Trivia

At time of death, was in Paris to attend his father's funeral.

Was an expert card player and collector of fine wines.

It wasn't until he was an adult, on a wrestling tour of Japan, that he went to see doctors to determine the cause of his condition. The Japanese doctors diagnosed the cause as acromegaly, a rare condition in which victims are not expected to live beyond the age of 40. Andre lived to be 46.

Despite his character Fezzik's almost-superhuman strength in The Princess Bride, Andre the Giant's back problems at the time prevented him from actually lifting anything heavy. Robin Wright Penn had to be attached to wires in the scene where Buttercup jumps from the castle window into Fezzik's arms because he couldn't support her himself.

In 1965, Andre the Giant received a draft notice for French's peace time army, but was unable to join as there were no shoes big enough, bunks long enough, or trenches deep enough to accommodate him.

According to author William Goldman, when he was first trying to get The Princess Bride made in the 1970s. Arnold Schwarzenegger, then little known outside the bodybuilding community, wanted to play Fezzik, and he was strongly being considered because Goldman could never get his first choice, Andre the Giant to read for the role. By the time the movie was made about twelve years later, Arnold was such a big star they could not afford him, and Andre was cast after all, and the two big men had gone on to become friends.

In the mid 1970s, while visiting Montréal, André was in a bar drinking when four drunken men came in, recognized him, and started to taunt him. After patiently trying to avoid a confrontation, André finally got fed up and chased the four men out into the parking lot. When the four men got into their car, André simply grabbed the car, turned it over onto its roof with the four men inside, and left.

Contrary to popular belief, Masashi Ozawa didn't break Andre's leg. Andre actually got out of bed one day, and his leg snapped due to his life-threatening illness. He was out for weeks, and the story was that Killer Khan did it, to hype up their feud.

During the filming of some scenes for The Princess Bride, the weather became markedly cold for Robin Wright Penn. Andre the Giant helped her by placing one of his hands over her head; his hands were so large that one would entirely cover the top of her head, keeping her warm.

André suffered from acromegaly, in which the body doesn't stop secreting growth hormone.

NFL legend Ernie Holmes got hot-headed backstage at a WWE taping in 1986. Andre the Giant muttered to him, "You know, you talk too much," and Holmes never said a peep after that. According to two people in the van when it happened (it was a rehearsal for the Battle Royal at Wrestlemania II), Holmes was talking about how tough he was, and Andre got tired of hearing about it.

Actually signed all his personal checks, "Andre the Giant".

Because of his size, he had a custom built recliner in his home that he always sat in when he was not on the road.

Weighed about 520 lbs

He would not commonly address people by their names, instead, if he liked someone he would call them "Boss".

He enjoyed the theatre and one of his dreams, which he confessed to his agent near the end of his life, was to go and see a live show. His agent offered to buy a couple of tickets so the two of them could go see a show, but André declined, explaining that - thanks to his size - he wouldn't be able to fit in the seats and he would block the view of anyone sitting behind him.

He kept a small farm where he would walk around and play with the animals because they didn't stare at him because of his size.

Washington Redskins head coach George Allen once offered Andre a contract to play professional football.

Lost a few inches of height because of a back surgery in the mid-1980s, but still stood about 6' 10" even after his posture was affected.

When Andre the giant died in France his final wishes to cremated 48 hours after he died could not be met, because there wasn't one crematorium in all of France that could accommodate his size.

He refused to let anyone else pay for his extremely large meals.

Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 (charter class).

Was considered for the role of Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

Daughter is Robin Christiansen who was born in 1979. Her mother is Jean Christiansen of the Seattle, Washington area.

Enjoyed playing card games such as cribbage and gin rummy.

He was known for his love of drinking and extremely high tolerance for alcohol. Most of his meals included an entire six pack of beer and at least one bottle of wine.

Could drink up to over 100 cans of lager in one sitting.

One time in the early 1980s during an early stint Bad News Brown had with WWE, the wrestlers were all on a bus traveling between shows. A very drunk Andre the Giant was in the back of the bus with Hulk Hogan and company telling racist jokes that Bad News Brown took offense to. Bad News Brown stood up, and yelled for him to shut up, then when he turned around, Andre cursed at him. Bad News Brown had the driver stop the bus, and told Andre to meet him outside. Andre refused, and Hogan, and others tried to soothe the situation. The next day Andre apologized to Bad News Brown. Bad News Brown later admitted he was glad nothing ever happened because he believed Andre could have really hurt him.

He weighed 530 pounds at the time of his death.

Billy Crystal was inspired to write the script to the movie My Giant (1998) from having worked with 'Andre The Giant' in the The Princess Bride (1987).

Was a close friend of Bobby Heenan (aka "The Brain").

Arnold Schwarzenegger has often told the story of a dinner where he tried to pick up the check, as Andre refused to let anyone else pay for his prodigious meals, while Andre was in the bathroom. He was speaking with the waiter when Andre returned, tucked him under his arm and firmly replaced him in his seat.

Mentioned in the 1974 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid wrestler in history, up to that time. He earned $400,000 in one year alone during the early 1970s.

Samuel Beckett, his neighbor, used to drive him to school.

He was the first person inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

He spent years working on his father's farm, where, according to his brother, Jacques, he could perform the work of three men. He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers.

Andre the giant liked to dine in a French restaurant in Beverly hills where he knew the owners. Hulk Hogan said in his autobiography, that Andre would sometimes eat every single dish they served. And that it could take him up to 8 or 10 hours to finish his meal.

From Bobby Heenan's book: Andre had a bad habit of never buttoning his shirt in public places. One day, Andre and the Brain were in a small country and western bar, when Andre had refused to button his shirt. A bouncer demanded that Andre button his shirt. Andre remained silent and continued to drink. The manager called the police. The officer that arrived reminded Heenan of Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show. "Barney" told Andre to button his shirt. Andre still drank quietly. "Barney" called for backup. "Barney" asked that Andre button his shirt again when several officers came in to backup "Barney." Andre stood up, and "Barney" realized that it was just too hot to be indoors.

Shares a birthday with Star Wars (1977) actor Peter Mayhew who is also known for being extremely tall and stands only an inch shorter Andre.

As a child, his next-door neighbor was Samuel Beckett.

Was a fan of Wheel of Fortune (1983).

He was a good student in school, displaying a particular skill at Mathematics, but dropped out as he believed that a secondary school education was unnecessary for a farm laborer.

He was already six-feet three inches tall and two-hundred and eight pounds by the age of twelve.

WrestleMania III (1987): Lost to Hulk Hogan (event set an indoor attendance record that still stands).

For approximately half a year before ceasing to wrestle at the WWE 1990, Andre was usually involved in tag team matches. This was done to accommodate his failing health.

Away from wrestling, Andre admitted to harboring feelings of dislike toward Hulk Hogan.

A fan favorite for most of his career, Andre turned "heel" in 1987 in time for his WrestleMania III (1987) match vs. Hulk Hogan. He turned good again after WrestleMania VI (1990), after Bobby Heenan blamed the Giant for losing the WWF Tag Team belts he and Tonga Fifita (a.k.a. Haku) held to Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow (a.k.a. Demolition).

One of the 100 Greatest Wrestlers of the 20th Century (Inside Wrestling Presents, Summer 2000).

Andre's most bitter feud began in 1983, against Big John Studd (John Minton) (who claimed he, not Andre, was the true "giant" of wrestling). The feud included a series of bodyslam matches (including one at WrestleMania I (1985), where Studd had to pay $10,000 (later, $15,000) to anyone who could bodyslam him.

WrestleMania 2 (1986): Won a WWF/NFL Battle Royal.