Fans knew him as " The eighth Wonder of the World , " but friends and love ones had their own appointment . " André the Giant was and still is dear have-to doe with to as ' Boss,'“World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE ) archivist , Benjamin Brown says via electronic mail , " symbolizing the respect he commanded and was befittingly give . "
Long before the tower ikon became a dad culture phenomenon , André the Giant was André Roussimoff , a Gallic Thomas Kid who led a somewhat modal life — until puberty strike . Born in Grenoble , France , in 1946 , Roussimoff " was a beautiful baby,“his older brother , Antoine , said in the HBO documentary film , " Andre the Giant . " " He was normal . "
His life history - change transmutation began in his early stripling when it became apparent that Roussimoff had apituitary glanddisorder call off acromegaly . The disorder , grant to the Mayo Clinic , takes place when the pituitary secretor produces too much growing endocrine during adulthood , do the bones to increase in size of it . It typically affects halfway - aged grownup but can hap at any age , and when it strikes still - developing kids , like it did in Roussimoff ’s case , it can induce a term call giantism , which result in unnatural increment in height and exaggerated bone growth .
Roussimoff ’s major physical transmutation occurred in the interim between his departure from plate at years 14 to seek employment out of doors of Grenoble , and his first restoration sojourn at age 19.From a 1981 Sports Illustratedprofile :
" Indeed , during the five year immature Andre had been estranged from his parent , he had grown so large that even his female parent and sire fail at first , and even second , glance to recognize him , or to connect the colossus they had seen on television with the gangly dreamer who had hied himself to Paris so long before . "
Becoming André the Giant
As Roussimoff continued to grow ( he arrive at 6 feet [ 1.8 time ] and 240 pounds [ 108 kilo ] by the age of 12 and speedily grew from there ) , he set his sights on a career that allowed him to practice his size to his advantage : wrestling . After training with Gallic champion Frank Valois , who later became his managing director , Roussimoff began vie under the name Jean Ferre in Montreal and Monster Roussimoff in Japan .
The young giant begin induce a name for himself as a baby - faced stupendous competitor , and Valois preface him to legendary wrestling promoter Vince McMahon Sr . As the founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( which after became WWE ) , McMahon made a few suggestions to increase Roussimoff ’s potential succeeder , including a name change : McMahon dubbed the wrestler André the Giant and get off him off to compete around the earthly concern .
On March 26 , 1973 , André the Giant made hisWWF debut at New York City ’s Madison Square Garden . He last on to wrestle more than 300 day a year and arise to fame as one of the industry ’s most well-thought-of competitors . " André the Giant surpassed the often - one - dimensional nature of magnet wrestler to become a massive draw wherever he went in the human race , " Brown says . " André was both a leader of the storage locker room and a measuring stick for all those who came after . André the Giant was intelligent , multilingual , and an exceeding in - ring natural endowment . "
While the grappler ’s winner is indisputable , his eventual sizing is up for debate . Most sources claim he make a height of 7 - feet-4 - inches ( 2.23 meters ) , though according toBiography.com , he was more probable closer to 6 - feet-11 - inches ( 1.86 meter ) . At his full size , Roussimoff consider about 500 dog pound ( 226 kilograms ) . The grappler ’s singular animalism led to plenty of opportunity outside of the ring , including a theatrical role in the 1987 film " The Princess Bride . "
The Effects of Gigantism
Roussimoff remain a formidable competitor throughout his vocation , taking on titans like Hulk Hogan , Mongolian Giant and Macho Man Randy Savage . Butby the former 1990s , the effect of his acromegaly and the monolithic forcible clothing and split of his calling had led to severe hurtful effects on his health . Acromegalyis know to cause everythingfrom high blood atmospheric pressure andcardiovascular diseaseto spinal cord compaction and sight loss .
Roussimoff grappled with chronic pain and could no longer endure the rigors of wrestling . He pull away to his North Carolina ranch , but fly home to France in early 1993 when his father passed away . On Jan. 27 , 1993 , André the Giant died in his sleep of congestive heart failure . The wrestler was never married , but he was survived by a girl , Robin Christensen - Roussimoff , born in 1979 . André the Giant preserve to be hail by twist sports fan as one of the play ’s heavy competitor .
" This quote is from Tim White , André ’s best friend , who called me while I was writing this , " Brown says . " ' Once he befriended you , he was your admirer for life . André also had an unrivalled beloved for brute . ' "
