Par Ugo Maillard
Published on 20 May 22 at 15:05
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A legend. His face is probably familiar to you. André the giant, or André The Giant on the other side of the Atlantic, is a wrestler who died in 1993 when he was only 46 years old.
“André the giant from… Grenoble!” “, it is with this entry of a sobriety worthy of the United States that “Dédé” was presented to the viewer of the WWF. The North American wrestling league, this sport designed with a clever mix of Hollywood production and combat sport, has made a Frenchman a legend of this sport.
André Roussimoff, his real name, marked an entire generation. In a wrestling show, athletes are put forward for their physique which seems to come from another galaxy. “The Giant” is a nickname that has stuck with him since childhood. Measuring 2.20 m for a weight of 240 kg, the Frenchman is glorified for these natural attributes. A kind of “fairground beast” of which the country of Uncle Sam has the manufacturing secret.
The legend of Grenoble
“André The Giant from Grenoble” then? Not really… André Roussimoff was born in Coulommiers, in Seine-et-Marne, in 1946. He will continue his life in Paris where he will do odd jobs before discovering wrestling.
But then how could this native of Paris become “the beast of the Alps”? Several theories exist. The first of these is purely and simply marketing. American wrestling league president Vince McMahon appreciates André’s profile but wants to make him a little wilder. He decides that his hometown will be Grenoble, in the heart of the alpine forests.
–Vince will be excused for his ignorance of the capital of the Alps. With his bestial hair and his measurements worthy of a superhero movie, ̶T̶h̶a̶n̶o̶s̶ André, needs to build a legend, understand that the Parisian suburbs are less sexy than Grenoble.
The second theory is much prettier, romantic, gigantic. A Canadian wrestler on vacation in the Alps finds himself blocked by a tree trunk while driving. He fails to move this massive tree. Guess who will literally come out of the woods to move the tree trunk with his bare hands…André.
An international icon
His legend now shaped, André embarked on an international career. In Japan, the United States and Canada, André’s wrestling matches are awaited by thousands of fans, curious to discover this human beast.
The highlight of his career will be a match against Hulk Hogan in Detroit. A meeting that will bring together no less than 93,000 spectators in Michigan. His career over, admirers (venal) will take advantage of the image of André Roussimoff to create a range of derivative products, in his effigy.
Stickers, t-shirts and other goodies are on sale all over the world. In France, the aura of “Dédé” is less. A petition was launched in 2017, so that a “memorial”, no more no less”, be erected in Grenoble for André the giant.
Pop icon, André even found himself in a visible painting during a speech by Emmanuel Macron, in 2017.
André was seriously ill
On May 19, 1993, André Roussimoff died on a ranch in North Carolina. The man was exhausted by his physical attributes. At the age of 12, his height was 1.90 m while his weight was around 110 kg.
André suffers from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that accelerates growth. If he succeeds in making this difference a strength, the disease exhausts the adopted Grenoble. His body will bear the consequences of these hormonal disorders.
André Roussimoff died at the age of 46. Her legend continues to shine.
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