A Giant of a Man - January 27, 2009

 

André René Roussimoff was a man of great size and stature; so much so, in fact, that he was sometimes called the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

It's no wonder then, that after leaving his hometown of Grenoble, France as a teenager to start a career as a wrestler, he would come to be known around the world simply as "André the Giant."

André garnered fame challenging wrestlers across the globe, but his greatest success came in the U.S. as one of the WWF's (now WWE) most popular "faces" throughout the 70s and early 80s. His notable feuds with such wrestlers as Hulk Hogan and Big John Studd fueled his legend, but perhaps it's his career outside of the "squared circle" that cemented André the Giant's immovable place in popular culture.

Starting in the mid-70s, André branched out into acting on TV shows like The Six Million Dollar Man (as a Sasquatch) and The Greatest American Hero (as a monster), but he's most fondly remembered for his portrayal of the rhyming giant Fezzik in the immensely popular 1987 film, The Princess Bride. Around that same time, graphic designer Shepard Fairey used André's image in a street art campaign called "Andre the Giant Has a Posse." Playing with the concept of phenomenology, Fairey printed images of André on stickers and posters that were adopted and disseminated by skateboarders worldwide. Eventually, the campaign would evolve into Obey Giant, a global brand offering clothing, prints, stickers, videos, and music.

André's exceptional size is attributed to acromegaly, a syndrome that causes the pituitary gland to excrete an overabundance of growth hormone. His actual height is still disputed, but estimates place him somewhere between 6'10" and 7'4". Doctors told him he probably wouldn't live to see the age of 40 and, unfortunately, they weren't far off. He died from congestive heart failure (most likely a result of the acromegaly) on this day in 1993. He was 46.

Today, we think you should take a moment to remember a truly big man. We mean it. Anybody want a peanut?

Suggested Sites...

• Andre the Giant - the official site.
  
• Andre the Giant - World Wrestling Entertainment's official page for Hall of Fame inductee André the Giant.
• Obey Giant - includes wheat pasting, guerrilla-style street art, stencil painting, stickering, and the "André the Giant has a Posse" campaign.
• HBO: Andre the Giant  - official site for the documentary about M. Roussimoff.
  
• Andre: Heart of the Giant Trailer - trailer for the much maligned biopic written and directed by Rokki James Hollywood.