
Understanding Andre the Giant, Wrestling’s Massive, Indefinable Contradiction - coloneltcb
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/the-biggest-man-understanding-andre-the-giant-wrestlings-massive-indefinable-contradiction/
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baldfat
I meet Andre the Giant when I was 9 years old. He actually talked with me and
my dad for a few minutes and shook my hand. Was really nice with the biggest
hands I ever saw.

P.S. I like Pro Wrestling for like 3 months and than hated it. I met him right
when I was liking it. :)

~~~
flomo
A friend of mine has a great picture of himself at about that age with Andre's
humongous hand on top of his head.

But, I'll be honest, at that age, I thought the guy was a slob and not a good
professional wrestler. (And even then, everyone knew it was 'fake'.) I gather
when New York rented him out to the territories, he didn't work very hard.
There is a great examination of the Giant in "Modern Drunkard Magazine".

[http://www.drunkard.com/issues/10_06/10_06_andre_giant.html](http://www.drunkard.com/issues/10_06/10_06_andre_giant.html)

~~~
baldfat
> The key to Andre the Giant is this — even as a youth he knew that his
> disease would dramatically shorten his life. He knew there was no cure, and
> lived every day with the understanding that death could shamble around the
> very next corner. Knowledge of this sort can darken a life.

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coldcode
Even if he wasn't a lovable giant all the time, his work in Princess Bride is
so perfect, a giant playing a giant in a giant way—and you will never see a
remake of this movie.

~~~
beloch
"Beat it, or I'll call the brute squad!"

"I'm on the brute squad."

"You _are_ the brute squad!?"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJ2GVOEVFI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJ2GVOEVFI)

He may not have a big film career, but what a gem that film was!

~~~
zyxley
I think that last one should just be "You _are_ the brute squad." That is to
say, it's not an expression of shock, but an insulting quip.

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klenwell
_You open in rural France in the late 1950s. Andre at 12 is the size of a
large adult. The driver has banned him from the school bus, so to get to class
he depends on rides from a neighbor, Samuel Beckett, who has a truck. Yes,
that Samuel Beckett. You can be the author of Waiting for Godot. It’s still
useful to have a truck._

