Andre The Gentle Giant Was Larger Than Life

André René Roussimoff, otherwise known as “Andre the Giant” was born on May 19, 1946 and he passed away on January 27, 1993. He was a French professional wrestler and actor. His famous feuds included one with Hulk Hogan, that went down at WrestleMania III. His most memorable acting part was Fezzik, the giant in the famous cult classic, The Princess Bride. His height was a result of gigantism caused by an excess growth hormone, which later resulted in acromegaly. This also led to him being called “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. In 1993, André was chosen as the inaugural inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. Let’s take a look back at some of the greatest fun facts behind the famous real-life giant.

His daughter is Robin Christiansen who was born in 1979. Her mother is Jean Christiansen of the Seattle, Washington area.

Samuel Beckett, his neighbor, used to drive him to school.

In the mid 1970s, while visiting Montréal, André was in a bar drinking when four drunken men came in, recognized him, and started to taunt him. After patiently trying to avoid a confrontation, André finally got fed up and chased the four men out into the parking lot. When the four men got into their car, André simply grabbed the car, turned it over onto its roof with the four men inside, and left.

1. He is referenced in the Eminem song ‘Crack a Bottle’.

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From Bobby Heenan’s book: Andre had a bad habit of never buttoning his shirt in public places.

During the filming of some scenes for The Princess Bride, the weather became markedly cold for Robin Wright Penn. Andre the Giant helped her by placing one of his hands over her head; his hands were so large that one would entirely cover the top of her head, keeping her warm.