Who was André the Giant?
A: André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor.
What was his birth name?
A: André René Roussimoff.
Beginning his career in 1966, André relocated to North
America in what year?
A: 1971.
From 1973 to the mid-1980s, André was booked by whom as
a roving "special attraction" who wrestled for promotions throughout the
United States, as well as in Japan for New
Japan Pro-Wrestling?
A: Worldwide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) promoter Vincent J. McMahon.
During the 1980s wrestling boom, André became a what?
A: A mainstay of the WWWF (by then renamed the World Wrestling Federation).
He was paired with the villainous manager Bobby Heenan
and feuding with whom?
A: Hulk Hogan.
The two headlined WrestleMania III in 1987, and in
1988, he defeated Hogan to win what?
A: The WWF Championship, his sole world heavyweight championship, on the
first episode of The Main Event.
As his WWF career wound down after WrestleMania VI in
1990, André wrestled primarily for whom?
A: All Japan Pro-Wrestling, usually alongside Giant Baba, until his sudden
death.
After his death in 1993, André became the inaugural
inductee into what?
A: The newly created WWF Hall of Fame.
Outside of wrestling, André is best known for what?
A: Appearing as Fezzik, the giant in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.
When was André René André born?
A: On 19 May 1946.
Where was he born?
A: In Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, France.
He was the son of what immigrants?
A: Boris André (1907–1993) and Mariann André Stoeff (1910–1997); his father was Bulgarian and his mother was Polish.
How much did André weigh at birth?
A: 13 pounds (6 kg).
As a child, he displayed symptoms of what?
A: Gigantism, and was noted as "a good head taller than other kids", with
abnormally long hands.
How tall was he by the time he was 12?
A: 191 cm (6 ft 3 in).
André was an average student, though good at what?
A: Mathematics.
André spent years working on what?
A: His father's farm in Molien, where, according to his brother Jacques, he
could perform the work of three men.
He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and
next worked where?
A: In a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers.
The Irish playwright Samuel Beckett was one of several
adults who sometimes drove local children to school, including whom?
A: André and his siblings.
At the age of 18, André moved to Paris and was taught
what?
A: Professional wrestling by a local promoter, Robert Lageat.
André was billed as "Géant Ferré", a name based on the
Picardian folk hero Grand Ferré and began doing what?
A: Wrestling in Paris and nearby areas.
André died at age 46 of what?
A: Congestive heart failure in his sleep at a Paris hotel in the morning of
Thursday 28 January 1993.
He spent the day before his death visiting and playing
cards with whom?
A: Some of his oldest friends in Molien.
In his will, he specified that his remains should be
what?
A: Cremated and "disposed of".
Where were his ashes scattered?
A: At his ranch in Ellerbe,
North Carolina.
In accordance with his will, he left his estate to
whom?
A: His sole beneficiary: his daughter Robin.