André René Roussimoff, a.k.a André the Giant was a French professional wrestler and actor. He was diagnosed with gigantism, or a disorder that is characterized by excessive growth and significantly above average height. This, later, resulted in acromegaly. André the Giant was a massive 7 feet 4 inches tall and weighed in at a remarkable 520 pounds.
He is often referred to as ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’. Here’s a look back on this star wrestler’s life with rare photographs and facts that will make you feel very small. Literally.
By the age of 12, André the Giant was so large that he did not fit on the school bus. So, playwright Samuel Beckett would drive him to school on his truck.
When he turned 12, André weighed 240 pounds, was over 6 feet tall, and could no longer fit on his school bus. Unfortunately, his family did not have the money to buy a car, sturdy enough to carry André to and from school. When Samuel Beckett, playwright and Nobel Prize winner, bought some land near a hamlet, forty miles northeast of Paris, he enlisted the help of some locals to build a cottage. One of those locals was Boris Rousimoff, André’s father, who Beckett befriended.
When Beckett learnt that Rousimoff was having trouble taking his son to school, he offered to drop André off in his truck. Years later, when the Giant was asked about these truck rides he revealed that the two rarely spoke about anything other than cricket.
Even Arnold Schwarzenegger looks small standing next to Wilt Chamberlain & André The Giant. BTW Arnold is is 6ft 1.5in.
André the Giant was, quite possibly, ‘The Greatest Drunk of All Time’. Apparently, he drank 7,000 calories worth of alcohol, every day. No big deal.
Here are the numbers. His beer of choice was Molsen Canadian. Each can has approximately 150 calories. This means that the Giant would guzzle a whopping 46.6 cans of beer, every single day.
In 1965, Andre the Giant received a draft notice for French’s peace time army, but could not enlist because there were no shoes big enough, bunks long enough, or trenches deep enough to accommodate him.
While filming the Princess Bride, André the Giant would cover Robin Wright’s head with his large hand to keep her warm, when it got particularly chilly outside.