Pastyme With Good Companye

Archives for: March 2007, 27

03/27/07

12:40:00 am, by

, 188 words

Categories: Sports & Sports Entertainment

André The Giant

André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, and Mandy Patinkin The Princess Bride (1987)

André The Giant was born André Rene Rouissimoff in France. He was a professional wrestler that suffered from a genetic disorder that resulted in gigantism.

He made his USA debut in 1973 at Madison Square Garden. André was so successful that he continued wrestling more than 300 days per year, acquiring a large fan base over the next 16 years.

Known for his immense good nature, and equally large appetites, he loved both food, and alcohol. It is estimated he could consume 7,000 calories per day with the latter.

In 1987 André The Giant played Fezzik in the film version of The Princess Bride. It was one of his most favourite, and proudest achievements, and he carried a copy of the film with him wherever he travelled.

André suffered serious health problems because of his size, just under 7ft tall, and approx. 500 lbs. He passed away on January 27th 1993 due to a heart attack at the young age of 46. He was cremated, and his ashes scattered at his request at his beloved horse farm in North Carolina.

Rest in peace...Gentle Giant.....

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Welcome to the blog of amateur historians Matthew James Didier and Sue Darroch. Partners in life and in crime, we endeavor to entertain you with snippets from our combined historical research. Past time with good company indeed, as we shall introduce you to Kings and Knaves, Queens and Mistresses, Cons and Heroes, from our collective past......from events well known to those perhaps all but forgotten, we will do our best to bring you interesting historical factoids from around the globe. It is our belief that through understanding our past we will all gain a better perspective on our future.