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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, fans knew Andre the Giant

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Speaker 1: as the eighth Wonder of the World, but friends and

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Speaker 1: loved ones had their own designation. We spoke via email

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Speaker 1: with Benjamin Brown, an archivist for World Wrestling Entertainment or

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Speaker 1: the w w E. He said, Andre the Giant was

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Speaker 1: and still is, affectionately referred to as Boss, symbolizing the

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Speaker 1: respect he commanded and was appropriately given, long before the

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Speaker 1: Towering icon became a pop culture phenomenon. Under the Giant

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Speaker 1: was Andre Russomov, a French kid who led up somewhat

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Speaker 1: average life until puberty hit. Born in Grenoble, France in

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Speaker 1: ninety six, Rusimov was a beautiful baby, his older brother,

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Speaker 1: Antoine said in the HBO documentary about Andrea's life, quote,

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Speaker 1: he was normal. His life changing transformation began in his

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Speaker 1: early teens, when it became evident that Rusomov had a

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Speaker 1: pituitary gland disorder called acromegaly. The disorder, according to the

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Speaker 1: Mayo Clinic, occurs when the pituitary gland produces too much

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Speaker 1: growth hormone during adulthood, causing the bones to increase in size.

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Speaker 1: It typically affects middle aged adults, but can happen at

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Speaker 1: any age and what it strikes still developing kids, like

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Speaker 1: it did in Rusumov's case, it can cause a condition

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Speaker 1: called gigantism, which results in abnormal increases in height and

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Speaker 1: exaggerated bone growth. Russimov's major physical transformation occurred in the

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Speaker 1: time between his departure from home at age fourteen to

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Speaker 1: seek employment outside of Grenobla and his first return visit

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Speaker 1: at age nineteen ninety one. Sports Illustrated Profile reported indeed,

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Speaker 1: during the five years young Andre had been estranged from

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Speaker 1: his parents, he had grown so large that even his

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Speaker 1: mother and father failed at first and even second glance

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Speaker 1: to recognize him or to connect the giant they had

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Speaker 1: seen on television with the gangly dreamer who had hied

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Speaker 1: himself to Paris so long before. Rusimov continued to grow.

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Speaker 1: By the age of twelve, he hit six feet that's

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Speaker 1: one point eight meters and two hundred and forty pounds

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Speaker 1: or a hundred kilos, and rapidly grew from there. So

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Speaker 1: he set his side on a career that allowed him

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Speaker 1: to use his size to his advantage wrestling. After training

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Speaker 1: with French champion Frank L. Waugh, who later became as manager.

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Speaker 1: Rusomof began competing under the name Jean Fair in Montreal

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Speaker 1: and Monster Russomov in Japan. The young Giant began making

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Speaker 1: a name for himself as a baby faced, colossal competitor,

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Speaker 1: and Val was introduced him to legendary wrestling promoter Vince

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Speaker 1: McMahon Sr. As the founder of the Worldwide Wrestling Federation

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Speaker 1: or w w F, which later became the w w E.

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Speaker 1: McMahon made a few suggestions to increase Rusumov's potential success,

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Speaker 1: including a name change. McMahon dubbed the wrestler Andre the

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Speaker 1: Giant and sent him off to compete around the world.

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Speaker 1: On March nine, seventy three, Under the Giant made his

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Speaker 1: w w F debut at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

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Speaker 1: He went on to wrestle more than three hundred days

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Speaker 1: a year and rose to fame as one of the

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Speaker 1: industry's most respected competitors. Brown said Under the Giants surpassed

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Speaker 1: the often one dimensional nature of a traction wrestler to

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Speaker 1: become a massive draw wherever he went in the world.

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Speaker 1: Andrea was both the leader of the locker room and

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Speaker 1: a measuring stick for all those who came after. Andre

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Speaker 1: the Giant was intelligent, multi lingual, and an exceptional in

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Speaker 1: ring talent. While the wrestler's success is indisputable, his eventual

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Speaker 1: size is up for debate. Most sources claim he reached

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Speaker 1: a height of seven feet four inches that's two point

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Speaker 1: two meters, though according to biography dot com, he was

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Speaker 1: more likely closer to six ft eleven inches or one

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Speaker 1: point nine meters. At its full size, Russimov weighed about

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Speaker 1: five hundred pounds that's two hundred and twenty six kilos.

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Speaker 1: The wrestler's unique physicality led to plenty of opportunities outside

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Speaker 1: of the ring, including a memorable role in the film

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Speaker 1: The Princess Bride, and Rusumov's love for food and drink

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Speaker 1: was no joke. There are many stories of him drinking

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Speaker 1: more than a hundred beers in one sitting, though it

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Speaker 1: supposedly wasn't the norm. His best friend Tim White told

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Speaker 1: w w E he'd go into a restaurant and eat

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Speaker 1: twelve stakes and fifteen lobsters just to quote put on

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Speaker 1: a show and have some laughs. Russimov remained a formidable

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Speaker 1: competitor throughout his career, taking on titans like Hulk Hogan

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Speaker 1: and Mascho Man Randy Savage, but by the early nineteen nineties,

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Speaker 1: the effects of his acromegaly and the massive physical wear

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Speaker 1: and tear of his career had led to severe effects

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Speaker 1: on his health. Acromegaly is known to cause everything from

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Speaker 1: high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease to spinal cord compression

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Speaker 1: and vision loss. Rusimov grappled with chronic pain and could

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Speaker 1: no longer endure the breakers of wrestling. He retreated to

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Speaker 1: his North Carolina ranch, but flew home to France at

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Speaker 1: early nine three when his father passed away. On January seven,

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Speaker 1: nine three, Andre the Giant died in his sleep of

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Speaker 1: congestive heart failure. The wrestler was never married, but he

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Speaker 1: was survived by a daughter, Robin Christensen Rusumov, born in

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Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine. Andre the Giant continues to be heralded

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Speaker 1: by wrestling fans as one of the sports greatest competitors.

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Speaker 1: Brown said, this quote is from Tim White, Andre's best friend,

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Speaker 1: who called me while I was writing this. Once he

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Speaker 1: befriended you. He was your friend for life. Today's episode

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Speaker 1: was written by Michelle on Stantonowsky and produced by Tyler Clang.

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Speaker 1: Brainstuff is a production with I Heart Radios How stuff Works.

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Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other massive topics,

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Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com. And

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Speaker 1: for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit I Heart

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Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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Speaker 1: favorite shows.