7 Things You Didn’t Know About Andre The Giant: How Tall Was He?

Quick Facts

Although a good number of professional wrestlers have risen beyond the squared ring to become superstars in their generation, only a few of them have won the attention and admiration of the wrestling community and the public at large like Andre The Giant. Just like , The Rock, , and several other respected wrestlers, Andre was a fan favourite in his lifetime; he was literally the nightmare of many wrestlers and someone whose life was surrounded by myths and exaggerations due to his larger-than-life personality.

Andre the Giant was a one-time WWF Tag Team Champion as well as a one-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion. He filed out for a wrestling contest for the first time in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Federation) on the 26th day of March 1973. The battle took place at New York’s Madison Square Garden while his opponent who would become the loser of the tussle was Buddy Wolfe. In a bid to separate facts from fiction, we decided to sift through some available sensational stories and trust us, we came up with seven interesting facts about the wrestler you can’t get anywhere. You’ll find them below.

Andre The Giant’s Bio

The professional wrestler was originally born and named André René Roussimoff, in Molien, France, on 19th of May 1946. He is the son of Frech immigrants Marianne (mother) and Boris Roussimoff (father), who are parents to his four siblings, including Jacques Roussimoff who’s best known for the projects Andre the Giant (2018) and Biography (1987).

During his high school days, Andre The Giant performed very well in class, especially in Mathematics. Sadly, he decided in his eighth grade to stop going to school since a high school education wouldn’t be relevant for a farm laborer. After dropping out, the wrestler spent years helping his dad on his farm in Molien. He also worked in a factory where hay baler engines are produced and did an apprenticeship in woodworking, however, he wasn’t satisfied with any of these jobs.

Andre left Paris at the age of 18 and was coached by a local promoter called Obert Lageat on professional wrestling. He debuted in 1964 and retired in 1992 after winning numerous championships from wrestling contests and achieving other accomplishments.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Andre The Giant

1. Andre The Giant Was In Love With QVC

QVC is a home shopping channel that was established in the year 1986. Roussimoff was very fond of the app when he was alive and was able to make shopping easier for him through it. According to his friends, he acquired several items such as porcelain butterflies and steam cleaners from the channel and he loved it.

2. He Was Not A Fan Of Baby Oil

During his wrestling days, using baby oil to make his muscle stand was never Andre’s thing. In fact, he disliked opponents who used baby oil for reasons known only to him. One of the wrestlers he despised so much for the act was “Macho Man” , as revealed in 2017 by Larry Poffo, Randy’s brother.

3. Andre The Giant Was Driven To School By Samuel Beckett

Andre severally received Samuel’s invitation to hop in his pick up truck to get a free ride to school since there was no school bus. Beckett’s path crossed with his after the former moved to Ussy-sur-Marne in France in the 1950s.

4. The Wrestler Built-Up So Fast His Parents Couldn’t Recognize Him

After the wrestler left home at the age of 14, the next time he visited his parents was five years later and by that time he has become a household name in the wrestling business. As detailed in a 1981 Sports Illustrated profile, Roussimoff was so grown that his parents didn’t realize that the stranger knocking on their door was their son. He was nearly 7 feet tall at that time. In addition, his parents also realized that the wrestler Jean Ferré (Andre’s alias) they’ve been watching on TV was their son.

5. He Loved Footing The Bill

Andre The Giant was someone who loved paying the bills whenever he was in a restaurant either as a host or guest. As attested in the nonfiction novel Which Lie Did I Tell? which was written by William Goldman, the wrestler was very generous and gentle.

6. Andre Was Not A Heavy Drinker, Relatively Speaking

André story can never be told without a mention about his love for beer and how he used to consume more than 100 beers in a single sitting. While most of his friends are of the opinion that he was not actually an excessive drinker, there were a few exceptions. According to The Fabulous Moolah in her autobiography, Andre once passed out in a lobby at a Reading, Pennsylvania, hotel bar after gulping down 127 beers. Due to his size, he was allowed to wake up himself because the staff could not move him.

7. He Loved Moving His Friends Cars As A Prank

One of the things Andre loved doing whenever he was out drinking with his friends was sliding over their cars to turn the opposite direction or tight spaces at nights. It was something he enjoyed doing as his body was always full of strength and energy.

How Tall Was He?

Andre The Giant started displaying symptoms of gigantism at a very young age. By the age of 12, he had already reached a height of 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 94 kilograms.  Prior to his death, his billed height and weight were 7 feet 4 inches and 550 pounds respectively.

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