Andre "The GIANT" Fun Facts!

• real name: Andre Rene Roussimoff
• born in Grenoble, France
• a.k.a. “The 8th Wonder of the World”, “The Gentle Giant”, “The Giant”
• at twelve years-old, he reached 6’3″ and weighed 200 lbs
• upon his death he weighed 520 lbs. and stood 7 feet tall
• was drafted into France’s peacetime army, but rejected upon his physical, as there were no regulation shoes or clothes to fit him, nor was any bed long enough to sleep in
• original ring-name was “Géant Ferré”, the name of a legendary French lumberjack
• writer / poet Samuel Beckett sometimes drove him to school
• the first inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame
• signed all his personal checks as “Andre the Giant”
• the hand of an average-sized man could slip through one of his custom-made rings
• trademark move: Bearhug
• had always secretly wished to see a show on Broadway, but always refused to attend, for his concern of blocking anyone’s view
• holds the unofficial world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a single sitting: 119 12-ounce beers in six hours. it was one of the few times he got drunk enough to pass out, which he did, in a hallway in his hotel… his companions, quite drunk themselves, feared moving the man, or attracting the attention of the local police, resolved the situation by draping a piano cover over him, stolen from the hotel lounge
• he drank 7,000 calories of booze every day
• once at a tavern, was relentlessly heckled by several drunk patrons, who ended up being chased down the street and locked themselves in a car, which Andre grabbed and turned over with the four men inside
• due to awkward traveling accommodations on long road trips with the WWF, Vince McMahon had a private trailer built where Andre would then consume a case of beer every nine minutes, only stopping for food, ice, or more beer
• it was reported at a celebration dinner with friends, Andre drank three cases of beer, ate five steaks, two lobsters, and polished off the whole meal with a couple bottles of wine and Jack Daniel’s whiskey: this was the beginning of the night.
• would not commonly address people by their names, instead, if he liked someone he would call them “Boss”
• most of the money he earned was spent paying his obscene bar tabs
• he treated his friends well, and always picked up the bar tabs and dinner checks: once, a friend of his slipped away to secretly pay the entire table’s bill, but upon handing his credit card to the waiter, suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground, carried back to the table, and deposited back in his chair “like a little boy.” this friend was Arnold Schwarzenegger
• considered for the role of Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me
• former World Tag Team champion
• often drank several quarts of beer before matches as a “warm-up”
• trademark move: Double Underhook Suplex
• was once offered a contract to play professional football for the Washington Redskins
• when he challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF World’s Heavyweight Wrestling Championship of The World at WrestleMania III in 1987, he hadn’t lost a single’s match since 1971. His 3,000 plus winning streak was ended when Hogan picked up the 7 foot tall and 500 pound Giant and body slammed him for the pin

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