What The Final 12 Months Of Andre The Giant's Life Were Like

In January 1993, Andre the Giant returned to his family home in France to mourn the death of his father. After the funeral, he decided to stay a bit longer to celebrate his mother's birthday with her. Unfortunately, his mother ended up losing a son as well as a husband that month, as Andre would be found dead in his hotel room on January 27, just three days after her birthday. The giantism that made Andre the Giant a household name the world over was also what took him out of it. "Eventually, his immense size was just too much for his heart," reads the biography on his official website.

And what does a giant (according to Wrestler Deaths, his cremated ashes weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds) do during his last few moments on this earth? "Andre loved playing cards," said CBS News. "His game of choice was cribbage." Andre liked to play cards, maybe even more than he liked to wrestle.

"He was very serious about his cribbage game," fellow wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts told CBS News, "to the point of 'Screw the match, we're not through with this game yet,' you know? He wouldn't walk away."

And that was exactly what Andre the Giant did during his last months on earth. The card game Uno was also one of the big guy's favorites. CBS News reported that "barbecues were also a regular occurrence" at his home in Ellerbe, North Carolina. "Later in the night, Andre might spend hours sitting and watching TV shows and movies. Gone with the Wind was one of his favorites." He also got into shopping on the QVC home shopping network, as going out in public became a very tedious task for him, due to his fame and unmistakable build.

Despite his gargantuan size, what the final 12 months of Andre the Giant's life reveal to the rest of us pipsqueaks is that he was really a normal guy, just like anyone else. He liked playing cards with friends, cooking outside, and playing jokes on his dog. He may have been larger than life, but he was still just one of the guys.