Things That Came Out About Andre The Giant After He Died

The world of professional wrestling features a number of unforgettable personalities and characters, but none were as larger than life — literally and metaphorically — as André the Giant. Dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World because he was billed at 7'4" and reportedly weighed over 500 lbs, André established himself as a must-see attraction. In January 1993, André died in a hotel room in Paris, France. He was just 46 years old.

Yet, André's legend lives on. Even after death, stories about him continue to be told by those who knew him, especially recollections about the insane amount of alcohol that André the Giant would drink every day. There are also tales about his generosity, what he liked to do in his spare time, and even the people he didn't get along with in the wrestling business. One thing remains certain about him, though: He was very much a character in real life as he was on screen while he entertained audiences.

So, let's take a look at all the revelations that came out about André the Giant after he died. That being said, remember that these stories are told by others — and since André isn't around to verify the facts — there's the possibility that the truth could have been stretched or represented from a one-sided perspective here.

André the Giant attracted attention — even outside of pro wrestling's squared circle. In the 1980s, Hollywood came knocking with the opportunity to appear in two big movies: 1984's "Conan the Destroyer" and 1987's "The Princess Bride." While André's role in the "Conan the Barbarian" sequel went uncredited, he played the role of the ancient god Dagoth who battles Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian in the fantasy film.

As it turns out, Schwarzenegger and André developed a rapport while filming that extended into their personal lives. Appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show," Schwarzenegger explained how they were filming "Conan the Destroyer" in Mexico City, and André would wrestle at events in the evening. Schwarzenegger took the opportunity to see André wrestle, then they would go out for dinner afterward. One evening, after dinner, Schwarzenegger took out his wallet to pay, but André refused the gesture.

"So, I said, 'André, look, this is so unbelievable that you got me in to see you wrestle, you got us the front row seats and everything like that, so let me do my share, I'm paying,'" Schwarzenegger said. "He says, 'No, I pay.' I said, 'No, I'm insisting.' He grabs me like this and he lifts me up like a little kid and he puts me up on top of a cabinet." Then, André went and paid the bill as Schwarzenegger could nothing but watch him from the cabinet.

Before conquering the Hollywood box office, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rose to the top of the pro wrestling industry as the self-proclaimed "people's champion." It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone since it was in his blood after all. Johnson is a third-generation superstar with his father, Rocky, and grandfather Peter Maivia having been heavily involved in the industry. This saw Johnson grow up around the business and interact with a variety of big personalities. However, the truth is the Rock built a special relationship with André the Giant.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Johnson posted a picture of him, aged five, with André. The caption read: "At 5, I never knew why people got so excited to see him. To me he was just 'Uncle Andre.'" It isn't the only time that Johnson has posted about André on social media, as he previously posted a picture on Instagram of his grandfather with André. Speaking about Maivia and André, Johnson claimed that "they were the best of friends" and that he wishes he could have had a drink with them as an adult.

In the television show "Young Rock," which is based on Johnson's early life, André plays a prominent part in the storyline. He fulfills the role of a father figure to the young Johnson when his real father, Rocky, isn't around for him.

André the Giant developed a reputation as a sociable human being. He would make friends wherever he went — whether it was through pro wrestling or acting. As it turns out, he made a few pals after appearing as Fezzik in Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" — namely the lead star Cary Elwes.

Elwes co-wrote a book with Joe Layden about his time on the production titled "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride." During the media tour to promote the book, Elwes opened up to TheWrap about a humorous André story, telling the host that André "was a gentle giant," but he could empty bars with his drinking prowess. "He used to drink a thing called the American," Elwes said. "He would take a beer pitcher, and the bartender would go behind the bar, and [he would] literally take every bottle and pour it into a beer pitcher, and that's what he drank."

Elwes joked about how he had no idea what airplane fuel tasted like, but he thought it would probably be something like the American. That said, he drank it with André once. "He thought it was very funny because I coughed and spat it up," Elwes added.

People from far and wide traveled all over the world to catch a glimpse of André the Giant in action. He was a certified box office draw, as everyone wanted to see the Eighth Wonder of the World tussle with wrestling's biggest superstars. Yet, despite his imposing stature being one of the main reasons for his immense popularity, André didn't like the way in which people viewed him as some kind of freak of nature — particularly children.

As one of wrestling's premier announcers, "Mean" Gene Okerlund knew André well. In an interview with Title Match Wrestling, Okerlund recalled a day in which André opened up to him on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis. The announcer explained how André insisted that Okerlund sit with him in first class, and then it wasn't too long before the conversation turned personal.

"[André] said, 'You know, people think that I have a great life — that I can travel all over and everything. But people, I see them when they point at me, little kids laugh and say, "What kind of a man is he?"' He was very sensitive," Okerlund said. "He cried. I saw him."

Wrestling is an industry built on manufacturing feuds between people. The more intense the rivalry, the more invested the fans become in the program. Yet, sometimes, the bad blood boils over from fiction to reality. In fact, one of the stars André the Giant couldn't stand was "Macho Man" Randy Savage. So, what was the source of their heat: Was it the desire to be the top dog in pro wrestling or about someone going off script in a promo? No, it was due to baby oil, which makes it slippery and more difficult for a wrestler to grab ahold of another.

Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, Savage's brother, Lanny "The Genius" Poffo, only had good memories of André and the care he took with his opponents in the ring. However, he acknowledged that André didn't like his brother at all. "André hated baby oil," Poffo said. "But Randy wouldn't stop wearing it. He stubbornly said, 'André's gimmick is being a giant and mine is baby oil.' He never backed down from André and they never got along because of it."

In the 2018 "André the Giant" documentary, Hulk Hogan confirmed a similar version of what Poffo said about André not liking the fact that Savage lathered himself up in baby oil. However, Hogan added that André would get extra physical in the ring with Savage because of his strong disdain for him.

In a 1988 pro wrestling storyline, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and André the Giant formed an alliance, which saw André win the then-WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan and hand it to DiBiase. Outside of the ring, DiBiase and André got along as well.

Appearing on the "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw" podcast, DiBiase discussed a humorous André anecdote from a trip in which they traveled to Japan. As DiBiase explained, the flight was grueling, but when they arrived in Tokyo, they decided it was best to freshen up at their hotel rooms and later get something to eat. They stuck to the plan and when the elevator reached DiBiase's floor, André was already inside of it. The elevator proceeded to stop on every floor, as more and more people flooded inside. According to DiBiase, it was a situation where the elevator was too packed but people continued to stream in.

"André reaches over and gives me a little tap on my shoulder," DiBiase said. "I looked up at him and he winked. I said, 'Okay, something's going to happen here.' Well, buddy, the next thing you heard was the loudest, longest fart that I have ever heard in my life." While DiBiase admitted that he felt embarrassed and shocked for the people who experienced it, André's plan worked — everyone stormed out of the elevator at the next stop.

According to those who knew André the Giant well, one of his favorite pastimes was playing cards — something that he enjoyed doing from his time living in France. As Jake "The Snake" Roberts told CBS Sports, André often valued a game of cards more than a wrestling match in the ring. "He was very serious about his cribbage game to the point of, 'Screw the match, we're not through with this game yet,' you know?" Roberts said. "He wouldn't walk away."

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan corroborated Roberts' story. Since wrestlers would arrive at buildings hours before the events started, they needed to find ways to pass the time. For André, it was through a card game, and he managed to convince others to join him for a game.

On the last day before he died, André was reported to have been playing cards. He headed to the French village he had grown up in and spent the day with old friends doing something he enjoyed before retreating to his hotel where he died soon afterward.

André the Giant had one child: A daughter named Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, who was born in France in 1979. However, Christensen-Roussimoff grew up in America with her mother, Jean Christensen, who used to be involved in the pro wrestling industry and that's how she came to know André. Despite André also being based in America as a star in the then-WWF, Christensen-Roussimoff claimed she hardly saw her father, naming only five occasions where they were in each other's company. "I can recall two or three times at arenas," she told CBS Sports. "Unfortunately, other times, they were in court."

Reportedly, André and Jean didn't part ways as friends, and this spilled over into the relationship with his daughter. That said, Christensen-Roussimoff was well aware of who her father was and what he did for a living. She didn't watch him wrestle on television but had seen him in live shows when he came through her city, and she claims it's still hard to watch old footage since his death in 1993.

"It's just really, really mixed emotions when it comes to that just simply because we didn't have the relationship that we could have had," she said. "And a lot of it had to do with his work schedule. Yeah, it's not easy to watch."

Even after "The Princess Bride" wrapped up its production, Cary Elwes and André the Giant stayed in touch as friends. One evening, the pals met up in Manhattan, New York to catch up over a few drinks. As Elwes described in the book "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride" (via New York Post), it didn't take long for him to notice there was a man following them around from place to place. Concerned that his friend had gained a stalker, Elwes mentioned it to André, who was more than aware of it and who the man was.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Elwes further elaborated on the incident. "Apparently there was one time where [André] tripped and fell on an unsuspecting patron while waiting for his car, and after that, any time he went out drinking the NYPD would send an undercover cop to follow him around," he said. What made the situation even funnier for Elwes was the fact that André continuously bought drinks for the cop, who reportedly accepted them. It was yet another prime example of the generosity of the big man.

While most wrestlers have fond memories of time spent with André the Giant, especially when they hit the town, Blackjack Mulligan isn't one of them. Instead, Mulligan viewed André as "arrogant" and someone who got out of hand when he drank heavily.

Speaking to Highspots Wrestling Network, Mulligan explained how he was one of the first wrestlers to work with André in America. However, the pair didn't see eye to eye, exchanging fisticuffs on more than one occasion. There was one incident, though, that made Mulligan laugh about it in hindsight.

Mulligan explained how the wrestlers were all celebrating Dick Murdoch's birthday at the beach hotel room he was staying in. According to Mulligan, André guzzled down a lot of alcohol and challenged Mulligan to a fight — but under the condition that Mulligan take off his boots. The conversation turned physical and the wrestlers fought their way through a glass sliding door. Despite André the Giant being strong and kicking Mulligan into the ceiling, the smaller man held his own. Eventually, they collapsed on the beach and agreed to call the fight off. It was an expensive rumble for Mulligan, though, since he had to pay for the sliding door's repairs because the incident took place in his room.

One of the most famous wrestling matches of all time occurred at WrestleMania III as Hulk Hogan faced off against André the Giant for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. It was the ultimate clash of the titans as André turned on Hogan in the lead-up to the contest, and fans feared that the Hulkster wouldn't be able to conquer the giant. In the end, Hogan triumphed in a match that saw him pick up André for a now-iconic body slam.

Now, the nature of pro wrestling is that it's predetermined. The performers meet up with bookers or producers before the match to go over the logistics of who's winning and how long they have to put on a show. According to Hogan's claims on Netflix's "Mr. McMahon" documentary series, he didn't know if he would win or lose the match until it happened. The contest lay in André's hands, so Hogan was as surprised as everyone when the referee made the three count and raised his hand as the victor.

It's important to stress something here: There are many times Hulk Hogan has been caught lying in the past, so it's best to take what he says with a pinch of salt. His story sounds highly unlikely, but the pro wrestling industry is renowned for its wackiness, so the only people who know if this is true or not are those who were there.

Want to find out more about the Eighth Wonder of the World? Check out the rise and fall of André the Giant.