that causes the body to secrete excessive amounts of
growth hormones and produces continual growth, especially
in the head, hands, and feet. He reportedly inherited the
disease from his grandfather. One of five siblings,
Roussimoff left his family’s small farm at age fourteen.
After training with the French wrestling champion Frank
Valois, he wrestled in Montreal under the name Jean Ferre
and in Japan as “Monster Roussimoff.” He became known
for his baby face and intimidating physique, and soon
proved virtually unbeatable in Canada’s wrestling
circuits. Valois, acting as his manager, set up a meeting
with the wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, Sr. In 1973,
Roussimoff debuted at Madison Square Garden as “Andre
the Giant.”
During the 1970s, he wrestled more than
300 days a year and became one of the world’s most
famous professional athletes. Though he never lifted
weights, he was thought by some to be the strongest man in
the world. He remained dominant into the late 1980s,
defeating Hulk Hogan for the World Wrestling Federation
Heavyweight Title on February 5, 1988.
At his largest, Roussimoff was probably
six feet eleven inches tall, though he was advertised as
seven feet four inches. He weighed close to five hundred
pounds and was famous for his immense capacity for alcohol
and food—it was once estimated that he consumed 7,000
calories a day in alcohol alone. His phenomenal stature
led to a movie role as Fezzik, the gentle giant in Rob
Reiner’s 1987 film, The Princess Bride.
Roussimoff also appeared in several other films and
television shows, but Fezzik remained his most cherished
role—he was known to carry a videotape of The
Princess Bride with him when he traveled and hold
frequent screenings at home and on the road. Roussimoff,
who never married, lived most of the year on a 200-acre
ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina.
Unfortunately, as he grew older
Roussimoff’s size caused him frequent health problems.
In 1986, he had surgery to relieve pressure on his spine
and was thereafter forced to wear a back brace when he
wrestled. By 1992, he had undergone extensive knee surgery
and became increasingly overweight and immobile. He
continued to wrestle, however, appearing for the last time
in Japan—the country where he had always been celebrated
the most—in December of 1992. On January 27, 1993,
Roussimoff died of an apparent heart attack in his hotel
room in Paris, where he was staying after the burial of
his father less than two weeks before.
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