André the Giant Bio, Wife, Daughter, Death, Movies, Hand and Facts.

André the Giant Bio

André the Giant real name André René Roussimoff, was a French professional wrestler and actor. He famously feuded with Hulk Hogan, culminating at WrestleMania III in 1987. His best-remembered film role was that of Fezzik, the giant in The Princess Bride.

His size was a result of gigantism caused by excess growth hormone, which later resulted in acromegaly. It also led to his being called “The Eighth Wonder of the World”.

In the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE), Roussimoff was a one-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WWF Tag Team Champion. In 1993, he was the inaugural inductee into the newly created WWF Hall of Fame and he was later a charter member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

André the Giant Age

André was born on May 19, 1946, and died on January 27, 1993. He died at the age of 46 years old.

André the Giant Family

André Roussimoff was born in Moline, in the canton of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, of Slavic heritage, the son of Boris and Mariann Roussimoff. His parents were immigrants to France; his father was Bulgarian and his mother was Polish. His nickname growing up was “Dédé”. As a child, he displayed symptoms of gigantism very early, reaching a height of 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) and a weight of 94 kg (208 lb) by the age of 12.

Roussimoff was a good student, particularly in mathematics, but he dropped out after the eighth grade since he did not think to have a high school education was necessary for a farm laborer. He spent years working on his father’s farm, where, according to his brother, Jacques, he could perform the work of three men.

He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers. None of these occupations, however, brought him any satisfaction.

André the Giant Wife

He got married to Jean(who died in 2008).

André the Giant Daughter

Robin Christensen is Roussimoff’s only child. Her mother Jean (who died in 2008) became acquainted with her dad through the wrestling business around 1972 or 1973.

Robin had almost no connection with her father and saw him only five times in her life, despite occasional televised and printed news pieces criticizing his absentee fatherhood. While she gave some interviews about the subject in her childhood, Robin is reportedly reluctant to discuss her father publicly today.

André the Giant Career

Early career

At the age of 18, Roussimoff moved to Paris and was taught professional wrestling by a local promoter who recognized the earning potential of Roussimoff’s size. He trained at night and worked as a mover during the day to pay living expenses. Roussimoff was billed as “Géant Ferré”, a name based on the French folk hero Grand Ferré, and began wrestling in Paris and nearby areas.

André the Giant

Canadian promoter and wrestler Frank Valois met Roussimoff in 1966, becoming his business manager and adviser. Roussimoff began making a name for himself wrestling in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.

He made his Japanese debut in 1970, billed as “Monster Roussimoff”, wrestling for the International Wrestling Enterprise.

Wrestling as both singles and tag-team competitor, he quickly was made the company’s tag-team champion alongside Michael Nador. During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly.

Roussimoff next moved to Montreal, Canada, where he became an immediate success, regularly selling out the Montreal Forum. However, promoters eventually ran out of plausible opponents for him and, as the novelty of his size wore off, the gate receipts dwindled.

Roussimoff was defeated by Adnan Al-Kaissie in Baghdad in 1971 and wrestled numerous times in 1972 for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA) as a special attraction until Valois appealed to Vince McMahon Sr., founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), for advice.

McMahon suggested several changes. He felt Roussimoff should be portrayed as a large, immovable monster, and to enhance the perception of his size, McMahon discouraged Roussimoff from performing maneuvers such as dropkicks (although he was capable of performing such agile maneuvers before his health deteriorated in later life).

He also began billing Roussimoff as “André the Giant” and set up a travel-intensive schedule, lending him to wrestling associations around the world, to keep him from becoming overexposed in any area. Promoters had to guarantee Roussimoff a certain amount of money as well as pay McMahon’s WWWF booking fee.

Acting career

Roussimoff branched out into acting again in the 1970s and 1980s, after a 1967 French boxing film, making his USA acting debut playing a Sasquatch (“Bigfoot”) in a two-part episode aired in 1976 on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. He appeared in other television shows, including The Greatest American Hero, B. J., and the Bear, The Fall Guy and the 1990’s Zorro

Towards the end of his career, Roussimoff starred in several films. He had an uncredited appearance in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer as Dagoth, the resurrected horned giant god who is killed by Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger). That same year, he also made an appearance in Micki & Maude (billed as André Rousimmoff).

He appeared most notably as Fezzik, his own favorite role, in the 1987 film The Princess Bride. Both the film and his performance retain a devoted following. In short interviews, wrestlers have stated that he was so proud of being in “Princess Bride”, he carried a copy of the movie everywhere he went to watch whenever he could.

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

André the Giant Movies and TV Shows

1. Trading Mom
2. The Princess Bride
3. WWF Wrestling Challenge

4. The Big Event
5. Saturday Night’s Main Event
6. WWF Prime Time Wrestling

7. Conan the Destroyer
8. WCW WorldWide
9. Casse-tête chinois pour le judoka

10. AWA All-Star Wrestling
11. WWE – Survivor Series 1988
12. The History of WrestleMania

André the Giant Hand

André the Giant Death/Cause of Death

Roussimoff died in his sleep of congestive heart failure on the night of January 27, 1993, in a Paris hotel room. He was found by his chauffeur. He was in Paris to attend his father’s funeral. While there, Roussimoff decided to stay in France longer to be with his mother on her birthday. He spent the day before his death visiting and playing cards with some of his oldest friends in Molien.

Roussimoff had finalized his will in New York on October 30, 1990, with his lawyer. In the will, he 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, as per his will, he left his estate to his sole beneficiary: his daughter Robin.

André the Giant Facts

1. SAMUEL BECKETT DROVE HIM TO SCHOOL. …
2. HE GREW SO FAST HIS OWN PARENTS DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM. …
3. HE ENJOYED MOVING CARS AS A PRANK. …
4. HIS FINGERS PRESENTED UNIQUE PROBLEMS. …

5. HE HAD FUN FARTING ON OPPONENTS. …
6. HE LOVED QVC. …
7. RELATIVELY SPEAKING, HE WAS NOT AN EXCESSIVE DRINKER. …
8. HE WORE A BACK BRACE UNDER HIS SINGLET.