Frenchman Andre Rene Russimov (Andre Giant) was and is still the largest actor and wrestler in the world. On May 19 he would have turned 68 years old. At birth, Andre was no different from other babies who saw the light that day in Grenoble. But in childhood, he suffered from the disease of gigantism with acromegaly, which led to incredibly fast bone growth and weight gain. Already at the age of seventeen, Andre's height reached almost two meters.
The first steps in wrestling
Unprecedented growth and weight prompted the guy to think about a sports career. For the first time in the field of heavyweight fighting, Andre tried himself in Paris at the age of eighteen. In those days, he was called the Monster of the Eiffel Tower. Just a few years later, in March 1973, it was under this name that America recognized him. Russinov's debut took place in Madison Square Garden. As a result of a series of victories over the most famous wrestlers of France and America, Andre Gigant ended up in Canada, where he performed under his new nickname Gene Ferret.
Andre Giant conquers the world
Throughout his short life, the giant athlete has been awarded many different nicknames. But one of them remained with him forever. Even today, 11 years after the death of the great fighter, the nickname Andre Giant is known to the whole world, you can even say that it has become a household name. It is synonymous with invincibility, strength, stamina and glory. Indeed, in his first fights, despite inexperience, Andre defeated all competitors without exception, even the most experienced ones. In 1972, the administration of the International Wrestling Federation showed interest in the victories of an unusual French wrestler. It was under her auspices that Andre performed in the ring over the next 15 years. Moreover, all these years he invariably emerged victorious from any fight.
Andre - The World's Greatest Drunk
The result of one of the adventures, which in Russimov's life was a lot, was another nickname - The World's Greatest Drunk. According to eyewitnesses, in one of the hotels in Pennsylvania, Andre defeated 127 pints of beer in a row, and then safely fell asleep right in the bar. And he woke up there, because he was so heavy that all the hotel staff, even by joint efforts, could not move the wrestler from his place.
Significant World Wrestling Event
March 29, 1987 in the ring of the Main Event "Wrestlemani" happened a landmark event for world sport. On that day, the giant Andre, whose growth was already 2.24 meters, became a member of the most bloody and vivid battle. It was a fight with wrestling legend Hulk Hogan. Both athletes were very strong and artistic, and their March fight in 1987 went down in history as the most visited wrestling match. Before and after, the Wrestlemani ring had not managed to gather more people at one time than on that day (93173 people).
Before the fight with Russinov, Hogan for a long time wore the title of world champion. In addition, Andre was the first person to congratulate Hogan on this title. The battle between the two fellow comrades was initiated by the manager of the giant due to a personal hostility to Hogan.
This battle was positioned as a duel between best friends who had never before gone against each other. The main thing that worried the fans was whether the Hulk could perform a body slam on such a huge wrestler. The duel caused a storm of emotions among the audience, the only bloody and striking match was the rematch for Wrestlemani-4, which was watched live by 33 million people around the world, which also became another record.
All the enchanting victories of Andre were explained not only by his extraordinary physical characteristics, but also by the fact that the legend man (giant Andre, the wrestler) always had a clear battle tactic, known only to himself. He carefully thought out his every blow and movement, as a result of which the victory over the opponent invariably turned out to be.
For many years, Andre Rene Russinov did not leave the world sports posters. And the artist Shepard Fairy created a series of posters called The Giant Has a Posse. The main character of Faerie’s creations is precisely the legendary Andre Giant. The photos in which he is depicted from different angles, over time, have turned into the most famous now in the whole world series Obey.
Andre Russinov - movie star
As mentioned above, Andre Giant possessed not only an extraordinary mind, high growth and great weight, but also enchanting artistry. It was charisma that allowed Andre to try himself in the cinema. His first test - shooting in the film "Bigfoot Secret" - was a successful start in his acting career. This was followed by small roles in the films "Conan the Destroyer" and "Changing Mom." But Andre's most famous character became a gentle heart-wielding giant Fezzik in the movie of the famous director Rob Rainer “Princess Bride”.
Russimov really enjoyed acting in films, so he continued his career as an actor in various quizzes and television shows.
First member of WWE Hall of Fame
WWE is an international organization that includes all professional wrestlers. The opening of the WWE Hall of Fame took place in 1993. It was dedicated to the death of Andre Rene Russinov.
The honor of becoming the first to be admitted to the Hall of Fame posthumously also fell to his lot. Literally 5 days did not live up to a momentous event - the most powerful person in the universe - Andre Gigant, whose cause of death shocked the entire world sports community. Such a big man, jokingly raising four people, not complaining about his health, not showing signs of illness ... Nobody expected the giant to die so early, because he was only 46 years old. It is easy to guess what impression the following news made on his fans and friends: on January 27, 1993, the legendary wrestler Andre Gigant died in a dream. The cause of death is very trivial - acute heart failure.