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Everyone is intimidated by a shark. Become
a Card Shark AMERICASCARDROOM.COM

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Most of us, when we're children,

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your parents read fairytales to you.

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There are knights, there are dragons,
there are sorcerers,

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there are giants.

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He was those drawings come to life.

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He was a living manifestation
of our childhood dreams.

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And from Grenoble in the French Alps,

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weighing 477 pounds,

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the eighth wonder of the world,

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André the Giant!

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Everybody remembers that moment

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where they first saw André the Giant.

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We're all intrigued by
André the Giant the human,

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but the reason we're intrigued by that

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is because he seems like so much more.

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He was a god.

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The crowd goes wild.

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This is the one we've all been waiting for.

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André the Giant.

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Holy mackerel!

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André the Giant, off the top turnbuckle!

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André cleaning house!

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This is one man you do
not want to get riled up.

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Look at the size of the Giant!

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André still undefeated.

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Oh, slam! André picked him up with ease!

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André is unbelievable!

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He was just starting.

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He was at the time maybe 6'9, 6'10

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when he was wrestling in France.

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He hadn't fully grown yet

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'cause he started around 19, 20 years old.

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He was leaner than what North
American people remember of him.

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So he would do a much more athletic
style than what we saw in North America.

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The first name that they used
in France was Jean Ferré.

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The name come from a folk hero from France

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that was named Grand Ferré,

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which means Great Fairy.

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The backstory for the Jean Ferré character

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was that he was a lumberjack.

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That he was, you know, discovered

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in the middle of the woods chopping wood.

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You have to sell a background
story to your character,

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and he had the size

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to be believable that he was a lumberjack.

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Thank you, Monsieur.

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André was wrestling in
many venues all over Paris.

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He was also working a lot on
the south coast of France,

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and during the summer was
working in a lot of festivals

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all over the country.

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The first country outside of France

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where André wrestled was Monaco.

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And then he went to Japan,

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and he was called there
"Monster Roussimoff."

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In June of 1971, that was the first match

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he ever had in North America,

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that was in Verdun,
just a suburb of Montreal,

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and he was working for a promotion

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called Grand Prix Wrestling.

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The very first ad said that he was a giant

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of 7'4", 390 pounds, from the French Alps.

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Being a giant from the French Alps,

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it's a much better story
than just being, you know,

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a guy from a town that
nobody have heard of.

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From the French Alps, 7'4", 415 pounds,

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the friendly French Giant, Jean Ferré!

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And there's a shot to the top of the head.

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And he's going into the figure-four.

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- Well...
- Commentator ♪2: Oh!

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First thing, I said,
"There's money to be made with the guy."

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And they did draw money,

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they sold out all over,

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and the Giant became a household name.

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We'd get into a little town
and they'd come from all over.

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You'd draw 3, 4, 5, 6 thousand people

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at least 5 nights a week.

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There's a shot

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to the top of the head.

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Maurice is in very bad shape.

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Wrestling comes out of circus sideshows,

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and André in a lot of
ways was one of these...

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sideshow spectacles.

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Anybody would pay a quarter
and line up to see him.

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But you don't go back a
second or a third time.

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So at a certain point,
the move with a wrestler like André

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is to move on,

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to migrate to a different territory,

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and, you know, try out greener pastures.

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♪ One, two, three ♪

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♪ I'm your boogie man, that's what I am ♪

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♪ I'm here to do whatever I can... ♪

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The '70s was the heart
of the territorial era

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in pro wrestling in the United States.

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I love to hurt people

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and I'm gonna hurt you very, very bad.

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Heads up! Ooh! Oh!

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When André came down,

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professional wrestling was divided up

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into these fiefdoms around the country.

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I think at one time there were as many

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as 32 separate territories.

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Hello again, everybody,

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and welcome to Mid-South Wrestling.

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Welcome to another hour

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of Florida Championship Wrestling.

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Welcome again to an
exciting hour of wrestling.

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You had certain stars in your territory,

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in your region, and they were seen

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as far as your local
television coverage would go.

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Nobody had a national TV show.

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Lone Eagle rolling over,
and here they come back.

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There they go again, come on.

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♪ Do what you want, I'm
your boogie man... ♪

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You have got to wrestle me
right here and right now.

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♪ Do what you want, I'm your boogie man ♪

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We had a TV show in Memphis.

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200 miles north of Memphis,

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then that started the St. Louis territory.

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Then they had a whole set of
different wrestling stars there.

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And over to the east was
the Carolinas territory,

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and they had a whole set
of different stars there.

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Outside of Canada when André
first came to North America,

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he was wrestling mainly in the Midwest.

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Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit.

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In Detroit, he was actually
called the "Polish Giant."

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And in Minneapolis, he was
called either André Roussimoff

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or André the Giant Frenchman.

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The name under the Giant, the first time
it actually happened, was in Chicago.

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There was a promoter there
who wanted to book André,

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so he called the promoter back in Montreal.

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So he said, you know,
we call him Grand Ferré, Giant Ferré.

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So the promoter there
starts laughing and says,

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"I cannot call him a giant fairy!

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What's his real name?
What's his first name?"

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So he said, "Well, it's André."

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"Well, okay, we'll call
him André the Giant then."

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Here is the eighth wonder of the world!

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André the Giant!

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My goodness! Look at these fans!

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In appreciation for André the Giant!

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When André started circulating
in the territories,

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he'd come in for a period of
maybe six weeks or seven weeks

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and then was gone and
onto the next territory.

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Hello, ladies and gentlemen,

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I'd like to tell you my name,
you know who I am.

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I am so happy to come back in
Florida to see all my friends.

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I want to welcome you once again
to the Mid-Atlantic states

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for Mid-Atlantic Championships Wrestling.

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My pleasure.

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Oh, sí, sí. I guess that's Spanish.

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André started very small.

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He started in small towns

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performing in front of 10 people,

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100 people, 300 people.

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By the time he got to my grandfather's
territory, which was the Northeast,

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then you had made it, you know,
all the way to the big time.

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Vincent J. McMahon, Vince Sr.,

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was one of the real power brokers

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in those days of professional wrestling.

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He had New York.

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We say New York-- the territory ran
up and down the Atlantic seaboard

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from Bangor, Maine, to D.C.

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My dad first found out about André

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because of the exposure that
he was getting in Canada.

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Someone said, "Vince, you have
to get your hands on this guy.

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He's an extraordinary attraction."

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So my dad met with André and they
hit it off really, really well.

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And my dad started booking André.

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My dad built the way the
public looked at him now,

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as an attraction, he was
a giant attraction.

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André will now demonstrate
feats of strength.

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Look at this, it's off the ground!

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Over 2,000 pounds of solid dead weight.

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André the Giant has done the unbelievable!

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I began to see pictures of André,

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I said, "I want to cover this
guy as a unique physical being,

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a man who's living in a world
that's not made for him."

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What's it like to be seven feet tall

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and weigh close to 500 pounds?

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There's a famous photograph
that appeared with the article

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that I did for "Sports Illustrated."

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Our hands are close together,

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and you can see the difference

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in the thickness of the fingers,

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the breadth of the fingers,

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the size of the fingernails.

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And my collection here at
the University of Texas,

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I have the hands of a lowland gorilla.

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They are approximately as
wide as Andre’s hands were.

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You that knew you were seeing
something unique in the world

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when you saw him.

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I want you to take a look,

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what size boot is that, André?

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That's 22, size 22.

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Take a look at that along my size nine.

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Weather does get chilly periodically.

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My word. It looks like a top coat!
I can't believe it!

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Let me ask you, how about your diet?

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How much food do you eat a day?

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The food--

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I eat four times, the food from the--

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I'm sorry, I'm not stuck on English.

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He was not the most
articulate man in the world.

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He spoke in other ways.

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00:13:43,758 --> 00:13:45,717
André. Oh!

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00:13:50,342 --> 00:13:54,717
André the Giant at 7'4", 507 pounds.

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Being strangled with the
rope by André the Giant!

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00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:02,592
...covered by André!

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00:14:05,634 --> 00:14:09,174
Look at that!

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00:14:09,175 --> 00:14:13,384
The most exciting thing
you'll ever see in the ring!

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00:14:17,967 --> 00:14:20,799
Ooh!

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00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,758
Oh, boy! Look at that!

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00:14:25,467 --> 00:14:27,591
There are two types of
match that André did a lot.

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00:14:27,592 --> 00:14:30,216
Handicap matches,
meaning him against two wrestlers,

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or battle royals.

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00:14:32,217 --> 00:14:35,216
You'll notice that these men,
all of these wrestlers

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seemingly a little hesitant
to attack André the Giant.

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Because, you know, he was such a big man.

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You could see him just
throw 19 other wrestlers,

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you know, over the top rope.

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...both from the Giant!

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00:14:48,008 --> 00:14:51,799
Bockwinkel colliding with Patera.

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00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,966
There goes Patera!

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00:14:53,967 --> 00:14:55,633
There goes Duncum!

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00:14:55,634 --> 00:14:58,133
Bockwinkel, the only one left!

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00:14:58,134 --> 00:15:00,091
André was an attraction.

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00:15:00,092 --> 00:15:03,924
He was not the kind of person
that you could put on your card

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00:15:03,925 --> 00:15:05,757
every single week,

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00:15:05,758 --> 00:15:09,007
because he would lose
that aura of specialness.

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00:15:09,008 --> 00:15:12,008
Here's the Giant now,
coming down the runway.

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00:15:14,008 --> 00:15:18,966
So that's why André got loaned
out so much by Vince McMahon.

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The other promoters respected
my dad even all the more

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00:15:22,342 --> 00:15:26,091
because he could deliver André
or not deliver André to them.

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And normally when André came to town,
he drew a lot of money.

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00:15:28,592 --> 00:15:31,049
People would want to see this giant.

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In those days,
there were wrestling magazines

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00:15:34,384 --> 00:15:36,133
that would chronicle these wrestlers

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in different territories,
and you would see Andre’s face

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on the cover of a magazine and that's
maybe the first time you'd ever seen him.

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00:15:42,467 --> 00:15:43,966
This is before cable TV.

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00:15:43,967 --> 00:15:45,757
This is definitely before the internet.

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00:15:45,758 --> 00:15:48,133
You haven't seen YouTube
videos of André the Giant.

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00:15:48,134 --> 00:15:51,550
You've just heard legend of him,
so he comes out of the back,

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00:15:51,551 --> 00:15:53,966
you see a full head above the crowd.

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00:15:53,967 --> 00:15:56,799
All right! The crowd's starting to surge!

247
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I first saw André the Giant,

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00:15:58,592 --> 00:16:00,882
it was junior high school,
ninth grade, eighth grade,

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00:16:00,883 --> 00:16:03,757
and I just remember how intense it was.

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00:16:03,758 --> 00:16:05,091
It's almost like the whole room moved

251
00:16:05,092 --> 00:16:06,841
when he walked through the crowd.

252
00:16:06,842 --> 00:16:10,258
Just talking about anticipation.

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There he is!

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00:16:11,925 --> 00:16:13,675
And then when he climbed up on the ring,

255
00:16:13,676 --> 00:16:16,799
the back of his leg and
the size of his thigh

256
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,466
and his quad and his rear end

257
00:16:18,467 --> 00:16:22,007
and his whole hip looked
like a Clydesdale horse.

258
00:16:22,008 --> 00:16:24,091
I was hooked immediately.

259
00:16:24,092 --> 00:16:25,508
This is an era where word of mouth

260
00:16:25,509 --> 00:16:27,591
carried as much weight as anything else.

261
00:16:27,592 --> 00:16:30,216
And you would hear rumor of wrestlers

262
00:16:30,217 --> 00:16:32,757
and you would just have to wait for them

263
00:16:32,758 --> 00:16:34,883
to come to your town,
if they ever got there.

264
00:16:39,717 --> 00:16:42,383
Everywhere he went,
people turned out to see him.

265
00:16:42,384 --> 00:16:44,425
And the eighth wonder of the world...

266
00:16:44,426 --> 00:16:46,091
There was nobody else in the business

267
00:16:46,092 --> 00:16:47,882
at that time that you could say,

268
00:16:47,883 --> 00:16:49,425
"Hey, let me put this guy on your card,

269
00:16:49,426 --> 00:16:51,509
and you're gonna have
an automatic sellout."

270
00:16:55,842 --> 00:16:58,633
Whoa! That's the wrong guy to do that to.

271
00:16:58,634 --> 00:17:02,299
He knew how to create emotion,
energy, drama.

272
00:17:02,300 --> 00:17:07,299
For somebody that big to go down
to a knee and to get sympathy.

273
00:17:07,300 --> 00:17:09,675
There was just something magical about him.

274
00:17:09,676 --> 00:17:11,757
He had a way to reel you in.

275
00:17:11,758 --> 00:17:13,966
The term that we have in wrestling is,

276
00:17:13,967 --> 00:17:15,634
it's a sell for your opponent.

277
00:17:17,758 --> 00:17:20,467
And André would sell anything that I did.

278
00:17:22,967 --> 00:17:24,799
You knew you weren't gonna beat André,

279
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:26,799
that just wasn't in the cards.

280
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,966
The understanding was André would
sell anything that I did to him.

281
00:17:30,967 --> 00:17:32,341
But then at the end of the match,

282
00:17:32,342 --> 00:17:33,508
André was going over.

283
00:17:33,509 --> 00:17:36,508
André was gonna get his hand raised.

284
00:17:36,509 --> 00:17:38,174
André the Giant, ladies and gentlemen,

285
00:17:38,175 --> 00:17:40,258
for the benefit of you who do not know,

286
00:17:40,259 --> 00:17:45,425
is the only undefeated superstar
in professional wrestling.

287
00:17:45,426 --> 00:17:47,675
They could have made him the champion,

288
00:17:47,676 --> 00:17:49,716
but it probably would have
gotten stale after a while

289
00:17:49,717 --> 00:17:52,258
because there was no confidence
when people wrestled André

290
00:17:52,259 --> 00:17:53,882
that anyone was gonna beat him.

291
00:17:53,883 --> 00:17:55,383
He could have won the title, but then,

292
00:17:55,384 --> 00:17:57,466
how could he lose the title?

293
00:17:57,467 --> 00:17:59,841
Nobody had any expectation
that André was gonna come in

294
00:17:59,842 --> 00:18:01,716
and get beat up by the local hero.

295
00:18:01,717 --> 00:18:05,299
Although he could make those local
heroes look good if he wanted to.

296
00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:07,882
One more shot, across the jaw!

297
00:18:07,883 --> 00:18:11,341
If André came in and took
on the local champion,

298
00:18:11,342 --> 00:18:13,299
if they could just get their
licks in against André,

299
00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:15,341
if they could look good for five minutes,

300
00:18:15,342 --> 00:18:17,091
hold their own against André the Giant,

301
00:18:17,092 --> 00:18:18,882
that was a win!

302
00:18:18,883 --> 00:18:20,799
Andre’s in trouble here, big trouble.

303
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,757
Really big trouble.

304
00:18:22,758 --> 00:18:25,675
If you get in some shots against André,

305
00:18:25,676 --> 00:18:27,466
that's like going toe to toe with a god.

306
00:18:27,467 --> 00:18:30,757
André was very kind,
and took care of, as we call it,

307
00:18:30,758 --> 00:18:32,383
you know, the performers he worked with.

308
00:18:32,384 --> 00:18:34,716
He was very proud of that.
He never hurt anyone.

309
00:18:34,717 --> 00:18:36,425
And he was very, very proud of that.

310
00:18:36,426 --> 00:18:39,716
But if he wanted to show
you who was the boss,

311
00:18:39,717 --> 00:18:41,925
you know, it was easy for him to do that.

312
00:18:44,384 --> 00:18:48,591
If André liked you, yeah, he knew
that he had the power to make careers.

313
00:18:48,592 --> 00:18:50,799
If he didn't like you, God help you.

314
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:52,550
Do you promise me that?!

315
00:18:52,551 --> 00:18:54,133
I promise you.!

316
00:18:54,134 --> 00:18:57,425
- We'll do our best.
- You better do it!

317
00:18:57,426 --> 00:19:00,551
You've never seen me mad,
you have seen me mad now.

318
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,675
If he decided that he was
not gonna get picked up

319
00:19:06,676 --> 00:19:08,716
or you were not gonna throw a punch

320
00:19:08,717 --> 00:19:12,091
or you weren't gonna put a wrestling
move on it, it didn't happen.

321
00:19:12,092 --> 00:19:15,007
He was stronger than all of us,
he was bigger than all of us.

322
00:19:15,008 --> 00:19:17,757
He kept everybody in line.

323
00:19:17,758 --> 00:19:20,425
This is not a business of tough guys.

324
00:19:20,426 --> 00:19:22,757
If you're in this business,
it's to entertain.

325
00:19:22,758 --> 00:19:26,091
And for those guys that thought they
were tough guys in this business,

326
00:19:26,092 --> 00:19:29,591
André would straighten 'em out real quick.

327
00:19:29,592 --> 00:19:32,133
Like a rag doll, he's shaking him!

328
00:19:32,134 --> 00:19:34,676
Like a child!

329
00:19:42,467 --> 00:19:45,967
Oh, look at this! 500 pounds plus!

330
00:19:49,342 --> 00:19:52,049
He hated Randy Savage, the Macho Man,

331
00:19:52,050 --> 00:19:53,508
hated him with a passion.

332
00:19:53,509 --> 00:19:56,966
Nassau Coliseum is gonna witness, yeah!

333
00:19:56,967 --> 00:19:58,924
So whenever I'd see Randy
was wrestling André,

334
00:19:58,925 --> 00:20:00,716
I used to laugh.

335
00:20:00,717 --> 00:20:02,882
André doing whatever he wants right now.

336
00:20:02,883 --> 00:20:06,007
Sitting on him! Sitting right on his head!

337
00:20:06,008 --> 00:20:09,259
Randy was always worried on
how André was gonna beat him.

338
00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:13,799
And Randy would wait till
the very last minute.

339
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:15,299
You know, he'd be all taped up,

340
00:20:15,300 --> 00:20:19,591
and he'd have baby oil all over him

341
00:20:19,592 --> 00:20:23,757
and Randy would come in, "Uh,
excuse me, André, hey, brother,

342
00:20:23,758 --> 00:20:27,425
you know, uh, what do you think we're
gonna do out there in the ring tonight?"

343
00:20:27,426 --> 00:20:30,675
And André would look up at him,
playing cards, and go,

344
00:20:30,676 --> 00:20:33,882
"No baby oil. Get out!

345
00:20:33,883 --> 00:20:35,342
Get out! No baby oil!"

346
00:20:37,300 --> 00:20:39,924
Then I'd watch the match,
André would just get in

347
00:20:39,925 --> 00:20:41,675
and would just beat the hell out of him,

348
00:20:41,676 --> 00:20:43,383
just pull his hair out.

349
00:20:43,384 --> 00:20:45,049
"This is for you, Elizabeth!"

350
00:20:45,050 --> 00:20:47,550
Whap! And he'd hit him,
I'm like, "Oh, my God,

351
00:20:47,551 --> 00:20:49,299
he just beat Randy to death."

352
00:20:49,300 --> 00:20:51,841
I saw him grab the Iron Sheik one night.

353
00:20:51,842 --> 00:20:55,425
He irritated the hell out of André,
I mean, just always.

354
00:20:55,426 --> 00:20:58,174
I'm gonna show who is the real giant...

355
00:20:58,175 --> 00:21:02,216
"André, I thought maybe tonight,
Sheikie could try to slam you."

356
00:21:02,217 --> 00:21:03,966
"Get out!" You know?

357
00:21:03,967 --> 00:21:07,174
And André had had enough of his mouth.

358
00:21:07,175 --> 00:21:09,716
And one night, he just
took him out into the ring

359
00:21:09,717 --> 00:21:11,634
and just beat him, I thought he killed him.

360
00:21:13,467 --> 00:21:15,174
André trying to twist that leg right off.

361
00:21:15,175 --> 00:21:17,509
Sheik now getting a wrestling lesson.

362
00:21:19,217 --> 00:21:22,842
Wow! Holy mackerel, what a slam!

363
00:21:24,967 --> 00:21:28,216
There's 500 pounds.

364
00:21:28,217 --> 00:21:30,716
I'm watching, like, "Oh, my God,
somebody stop this massacre,

365
00:21:30,717 --> 00:21:32,550
he's gonna kill the guy."

366
00:21:32,551 --> 00:21:34,716
Little lower lumbar adjustment there.

367
00:21:34,717 --> 00:21:37,716
The loudmouths, André didn't care for.

368
00:21:37,717 --> 00:21:39,383
"Down, boss."

369
00:21:39,384 --> 00:21:41,508
He didn't have to say it twice.

370
00:21:41,509 --> 00:21:44,091
There was this guy named Big John Studd.

371
00:21:44,092 --> 00:21:49,841
Now Big John Studd was 6'10",
probably 350 pounds.

372
00:21:49,842 --> 00:21:53,425
And André, he liked being
the giant among giants,

373
00:21:53,426 --> 00:21:56,757
so it didn't work out
very well for John Studd.

374
00:21:56,758 --> 00:21:59,550
John Studd, among other things,
when he came to the ring,

375
00:21:59,551 --> 00:22:01,591
he would step over the top rope.

376
00:22:01,592 --> 00:22:03,049
That's what André did.

377
00:22:03,050 --> 00:22:05,591
So no one should step over the top rope,

378
00:22:05,592 --> 00:22:07,091
because that's Andre’s thing.

379
00:22:07,092 --> 00:22:09,299
If you didn't respect that,

380
00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:11,174
André had no respect for you.

381
00:22:11,175 --> 00:22:14,133
André would beat the
crap out of John Studd,

382
00:22:14,134 --> 00:22:15,925
to prove who the real giant was.

383
00:22:17,758 --> 00:22:20,341
He's not having a good time, is he?

384
00:22:20,342 --> 00:22:22,550
Andre’s having a good time.

385
00:22:22,551 --> 00:22:24,924
One, two!

386
00:22:24,925 --> 00:22:27,007
He came out of the ring, flying past me,

387
00:22:27,008 --> 00:22:29,550
gets all of his gear and
is coming out, and I said,

388
00:22:29,551 --> 00:22:31,007
"Where are you going, what are you doing?"

389
00:22:31,008 --> 00:22:32,509
and he said, "He's gonna kill me."

390
00:22:35,676 --> 00:22:37,299
André did sports entertainment

391
00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:39,966
before there was sports entertainment.

392
00:22:39,967 --> 00:22:42,675
He had it figured out long before myself

393
00:22:42,676 --> 00:22:44,299
or Vince McMahon figured it out.

394
00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:46,633
André the Giant!

395
00:22:46,634 --> 00:22:49,299
In Andre’s prime, everybody knew him.

396
00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:52,300
On every continent, every foreign country,
he traveled everywhere.

397
00:22:59,551 --> 00:23:02,466
He transcended wrestling.

398
00:23:02,467 --> 00:23:06,216
Without a doubt, André was
the most famous wrestler

399
00:23:06,217 --> 00:23:07,799
in the world.

400
00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,799
Maybe the most famous wrestler
that there had ever been.

401
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,716
There's only one athlete
like this in the world today!

402
00:23:15,717 --> 00:23:17,716
The one and the only André.

403
00:23:17,717 --> 00:23:20,091
André wasn't a movie star,

404
00:23:20,092 --> 00:23:22,174
but he was famous on a different level.

405
00:23:22,175 --> 00:23:24,966
Literally the biggest
celebrity in the world.

406
00:23:24,967 --> 00:23:28,675
He tried out for the Redskins,
which was a publicity stunt,

407
00:23:28,676 --> 00:23:31,341
but still, it shows you how
famous André was at the time.

408
00:23:31,342 --> 00:23:32,841
He was in "The Six Million Dollar Man"

409
00:23:32,842 --> 00:23:34,299
playing a Sasquatch.

410
00:23:34,300 --> 00:23:37,758
Before there was CGI,
there was only André the Giant.

411
00:23:52,717 --> 00:23:54,716
One LaBatt light, bud.

412
00:23:54,717 --> 00:23:59,091
It's not just a light, it's a Labatt light.

413
00:23:59,092 --> 00:24:01,508
This is a nice chair.

414
00:24:01,509 --> 00:24:03,091
Fine.

415
00:24:03,092 --> 00:24:05,049
Can I get you a mimosa?

416
00:24:05,050 --> 00:24:06,675
No, thank you.

417
00:24:06,676 --> 00:24:08,049
I met André

418
00:24:08,050 --> 00:24:10,591
several times because I always have been

419
00:24:10,592 --> 00:24:12,383
a big fan of professional wrestling,

420
00:24:12,384 --> 00:24:15,591
and that developed into a great friendship.

421
00:24:15,592 --> 00:24:18,924
There was this one time where
I took him out for dinner.

422
00:24:18,925 --> 00:24:21,716
And, of course,
I grabbed the bill immediately.

423
00:24:21,717 --> 00:24:24,924
He looks over at me like
this and says, "I pay."

424
00:24:24,925 --> 00:24:28,550
I said, "No, no, André, I invited, I pay.

425
00:24:28,551 --> 00:24:31,216
You're the boss in your ring,
I'm the boss right now here."

426
00:24:31,217 --> 00:24:33,841
And he says, "You're right" and he gets up

427
00:24:33,842 --> 00:24:36,924
and he grabs me out of
the chair, like this,

428
00:24:36,925 --> 00:24:40,716
and he holds me up, and then he
puts me up on a piece of furniture,

429
00:24:40,717 --> 00:24:42,007
on an armoire.

430
00:24:42,008 --> 00:24:44,716
He just set me up there like a little doll.

431
00:24:44,717 --> 00:24:48,716
This just shows you how strong he was.

432
00:24:48,717 --> 00:24:53,757
But at the same time,
what a generous person he was.

433
00:24:53,758 --> 00:24:57,091
André commanded great respect.

434
00:24:57,092 --> 00:24:59,924
By promoters, producers, or handlers,

435
00:24:59,925 --> 00:25:03,383
André was to be treated
as something special.

436
00:25:03,384 --> 00:25:05,799
Fans, take a look at this.
Can you believe that?

437
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,799
Perhaps even let's compare
it to the size of my head.

438
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,508
André the...

439
00:25:12,509 --> 00:25:14,757
He was billed as 7'4".

440
00:25:14,758 --> 00:25:19,091
I think he was over seven-- whether or not
it was four more inches, I don't know.

441
00:25:19,092 --> 00:25:21,591
When he walked into a room, he knew
what the reactions were going to be.

442
00:25:21,592 --> 00:25:23,299
And it was not like he was trying to hide.

443
00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:26,174
André didn't try to hide.
André was going to be André.

444
00:25:26,175 --> 00:25:28,383
Most males were immediately intimidated.

445
00:25:28,384 --> 00:25:29,800
With women, it was different.

446
00:25:32,050 --> 00:25:34,133
From what females would tell me,

447
00:25:34,134 --> 00:25:35,466
you could feel more of, you know,

448
00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:37,425
"Wow, this is-- Mother Nature

449
00:25:37,426 --> 00:25:39,383
has done something really magnificent here.

450
00:25:39,384 --> 00:25:41,091
And I would like to say
hello to this person

451
00:25:41,092 --> 00:25:43,007
and maybe even get to know them."

452
00:25:43,008 --> 00:25:46,299
They were attracted to
him like he was a magnet.

453
00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:49,341
I don't know about his girlfriends.

454
00:25:49,342 --> 00:25:51,383
I don't know about his
personal relationships

455
00:25:51,384 --> 00:25:53,675
with women, but I know the girls loved him.

456
00:25:53,676 --> 00:25:55,425
Curiosity factor, probably?

457
00:25:55,426 --> 00:25:58,258
I guess, I guess.

458
00:25:58,259 --> 00:25:59,550
May have been more than that.

459
00:25:59,551 --> 00:26:01,633
Maybe it was his cologne, who knows.

460
00:26:01,634 --> 00:26:04,967
He wears a size 24 ring, baby.
What else can I tell you?

461
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:13,841
And he's wearing size 24 shoes.
What else do you want to know?

462
00:26:13,842 --> 00:26:16,258
Everyone catered to André, justifiably so.

463
00:26:16,259 --> 00:26:18,841
You know, a case a beer,
it was always booze,

464
00:26:18,842 --> 00:26:20,716
there was always whatever
it was André wanted.

465
00:26:20,717 --> 00:26:22,049
He enjoyed performing,

466
00:26:22,050 --> 00:26:24,509
but he enjoyed the party afterwards.

467
00:26:30,634 --> 00:26:32,882
The stories about Andre’s drinking

468
00:26:32,883 --> 00:26:36,633
are almost another level of mythology

469
00:26:36,634 --> 00:26:37,882
from the man himself.

470
00:26:37,883 --> 00:26:40,258
André was certainly, I mean, one of,

471
00:26:40,259 --> 00:26:42,591
if not the greatest
drinker that ever lived.

472
00:26:42,592 --> 00:26:45,550
I, myself, saw him almost every night

473
00:26:45,551 --> 00:26:49,882
drink 7,000 calories' worth of alcohol.

474
00:26:49,883 --> 00:26:53,716
Say 20 to 25 beers,
maybe four bottles of wine,

475
00:26:53,717 --> 00:26:56,049
usually several mixed drinks.

476
00:26:56,050 --> 00:26:58,882
Brother, I was with him one
night when he drank 106 beers.

477
00:26:58,883 --> 00:27:00,508
106!

478
00:27:00,509 --> 00:27:03,717
Yeah, that's André the Giant, brother.

479
00:27:10,925 --> 00:27:12,882
André was a big drinker after the matches.

480
00:27:12,883 --> 00:27:14,799
Most wrestlers would, like,
maybe have a six-pack,

481
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,217
and André, the minimum that
he would ever have is 24.

482
00:27:23,008 --> 00:27:25,841
He liked the wine.

483
00:27:25,842 --> 00:27:30,258
He'd have them bring in
a case to start the day.

484
00:27:30,259 --> 00:27:31,467
A case of wine.

485
00:27:33,883 --> 00:27:35,716
We go to this hotel,

486
00:27:35,717 --> 00:27:37,799
I mean, drinking and drinking and drinking,

487
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,091
and all of a sudden, oh,
it's time to go to bed.

488
00:27:41,092 --> 00:27:44,591
And then we get close to
the elevator, André drops.

489
00:27:44,592 --> 00:27:47,299
And the manager of the hotel says,
"Well, what are you gonna do?"

490
00:27:47,300 --> 00:27:50,508
I say, "Call AAA,
that's all I can tell you."

491
00:27:50,509 --> 00:27:52,716
I was there. I wasn't
there for the drinking,

492
00:27:52,717 --> 00:27:54,299
I was there the next morning in the lobby

493
00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:56,091
where he's still sleeping on the floor.

494
00:27:56,092 --> 00:28:00,924
Nobody could keep up with him.
I don't care who you were.

495
00:28:00,925 --> 00:28:03,841
Timmy White probably got
to know him the best.

496
00:28:03,842 --> 00:28:05,841
I don't know how Timmy White's alive.

497
00:28:05,842 --> 00:28:09,466
They had a pool going
on me in the locker room

498
00:28:09,467 --> 00:28:12,799
when I was gonna drop dead
from running with the Giant.

499
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:18,675
Before I met André, I was doing the
merchandise and helping set up the arenas

500
00:28:18,676 --> 00:28:21,383
and doing all sorts of stuff.

501
00:28:21,384 --> 00:28:27,591
I wasn't up to speed on wrestling
protocol in locker room,

502
00:28:27,592 --> 00:28:29,466
the way you act.

503
00:28:29,467 --> 00:28:34,174
The only people that set
foot in the locker room

504
00:28:34,175 --> 00:28:36,299
are the wrestlers and the referees.

505
00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:40,757
Everybody else can knock on the door,
they don't come in.

506
00:28:40,758 --> 00:28:43,258
Well, that's everything.

507
00:28:43,259 --> 00:28:47,091
Hey, the fuck are you doing here?

508
00:28:47,092 --> 00:28:52,133
I'm like four days on the job.
I thought, "I'm in.

509
00:28:52,134 --> 00:28:55,007
I'm one of you guys."

510
00:28:55,008 --> 00:28:57,299
I walked into the locker room,

511
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:59,216
and there's André sitting there,

512
00:28:59,217 --> 00:29:01,550
playing cards with Tito Santana.

513
00:29:01,551 --> 00:29:05,174
Tito, I saw him put his head down like,
"What is this guy doing?"

514
00:29:05,175 --> 00:29:09,341
And he said, "Get out."

515
00:29:09,342 --> 00:29:11,049
So I said,

516
00:29:11,050 --> 00:29:13,675
"No, no, no, no, I work for you guys."

517
00:29:13,676 --> 00:29:15,550
"I said, get out!"

518
00:29:15,551 --> 00:29:19,007
He pushed the table away
they were playing cards on

519
00:29:19,008 --> 00:29:21,425
and he got up, and I went,

520
00:29:21,426 --> 00:29:26,799
"Oh, my God," and I ran out the door.

521
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,049
But André and I got to know each other.

522
00:29:30,050 --> 00:29:32,925
We became best friends.

523
00:29:34,717 --> 00:29:39,716
Vince said, "Andre’s requested
that you travel with him."

524
00:29:39,717 --> 00:29:44,174
I said, "No problem."
He said, "Really?" I said, "Yeah!"

525
00:29:44,175 --> 00:29:47,384
And then we were off and running.

526
00:29:49,217 --> 00:29:52,174
It was his big smile, his sense of humor,

527
00:29:52,175 --> 00:29:56,216
which was a little bit warped sometimes,
but made me laugh.

528
00:29:56,217 --> 00:29:58,466
Compare your hand with Andre’s,
will you, please?

529
00:29:58,467 --> 00:29:59,799
You're a big man, Lord Alfred.

530
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:05,091
Oh, my goodness! Where did you go?

531
00:30:05,092 --> 00:30:07,882
André just loved to laugh.
He just loved that.

532
00:30:07,883 --> 00:30:11,383
André so enjoyed flatulence.

533
00:30:11,384 --> 00:30:13,967
When he passed gas,
it was-- it was an event.

534
00:30:16,342 --> 00:30:18,924
Flatulence, that was his trademark.

535
00:30:18,925 --> 00:30:22,675
And he had a real knack
for lifting his left leg.

536
00:30:22,676 --> 00:30:25,508
I would see him go into the launch position

537
00:30:25,509 --> 00:30:28,258
and I'd say, "Oh, my God, here it comes."

538
00:30:28,259 --> 00:30:31,216
You never heard anything like it.

539
00:30:31,217 --> 00:30:34,882
It sounded like, you know,
like a deep roar kind of thing.

540
00:30:34,883 --> 00:30:37,092
It would rumble.

541
00:30:40,676 --> 00:30:44,591
The sound of André takin' a fart?

542
00:30:44,592 --> 00:30:46,591
Well, they were loud.

543
00:30:46,592 --> 00:30:48,799
Big man, big fart!

544
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,216
He loved to get you in an elevator

545
00:30:51,217 --> 00:30:53,550
and cut one of those long 30-second farts

546
00:30:53,551 --> 00:30:55,551
that sounded like skin
was flapping together.

547
00:30:57,551 --> 00:31:00,841
I remember every once in a
while we'd charter a plane,

548
00:31:00,842 --> 00:31:04,091
but to see the pilots almost like
somebody gets smoke in their eyes,

549
00:31:04,092 --> 00:31:05,966
I'm like, "You're gonna
wreck the plane, André.

550
00:31:05,967 --> 00:31:07,841
You can't fart like that in your pants."

551
00:31:07,842 --> 00:31:11,007
And the pilots would be, "GD this, F that,

552
00:31:11,008 --> 00:31:13,508
I'm never getting on this plane again."

553
00:31:13,509 --> 00:31:15,508
Because of his incredible size,

554
00:31:15,509 --> 00:31:17,258
because of the era that he lived in,

555
00:31:17,259 --> 00:31:19,508
everything about him is mythology.

556
00:31:19,509 --> 00:31:23,633
The wildest, most outlandish stories are
what takes hold in the public consciousness.

557
00:31:23,634 --> 00:31:26,007
You could say anything about André

558
00:31:26,008 --> 00:31:27,466
and people would believe it.

559
00:31:27,467 --> 00:31:28,882
You know, his...

560
00:31:28,883 --> 00:31:30,966
the ring on his finger is
bigger than your wrist.

561
00:31:30,967 --> 00:31:32,508
"Oh, really? Okay." You could believe that.

562
00:31:32,509 --> 00:31:34,841
This belongs to André the Giant.

563
00:31:34,842 --> 00:31:37,508
This is his ring, and I kid you not,

564
00:31:37,509 --> 00:31:40,550
I can get all three fingers in that ring.

565
00:31:40,551 --> 00:31:43,007
Beautiful ring indeed,
and thank you, André.

566
00:31:43,008 --> 00:31:47,091
I used to say to people that André
has 82 teeth. And they believed it.

567
00:31:47,092 --> 00:31:49,841
I said, "Yeah, and it's kinda
like when you see his teeth

568
00:31:49,842 --> 00:31:52,049
they're not real big but
they're like rows of teeth

569
00:31:52,050 --> 00:31:53,591
like a shark behind him."

570
00:31:53,592 --> 00:31:55,007
"No kidding!"

571
00:31:55,008 --> 00:31:57,091
Larry Henning told me when I first met him,

572
00:31:57,092 --> 00:32:00,049
"You know he's got two hearts
and two rows of teeth."

573
00:32:00,050 --> 00:32:01,425
And I believed him!

574
00:32:01,426 --> 00:32:03,675
So I always catch myself to try looking...

575
00:32:03,676 --> 00:32:05,216
Every time André talked to me,

576
00:32:05,217 --> 00:32:08,049
I'd be looking for that
second row of teeth!

577
00:32:08,050 --> 00:32:09,716
I said, "He couldn't
have two rows of teeth,

578
00:32:09,717 --> 00:32:12,049
I could never seem them!"

579
00:32:12,050 --> 00:32:14,883
The two hearts I believed forever.

580
00:32:19,259 --> 00:32:22,007
Andre’s life, in essence,

581
00:32:22,008 --> 00:32:24,757
was one big traveling road show.

582
00:32:24,758 --> 00:32:27,550
300 days or nights a year on the road.

583
00:32:27,551 --> 00:32:29,299
I tell you, I'm traveling so much,

584
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:33,882
last year I buy for $67,000
just in airplane tickets.

585
00:32:33,883 --> 00:32:37,049
$67,000 just in airplane tickets?

586
00:32:37,050 --> 00:32:39,466
Where will you be traveling
in the near future?

587
00:32:39,467 --> 00:32:42,341
You'll be going to different
countries, I guess.

588
00:32:42,342 --> 00:32:47,091
I'm gonna be between USA
and Canada for next month.

589
00:32:47,092 --> 00:32:50,007
Then I go in Japan,
Australia, New Zealand...

590
00:32:50,008 --> 00:32:52,299
He would be in Memphis on Monday night,

591
00:32:52,300 --> 00:32:56,299
have to travel 450 miles up to Louisville,
Kentucky, the next day.

592
00:32:56,300 --> 00:32:58,716
Then he would go from Louisville
to Evansville the next night

593
00:32:58,717 --> 00:33:01,174
and wrestle basically for seven times

594
00:33:01,175 --> 00:33:03,299
just in our territory in that one week.

595
00:33:03,300 --> 00:33:06,466
And then, he would hit the road,
you know, to the next territory.

596
00:33:06,467 --> 00:33:08,466
He may be in Florida the following week.

597
00:33:08,467 --> 00:33:11,508
Think of all of the times he went to Japan.

598
00:33:11,509 --> 00:33:16,508
And international travel back
in the early days of his career

599
00:33:16,509 --> 00:33:18,716
was not as slick as it is today.

600
00:33:18,717 --> 00:33:22,091
It had to be an uncomfortable life.

601
00:33:22,092 --> 00:33:24,341
There was no level of comfort

602
00:33:24,342 --> 00:33:26,134
for André when he was on the road.

603
00:33:37,259 --> 00:33:39,091
That's right!

604
00:33:39,092 --> 00:33:41,133
There was never a bed, there never a knife,

605
00:33:41,134 --> 00:33:43,508
there never a fork, there
was never a chair.

606
00:33:43,509 --> 00:33:45,466
It was like if you had
to sit on baby furniture

607
00:33:45,467 --> 00:33:46,966
your whole life in a doll house.

608
00:33:46,967 --> 00:33:50,716
I just remember the 14-hour flights

609
00:33:50,717 --> 00:33:52,841
from JFK to Narita in Tokyo

610
00:33:52,842 --> 00:33:57,299
that I knew he could not
go in the bathroom.

611
00:33:57,300 --> 00:33:59,216
Those lavatories or whatever,

612
00:33:59,217 --> 00:34:00,633
too small, he couldn't fit in there,

613
00:34:00,634 --> 00:34:03,466
so they have to draw the curtain

614
00:34:03,467 --> 00:34:07,049
and he would relieve himself into a bucket

615
00:34:07,050 --> 00:34:09,550
and then they'd bring it in
and dump it into the toilet.

616
00:34:09,551 --> 00:34:13,800
But this is the type of thing
he had to endure every day.

617
00:34:18,342 --> 00:34:20,007
When we'd walk through the airports

618
00:34:20,008 --> 00:34:21,675
if he got ahead of me,

619
00:34:21,676 --> 00:34:24,675
I'd hear all the unkind
things that people would say

620
00:34:24,676 --> 00:34:28,508
as he'd walk ahead of me, "Oh,
my God, look at that guy."

621
00:34:28,509 --> 00:34:30,174
And it'd just break my heart,

622
00:34:30,175 --> 00:34:33,092
I felt like these people
don't even know this guy.

623
00:34:36,134 --> 00:34:38,049
They were making fun of him.

624
00:34:38,050 --> 00:34:41,091
They perceived him as a freak of nature.

625
00:34:41,092 --> 00:34:44,966
And that hurt André more than anything.

626
00:34:44,967 --> 00:34:46,508
This guy was very sensitive.

627
00:34:46,509 --> 00:34:48,841
People never saw that side of him.

628
00:34:48,842 --> 00:34:51,757
But he told me, he says, "You know, boss,

629
00:34:51,758 --> 00:34:55,383
sometimes they laugh at me,
they point at me,

630
00:34:55,384 --> 00:34:57,716
it hurts my feelings."

631
00:34:57,717 --> 00:34:59,550
He would cry.

632
00:34:59,551 --> 00:35:03,882
You'd never think a guy like
that would cry, but he would cry.

633
00:35:03,883 --> 00:35:07,383
He's recognizable as any
sports star of the time.

634
00:35:07,384 --> 00:35:09,882
This before the heyday of the NBA

635
00:35:09,883 --> 00:35:11,675
or, you know, of the NFL.

636
00:35:11,676 --> 00:35:13,425
You can compare him to Ali,

637
00:35:13,426 --> 00:35:15,716
you can compare him to
Michael Jordan later on.

638
00:35:15,717 --> 00:35:18,924
Muhammad Ali could put on a
trench coat and a ball cap.

639
00:35:18,925 --> 00:35:21,550
André the Giant couldn't hide
in the back seat of a car.

640
00:35:21,551 --> 00:35:24,091
André couldn't go anywhere.

641
00:35:24,092 --> 00:35:25,508
No, think about it,

642
00:35:25,509 --> 00:35:27,049
where could he go in New
York City right now

643
00:35:27,050 --> 00:35:30,174
and sit down and have a drink...

644
00:35:30,175 --> 00:35:31,924
without people bugging him?

645
00:35:31,925 --> 00:35:34,133
People would not leave him alone.

646
00:35:34,134 --> 00:35:35,716
You're always gonna be bothered.

647
00:35:35,717 --> 00:35:38,091
People are always going to
be pulling on your sleeve,

648
00:35:38,092 --> 00:35:40,757
touching your hand,
wanting to take a picture.

649
00:35:40,758 --> 00:35:45,091
He was conscious of not being
able to, kind of, hide.

650
00:35:45,092 --> 00:35:47,591
He mentioned to me once
that he'd be so grateful

651
00:35:47,592 --> 00:35:49,799
if he could have one day a week

652
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,091
in which "I can just walk around

653
00:35:53,092 --> 00:35:55,091
and I'll be the size of a normal man.

654
00:35:55,092 --> 00:35:58,924
I could go to a movie,
I could get into a cab,

655
00:35:58,925 --> 00:36:02,091
I could have my own car, a normal car."

656
00:36:02,092 --> 00:36:05,216
On more than one occasion he said,

657
00:36:05,217 --> 00:36:08,341
"I wish I could be you just for a weekend."

658
00:36:08,342 --> 00:36:11,757
The only place he was really,
really comfortable

659
00:36:11,758 --> 00:36:13,634
was when we got home to the ranch.

660
00:36:19,509 --> 00:36:22,675
In Charlotte, where the
Crockett promotion was,

661
00:36:22,676 --> 00:36:28,383
he became friends with a guy that
lived there who was from Ellerbe.

662
00:36:28,384 --> 00:36:31,091
So, they would come to Ellerbe to visit.

663
00:36:31,092 --> 00:36:35,925
And he liked the town,
and so he decided to buy the house.

664
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,299
My husband at the time, Frenchie,

665
00:36:41,300 --> 00:36:45,299
he had met André when
André was in Louisiana.

666
00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:48,716
He called up and he asked
if we wanted to move up

667
00:36:48,717 --> 00:36:52,133
and take care of his house,
that he had a house in Ellerbe,

668
00:36:52,134 --> 00:36:54,592
and he wanted us to live there.

669
00:36:56,967 --> 00:37:02,466
He told me that it reminded him of France
and the little town that he grew up in.

670
00:37:02,467 --> 00:37:04,591
He could just come here and be himself.

671
00:37:04,592 --> 00:37:06,966
He could go to a convenience store,

672
00:37:06,967 --> 00:37:09,466
which he couldn't do in the real world.

673
00:37:09,467 --> 00:37:13,591
I don't know of anybody that even came
up and said, "Can I have your autograph?"

674
00:37:13,592 --> 00:37:15,175
or "Can I take your picture?"

675
00:37:18,592 --> 00:37:22,133
He would spend time cutting
trees and chopping wood

676
00:37:22,134 --> 00:37:25,258
and the type of things that he used to do

677
00:37:25,259 --> 00:37:27,800
on his family's farm.

678
00:37:31,925 --> 00:37:33,924
Don't you run into me!

679
00:37:33,925 --> 00:37:37,383
Make me jump.

680
00:37:37,384 --> 00:37:41,341
We were like a surrogate family.

681
00:37:41,342 --> 00:37:44,383
He didn't know if he'd ever find somebody

682
00:37:44,384 --> 00:37:48,966
that could put up with the
traveling that he does.

683
00:37:48,967 --> 00:37:55,049
Before we even moved into the house,
he told me that he had a daughter.

684
00:37:55,050 --> 00:37:58,592
And, you know, that she
lived on the West Coast.

685
00:38:01,676 --> 00:38:04,550
I knew from day one who my dad was.

686
00:38:04,551 --> 00:38:07,550
So yeah, I totally noticed
that he was not around.

687
00:38:07,551 --> 00:38:08,882
I knew what he was doing.

688
00:38:08,883 --> 00:38:10,550
I knew he was on the road wrestling.

689
00:38:10,551 --> 00:38:12,716
Whenever they came to town,
my mom would take me.

690
00:38:12,717 --> 00:38:15,550
He would come out after
doing his thing in the ring,

691
00:38:15,551 --> 00:38:19,799
and we'd spend time together,
I'd sit on his lap.

692
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:24,966
My parents didn't really stay in
communication with each other.

693
00:38:24,967 --> 00:38:28,675
My mom didn't want me
raised around wrestling,

694
00:38:28,676 --> 00:38:34,425
and from what I understand,
my dad didn't really want that either.

695
00:38:34,426 --> 00:38:37,216
I think he was a good man.

696
00:38:37,217 --> 00:38:41,633
It's a grueling industry.
I totally get that.

697
00:38:41,634 --> 00:38:47,757
I fully understand that he couldn't be
the father he probably wanted to be.

698
00:38:47,758 --> 00:38:51,550
I do forgive him for not being there

699
00:38:51,551 --> 00:38:53,174
when I wish he would have been,

700
00:38:53,175 --> 00:38:56,550
but at the same time, you know,
the hurt comes back.

701
00:38:56,551 --> 00:38:59,383
He wanted to be part of her life,

702
00:38:59,384 --> 00:39:03,007
but it just didn't work out that way.

703
00:39:03,008 --> 00:39:07,591
And, um... it hurt him.

704
00:39:07,592 --> 00:39:12,383
A lot of things hurt him,
just like they hurt you or me.

705
00:39:12,384 --> 00:39:14,633
André Roussimoff,

706
00:39:14,634 --> 00:39:17,466
known to his public as André the Giant.

707
00:39:17,467 --> 00:39:21,466
He's well over seven feet tall,
weighs almost 500 pounds,

708
00:39:21,467 --> 00:39:24,466
and has made a tidy living
on the pro wrestling circuit.

709
00:39:24,467 --> 00:39:26,924
As a child in France, his body produced

710
00:39:26,925 --> 00:39:28,633
too much hormone naturally,

711
00:39:28,634 --> 00:39:32,508
which not only made him taller
but enlarged all of his organs

712
00:39:32,509 --> 00:39:34,716
and distorted his features.

713
00:39:34,717 --> 00:39:37,174
It is a condition called Acromegaly,

714
00:39:37,175 --> 00:39:39,425
and its signs are unmistakable.

715
00:39:39,426 --> 00:39:40,924
The condition can be corrected

716
00:39:40,925 --> 00:39:42,966
if diagnosed at an early age.

717
00:39:42,967 --> 00:39:47,341
I use what God give me.

718
00:39:47,342 --> 00:39:50,799
I'm not supernatural, I'm just myself.

719
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:54,591
So what God give me,
I use it to make a living.

720
00:39:54,592 --> 00:39:58,425
He knew that he wouldn't
live to be 100. Right?

721
00:39:58,426 --> 00:40:01,216
And he knew, so he didn't care.

722
00:40:01,217 --> 00:40:06,007
He says, "When I get to the bump in
the road, I'll fall and that's it."

723
00:40:06,008 --> 00:40:10,007
His philosophy was that, you know,
the Lord made him the way that is he is

724
00:40:10,008 --> 00:40:13,966
and, you know, that's how he
was going to live his life.

725
00:40:13,967 --> 00:40:18,676
He never went to the doctor
until he broke his ankle.

726
00:40:20,592 --> 00:40:22,841
He came into my office in the early '80s

727
00:40:22,842 --> 00:40:25,091
with an injury of the ankle.

728
00:40:25,092 --> 00:40:26,675
I'd never heard of him.

729
00:40:26,676 --> 00:40:29,550
He was new to me,
and so my first impression was

730
00:40:29,551 --> 00:40:33,216
this is the about biggest
guy I've ever seen.

731
00:40:33,217 --> 00:40:35,007
As he came through the door,

732
00:40:35,008 --> 00:40:40,633
the room temporarily darkened.

733
00:40:40,634 --> 00:40:42,299
It was surprising he was walking.

734
00:40:42,300 --> 00:40:43,633
It was the sort of fracture

735
00:40:43,634 --> 00:40:46,258
that people don't usually walk on.

736
00:40:46,259 --> 00:40:48,341
Made measures to get him into the hospital

737
00:40:48,342 --> 00:40:51,341
to fix the ankle.

738
00:40:51,342 --> 00:40:55,550
He had the features of gigantism,

739
00:40:55,551 --> 00:40:57,841
or the technical term is acromegaly.

740
00:40:57,842 --> 00:41:00,882
Some features of his appearance,
his forehead,

741
00:41:00,883 --> 00:41:05,966
his nose was large, his jaw was large.

742
00:41:05,967 --> 00:41:08,049
His ankle bones were as a large as

743
00:41:08,050 --> 00:41:10,799
an average man's knee bones, for instance.

744
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,716
So I suspected this was a
pituitary tumor acromegaly.

745
00:41:14,717 --> 00:41:17,007
In Andre’s condition at the time,

746
00:41:17,008 --> 00:41:18,924
would the disease have been treatable?

747
00:41:18,925 --> 00:41:22,550
That was my impression
from the endocrinologist.

748
00:41:22,551 --> 00:41:26,675
Treatable to a degree, not reversible,
but maybe arrestable.

749
00:41:26,676 --> 00:41:29,757
He decided that he didn't
want treatment at that time

750
00:41:29,758 --> 00:41:34,758
because he thought it would interfere
with his career as a wrestler.

751
00:41:36,551 --> 00:41:38,882
André initially didn't realize

752
00:41:38,883 --> 00:41:40,966
that he had acromegaly.

753
00:41:40,967 --> 00:41:42,924
When he was informed,

754
00:41:42,925 --> 00:41:46,383
the commission doctors at
Madison Square Garden told me

755
00:41:46,384 --> 00:41:48,966
he's gonna be lucky to live to be 40.

756
00:41:48,967 --> 00:41:51,799
He refused, though, the medical help.

757
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:53,799
He refused a lot of medical help

758
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,049
during the course of his lifetime.

759
00:41:56,050 --> 00:42:02,133
There used to be a 10-pound
cast on this size 22 foot.

760
00:42:02,134 --> 00:42:04,716
An ankle injury is never a small deal.

761
00:42:04,717 --> 00:42:09,133
But career-wise, the injury was
a really big deal for André too.

762
00:42:09,134 --> 00:42:12,757
Because while he was recovering
and getting back to action,

763
00:42:12,758 --> 00:42:16,634
the pro wrestling world was going
through a sort of seismic shift.

764
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:24,258
The Hulk Hogan era was starting in earnest

765
00:42:24,259 --> 00:42:28,675
under the watchful eye
of Vincent K. McMahon.

766
00:42:28,676 --> 00:42:31,799
So in the early '80s,
Vince buys out his dad

767
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,841
and embarks upon this program

768
00:42:34,842 --> 00:42:37,757
of national conquest of
professional wrestling.

769
00:42:37,758 --> 00:42:40,550
He realized that with the
rise of cable television,

770
00:42:40,551 --> 00:42:45,174
he could turn the WWF from a
northeastern wrestling promotion

771
00:42:45,175 --> 00:42:50,591
into the first national promotion.

772
00:42:50,592 --> 00:42:52,466
Vince took over in '82

773
00:42:52,467 --> 00:42:54,341
and he decided he was gonna go national.

774
00:42:54,342 --> 00:42:56,341
He had his local television
that he taped in Allentown

775
00:42:56,342 --> 00:42:58,007
and Hamburg, Pennsylvania,

776
00:42:58,008 --> 00:43:02,174
and then Vince would send that
tape all over North America.

777
00:43:02,175 --> 00:43:04,007
Hello everybody,
Vince McMahon here at ringside

778
00:43:04,008 --> 00:43:06,341
welcoming you to another
great championship card

779
00:43:06,342 --> 00:43:07,757
of professional wrestling.

780
00:43:07,758 --> 00:43:09,049
I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

781
00:43:09,050 --> 00:43:10,882
And I wanted to compete with everybody.

782
00:43:10,883 --> 00:43:13,341
And all the regional guys
in the little territories,

783
00:43:13,342 --> 00:43:15,633
some of them even did
television out of a studio

784
00:43:15,634 --> 00:43:19,174
and had a painting of an
audience in the background.

785
00:43:19,175 --> 00:43:21,757
They're tearing up about $175

786
00:43:21,758 --> 00:43:23,633
worth of clothes off of him!

787
00:43:23,634 --> 00:43:25,716
A match that you probably never thought

788
00:43:25,717 --> 00:43:27,258
you would see on television.

789
00:43:27,259 --> 00:43:29,049
A match that could fill in any arena,

790
00:43:29,050 --> 00:43:30,550
anywhere in the world,

791
00:43:30,551 --> 00:43:32,425
as two champions battle
for supremacy at the...

792
00:43:32,426 --> 00:43:34,841
The audience had never
seen our show before.

793
00:43:34,842 --> 00:43:37,383
And it was vastly better
than anyone else's,

794
00:43:37,384 --> 00:43:39,550
because we put production value in it.

795
00:43:39,551 --> 00:43:42,049
Superfly on his shoulders!

796
00:43:42,050 --> 00:43:45,383
Right now, he's got 'em. One, two, three!

797
00:43:45,384 --> 00:43:47,550
The top stars from all these territories

798
00:43:47,551 --> 00:43:49,174
were calling up Vince McMahon saying,

799
00:43:49,175 --> 00:43:50,841
"Hey, I want to come work for you."

800
00:43:50,842 --> 00:43:53,966
The "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

801
00:43:53,967 --> 00:43:56,550
Paul Orndorff!

802
00:43:56,551 --> 00:43:58,425
Tito Santana, making his
initial appearance...

803
00:43:58,426 --> 00:44:01,757
Magnificent Muraco!

804
00:44:01,758 --> 00:44:07,716
There was talk at this time about
cable television becoming a reality.

805
00:44:07,717 --> 00:44:10,799
What would happen if suddenly
there was a TV station

806
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,091
that would be seen all over the country?

807
00:44:13,092 --> 00:44:14,966
How would that affect wrestling?

808
00:44:14,967 --> 00:44:18,425
Remember when TV was its own little world?

809
00:44:18,426 --> 00:44:23,341
Now with cable TV, the world has
gotten a whole lot bigger. Cable TV.

810
00:44:23,342 --> 00:44:27,007
Cable, all of a sudden,
gave you national distribution

811
00:44:27,008 --> 00:44:28,716
of your wrestling product.

812
00:44:28,717 --> 00:44:32,007
That's when those territories
went down the tube.

813
00:44:32,008 --> 00:44:34,841
These networks were
looking for programming.

814
00:44:34,842 --> 00:44:38,091
They bombarded the USA Network.
They were on all the time.

815
00:44:38,092 --> 00:44:42,007
Hello everyone this is Vince McMahon in
the studios of the USA Cable Network!

816
00:44:42,008 --> 00:44:44,133
Welcome to the Superstars of Wrestling.

817
00:44:44,134 --> 00:44:45,633
This is Vince McMahon at ringside.

818
00:44:45,634 --> 00:44:46,966
Welcome to All-American Wrestling.

819
00:44:46,967 --> 00:44:49,174
Hello, everyone,
welcome to Tuesday Night Fight.

820
00:44:49,175 --> 00:44:51,299
Before, your only outlets
for self-promotion

821
00:44:51,300 --> 00:44:54,174
were the pamphlets advertising
the wrestling matches

822
00:44:54,175 --> 00:44:56,799
or the magazines that would
sometimes be national.

823
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:00,383
Now you're on cable TV once a week.

824
00:45:00,384 --> 00:45:03,216
Your face on every
television in the country.

825
00:45:03,217 --> 00:45:05,299
You can't have any better
self-promotion than that.

826
00:45:05,300 --> 00:45:08,383
Combination of cable penetration

827
00:45:08,384 --> 00:45:10,924
and syndication really brought

828
00:45:10,925 --> 00:45:14,675
Vince and the WWE to the forefront.

829
00:45:14,676 --> 00:45:17,133
And all of a sudden you had a universe.

830
00:45:17,134 --> 00:45:19,299
He gets Bobby Heenan,

831
00:45:19,300 --> 00:45:21,591
Jessie "The Body" Ventura from the AWA.

832
00:45:21,592 --> 00:45:23,007
He gets the Junkyard Dog

833
00:45:23,008 --> 00:45:25,341
and King Kong Bundy from Mid-South.

834
00:45:25,342 --> 00:45:27,174
He goes to the Crockett territory

835
00:45:27,175 --> 00:45:29,174
and gets Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat,

836
00:45:29,175 --> 00:45:32,466
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine,
and Rowdy Roddy Piper.

837
00:45:32,467 --> 00:45:36,508
One of the most integral figures to the WWF

838
00:45:36,509 --> 00:45:39,799
becoming the cultural force
that it was, was Hulk Hogan.

839
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,924
McMahon, I found a man out in my backyard,

840
00:45:43,925 --> 00:45:46,007
Venice Beach, California.

841
00:45:46,008 --> 00:45:51,508
I seen this man over there
pressing 615 pounds, 620 pounds...

842
00:45:51,509 --> 00:45:53,757
You looked at Hulk Hogan,

843
00:45:53,758 --> 00:45:57,757
you see everything that Vince
McMahon wants a pro wrestler to be.

844
00:45:57,758 --> 00:46:01,799
He's big, he's tan,
he's got the long blonde hair.

845
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:05,299
He was an action figure come
to life in the wrestling ring,

846
00:46:05,300 --> 00:46:08,216
and he was young and vital in a way

847
00:46:08,217 --> 00:46:09,757
the wrestlers that were famous

848
00:46:09,758 --> 00:46:12,258
under Vince Sr. weren't necessarily.

849
00:46:12,259 --> 00:46:14,633
The Hulk is supported by tree-like legs

850
00:46:14,634 --> 00:46:18,258
that can leg press over 1900 pounds.

851
00:46:18,259 --> 00:46:20,091
My real name is Terry Gene Bollea,

852
00:46:20,092 --> 00:46:23,091
but when I first got into
the wrestling business

853
00:46:23,092 --> 00:46:25,216
they gave me the name Sterling Golden.

854
00:46:25,217 --> 00:46:28,091
And it is Sterling Golden catching him

855
00:46:28,092 --> 00:46:30,591
with the golden squeeze.

856
00:46:30,592 --> 00:46:32,716
I went to Memphis with Jerry Lawler,

857
00:46:32,717 --> 00:46:35,049
wrestled as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder,

858
00:46:35,050 --> 00:46:39,757
and then Vince McMahon Sr. grabbed
me and gave me the name Hulk Hogan.

859
00:46:39,758 --> 00:46:42,049
And when I asked him why Hogan, he said,

860
00:46:42,050 --> 00:46:44,924
"Well, we have all these
ethnic type wrestlers.

861
00:46:44,925 --> 00:46:47,091
Chief J. Strongbow for
the Native Americans,

862
00:46:47,092 --> 00:46:49,091
Bruno Sammartino for the Italian-Americans,

863
00:46:49,092 --> 00:46:51,633
Ivan Putski for the Polish-Americans,

864
00:46:51,634 --> 00:46:54,633
and you're Hulk Hogan for
the Irish-Americans."

865
00:46:54,634 --> 00:46:58,258
It was the character, the look,
I grew up watching this stuff.

866
00:46:58,259 --> 00:47:02,924
And so I would take a little bit
from Dusty Rhodes, a little bit
from Superstar Billy Graham...

867
00:47:02,925 --> 00:47:06,425
I'm gonna bury the man.
I'm gonna put my fist--

868
00:47:06,426 --> 00:47:08,216
You know what a fist sandwich is?

869
00:47:08,217 --> 00:47:09,591
I heard about it.

870
00:47:09,592 --> 00:47:12,716
Salt, pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup...

871
00:47:12,717 --> 00:47:16,341
Billy Graham one time said, "I can
pull the bumper off a Cadillac, Jack."

872
00:47:16,342 --> 00:47:18,133
But to me it turned into,

873
00:47:18,134 --> 00:47:21,299
"I can pull the bumper
off a Cadillac, Jack!"

874
00:47:21,300 --> 00:47:24,383
And when I said it I wanted it
to be something you never forget.

875
00:47:24,384 --> 00:47:26,550
With all the fans, in every arena,

876
00:47:26,551 --> 00:47:29,757
I feel like a thousand Hercules in one.

877
00:47:29,758 --> 00:47:32,799
The 24" Pythons are undefeatable.

878
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,550
Hogan was picked to be in "Rocky III."

879
00:47:35,551 --> 00:47:39,133
Sylvester Stallone wanted to do
a boxer versus wrestler scene.

880
00:47:39,134 --> 00:47:41,799
Tonight we have a most
unlikely match for you.

881
00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:44,841
The boxer against the wrestler.

882
00:47:44,842 --> 00:47:47,007
I'm comin' after you, Balboa.

883
00:47:47,008 --> 00:47:48,633
Let's call it off.

884
00:47:48,634 --> 00:47:50,466
Aw, come on, it's for charity.

885
00:47:50,467 --> 00:47:54,550
Back in the day when wrestling was
still regional and territorial,

886
00:47:54,551 --> 00:47:57,299
it was just a one-dimensional audience.

887
00:47:57,300 --> 00:48:01,425
When they saw me standing
in the ring with Stallone,

888
00:48:01,426 --> 00:48:04,425
the tan, the full head of hair,
35 years ago,

889
00:48:04,426 --> 00:48:08,174
I think it made wrestling
more than one-dimensional.

890
00:48:08,175 --> 00:48:10,341
They went, "Oh, my God,
that's what a wrestler looks like?"

891
00:48:10,342 --> 00:48:13,007
Aaaah!

892
00:48:13,008 --> 00:48:15,675
It's all fake, meatball! All fake!

893
00:48:15,676 --> 00:48:17,716
Thunderlips has gone absolutely berserk!

894
00:48:17,717 --> 00:48:20,174
Ow! Ahh!

895
00:48:20,175 --> 00:48:21,508
Run for your life!

896
00:48:21,509 --> 00:48:23,091
I think it changed the dynamics

897
00:48:23,092 --> 00:48:25,091
of what wrestling was

898
00:48:25,092 --> 00:48:27,717
to the mainstream audience.

899
00:48:31,008 --> 00:48:32,675
Somebody hand me a hatchet!

900
00:48:32,676 --> 00:48:37,174
No one can believe the superhuman
strength of Thunderlips!

901
00:48:37,175 --> 00:48:39,216
- Adrian!
- Rocky!

902
00:48:39,217 --> 00:48:41,841
- Aaaah!
- Catch me!

903
00:48:41,842 --> 00:48:43,508
That's incredible!

904
00:48:43,509 --> 00:48:46,799
Balboa was just heaved
clear into the fifth row!

905
00:48:46,800 --> 00:48:48,174
And the movie hit,

906
00:48:48,175 --> 00:48:50,716
that Hulkmania thing took off like crazy.

907
00:48:50,717 --> 00:48:55,633
Then I think Vince McMahon saw it, that's
why he talked to me about coming back

908
00:48:55,634 --> 00:48:58,174
to do this global takeover that we did.

909
00:48:58,175 --> 00:48:59,882
Hulk Hogan once again with the Sheik.

910
00:48:59,883 --> 00:49:02,841
And a big knee right to the throat area.

911
00:49:02,842 --> 00:49:08,466
He's got him! We have a new champion!
As Hulk Hogan....

912
00:49:08,467 --> 00:49:10,841
Hogan wins the title from the Iron
Sheik in Madison Square Garden,

913
00:49:10,842 --> 00:49:12,383
and they have the big celebration

914
00:49:12,384 --> 00:49:15,466
and Andre’s there
essentially endorsing him.

915
00:49:15,467 --> 00:49:17,508
André the Giant

916
00:49:17,509 --> 00:49:21,633
congratulating the new heavyweight
champion of the world.

917
00:49:21,634 --> 00:49:24,841
That's nice of you. I'm
really proud of you!

918
00:49:24,842 --> 00:49:27,049
Pouring the champagne on him
and everything like that

919
00:49:27,050 --> 00:49:30,966
to make sure that everyone knew
that Hogan is the golden boy now.

920
00:49:30,967 --> 00:49:33,341
The next thing you see are
Hulk Hogan action figures,

921
00:49:33,342 --> 00:49:37,425
Hulk Hogan in music videos,
Hulk Hogan everything!

922
00:49:37,426 --> 00:49:39,299
He was a marketable commodity.

923
00:49:39,300 --> 00:49:41,757
I was getting a lot of momentum.

924
00:49:41,758 --> 00:49:46,049
You know, we had mainstream
coverage with MTV

925
00:49:46,050 --> 00:49:47,591
and they were the new kid on the block

926
00:49:47,592 --> 00:49:51,091
as far as TV content, they were red hot.

927
00:49:51,092 --> 00:49:53,841
It was just a perfect storm. It all
just came together at the right time.

928
00:49:53,842 --> 00:49:56,341
When it broke loose it really exploded.

929
00:49:56,342 --> 00:49:59,757
I know I was there for "WrestleMania I,"

930
00:49:59,758 --> 00:50:03,882
and that was absolutely the biggest thing

931
00:50:03,883 --> 00:50:07,091
I'd ever been involved in
in professional wrestling.

932
00:50:07,092 --> 00:50:08,716
The greatest spectacle in wrestling.

933
00:50:08,717 --> 00:50:10,924
Muhammad Ali!

934
00:50:10,925 --> 00:50:15,716
Wrestling history is taking
place right now! Right now!

935
00:50:15,717 --> 00:50:19,800
I don't believe it! I don't believe it!

936
00:50:22,467 --> 00:50:27,133
That period from '84 through the first
"WrestleMania" was the real breakthrough.

937
00:50:27,134 --> 00:50:30,341
Became more of an entertainment vehicle

938
00:50:30,342 --> 00:50:32,633
as opposed to the old wrestling.

939
00:50:32,634 --> 00:50:36,633
Andy Warhol, your impressions of
what took place earlier on here.

940
00:50:36,634 --> 00:50:38,007
Oh, I'm speechless.

941
00:50:38,008 --> 00:50:39,341
That two-year period was huge

942
00:50:39,342 --> 00:50:40,799
in changing the whole face of the business.

943
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:42,966
In the '70s, pro wrestling

944
00:50:42,967 --> 00:50:45,508
was still sort of a niche attraction.

945
00:50:45,509 --> 00:50:48,299
But in the early '80s,
you saw this explosion.

946
00:50:48,300 --> 00:50:51,299
Hulk Hogan was on the cover of
"Sports Illustrated"

947
00:50:51,300 --> 00:50:52,924
and there were wrestlers appearing

948
00:50:52,925 --> 00:50:54,466
on "Saturday Night Live"

949
00:50:54,467 --> 00:50:56,133
and André the Giant

950
00:50:56,134 --> 00:50:58,174
gets cast in "The Princess Bride,"

951
00:50:58,175 --> 00:51:00,049
a major motion picture.

952
00:51:00,050 --> 00:51:03,882
"The Princess Bride" is a comedy.

953
00:51:03,883 --> 00:51:06,675
It's a fantasy film.
It's a romantic adventure film.

954
00:51:06,676 --> 00:51:09,675
It has everything.
It has giant rats, giant eels.

955
00:51:09,676 --> 00:51:12,882
It's one the classic
fairytale movies of all time,

956
00:51:12,883 --> 00:51:16,924
and one of the leading characters
in it is a giant called Fezzik.

957
00:51:16,925 --> 00:51:19,341
Everybody move!

958
00:51:19,342 --> 00:51:22,007
Bill Goldman, who wrote the
screenplay and the book,

959
00:51:22,008 --> 00:51:24,966
described himself as a
lunatic fan of Andre’s

960
00:51:24,967 --> 00:51:26,757
and really wrote the part for him.

961
00:51:26,758 --> 00:51:29,841
So when Rob Reiner came
onboard as the director,

962
00:51:29,842 --> 00:51:33,007
Goldman said to him,
"There's only one guy who can do this."

963
00:51:33,008 --> 00:51:34,799
He auditioned for the part,

964
00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:38,716
and I didn't understand
a single word he said.

965
00:51:38,717 --> 00:51:40,466
I didn't understand anything.

966
00:51:40,467 --> 00:51:41,882
How long do we have to wait

967
00:51:41,883 --> 00:51:43,591
before if we know if the miracle works?

968
00:51:43,592 --> 00:51:47,049
I think he like to scream at us.

969
00:51:47,050 --> 00:51:49,716
But he was perfect for the part!
He's a giant!

970
00:51:49,717 --> 00:51:52,924
There is nothing nearby, not for miles.

971
00:51:52,925 --> 00:51:57,300
Then there will be no
one to hear you scream.

972
00:51:58,634 --> 00:52:00,466
The size of his hands

973
00:52:00,467 --> 00:52:03,007
were startling.

974
00:52:03,008 --> 00:52:07,174
And I remember being freezing cold,
we were out in the woods.

975
00:52:07,175 --> 00:52:10,550
He came over to me and just put his hand

976
00:52:10,551 --> 00:52:16,007
on my head, and his hand came
down to here all the way around.

977
00:52:16,008 --> 00:52:17,675
Keep my head warm.

978
00:52:17,676 --> 00:52:20,174
The cliché of gentle giant...

979
00:52:20,175 --> 00:52:22,591
- Hello, lady!
- Is André,

980
00:52:22,592 --> 00:52:24,007
that's what he was!

981
00:52:24,008 --> 00:52:27,841
He did not do bad guy well.

982
00:52:27,842 --> 00:52:29,924
- No.
- That was not his thing.

983
00:52:29,925 --> 00:52:31,882
Beat it or I'll call the brute squad!

984
00:52:31,883 --> 00:52:34,591
- I'm on the brute squad.
- You are the brute squad.

985
00:52:34,592 --> 00:52:36,591
He had this poetry about him

986
00:52:36,592 --> 00:52:38,924
and the sensitivity that was so appealing.

987
00:52:38,925 --> 00:52:40,882
He talked about the village he was from

988
00:52:40,883 --> 00:52:43,091
and his parents, and he just
wanted to go back there,

989
00:52:43,092 --> 00:52:47,049
and he talked about this
farm in North Carolina.

990
00:52:47,050 --> 00:52:50,757
He said he loves it because
"nobody looks twice at me."

991
00:52:50,758 --> 00:52:52,882
There were two sides to him.

992
00:52:52,883 --> 00:52:55,882
There was the performer,
there was André the Giant,

993
00:52:55,883 --> 00:52:58,133
and then there was André Roussimoff.

994
00:52:58,134 --> 00:53:00,174
The public André had to be always on,

995
00:53:00,175 --> 00:53:02,383
and then the private André

996
00:53:02,384 --> 00:53:05,757
just wanted to hang out
and be one of the guys.

997
00:53:05,758 --> 00:53:07,466
That's really who he wanted to be.

998
00:53:07,467 --> 00:53:10,466
He just didn't want to
be treated differently.

999
00:53:10,467 --> 00:53:11,966
One day he came to work and I said,

1000
00:53:11,967 --> 00:53:13,633
"What did you do last night, André?"

1001
00:53:13,634 --> 00:53:15,799
He says, "I went to the bar,
I had a couple of drinks."

1002
00:53:15,800 --> 00:53:19,466
I said, "Well, tell me,
what do you drink What do you drink?"

1003
00:53:19,467 --> 00:53:24,966
He said, "Well, I had six bottles of wine,
three bottles of cognac."

1004
00:53:24,967 --> 00:53:27,341
I said, "You must have been drunk!"

1005
00:53:27,342 --> 00:53:28,550
He said, "No, no, I didn't get drunk.

1006
00:53:28,551 --> 00:53:30,841
A little tipsy, but not drunk."

1007
00:53:30,842 --> 00:53:32,799
So now, at 9:00 in the morning,

1008
00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:34,799
the Nouveau Beaujolais comes out.

1009
00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:37,466
And André-- I'm not exaggerating--

1010
00:53:37,467 --> 00:53:40,466
He starts drinking and
by the end of the day,

1011
00:53:40,467 --> 00:53:45,007
I'm not exaggerating, he had drank
20 bottles of Nouveau Beaujolais.

1012
00:53:45,008 --> 00:53:48,133
André couldn't fit on a horse,
he was too heavy,

1013
00:53:48,134 --> 00:53:51,133
we had guide wires from
the ceilings being lowered

1014
00:53:51,134 --> 00:53:54,091
a 500-pound drunken giant.

1015
00:53:54,092 --> 00:53:57,007
And he goes, "Hello, boss, hello!"

1016
00:53:57,008 --> 00:54:02,550
Like this. And I thought,
this is an interesting job I have here.

1017
00:54:02,551 --> 00:54:04,299
Are there rocks ahead?

1018
00:54:04,300 --> 00:54:06,841
If there are, we'll all be dead!

1019
00:54:06,842 --> 00:54:09,091
No more rhymes, now, I mean it!

1020
00:54:09,092 --> 00:54:11,174
Anybody want a peanut?

1021
00:54:11,175 --> 00:54:13,174
It's difficult everywhere I go.

1022
00:54:13,175 --> 00:54:15,757
They don't build anything for big people.

1023
00:54:15,758 --> 00:54:18,966
They build everything for blind people,
for crippled people,

1024
00:54:18,967 --> 00:54:22,508
for some other people,
but not for big people.

1025
00:54:22,509 --> 00:54:24,216
So we have to fit in there,

1026
00:54:24,217 --> 00:54:26,383
and it's not too easy all the time.

1027
00:54:26,384 --> 00:54:29,174
People think, oh--"

1028
00:54:29,175 --> 00:54:30,508
That's the first question they ask me,

1029
00:54:30,509 --> 00:54:31,924
"Hey, do you go drinking with André?

1030
00:54:31,925 --> 00:54:33,591
Wasn't it fun to drink with André?"

1031
00:54:33,592 --> 00:54:36,091
'Cause they think of him
as this legendary drinker

1032
00:54:36,092 --> 00:54:37,550
and they think it's funny, but in fact

1033
00:54:37,551 --> 00:54:40,675
he drank because he was in pain.

1034
00:54:40,676 --> 00:54:43,675
And I asked him one day
and he explained to me

1035
00:54:43,676 --> 00:54:47,716
that his spine and his neck and his
knees gave him a lot of trouble.

1036
00:54:47,717 --> 00:54:51,258
He wasn't that well during
the course of the movie

1037
00:54:51,259 --> 00:54:52,550
'cause his back was so bad.

1038
00:54:52,551 --> 00:54:53,799
And I always thought

1039
00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:55,924
that the hard part would
be his performance,

1040
00:54:55,925 --> 00:54:59,383
but the wrestling was the
hardest thing for him.

1041
00:54:59,384 --> 00:55:04,716
That early fight he couldn't
do against the rock.

1042
00:55:04,717 --> 00:55:06,757
- And he couldn't catch Robin.
- He couldn't catch Robin.

1043
00:55:06,758 --> 00:55:08,508
There's a scene where I'm supposed to fall

1044
00:55:08,509 --> 00:55:11,258
from the castle and he catches me.

1045
00:55:11,259 --> 00:55:17,092
And they had to put me on cables so
that he had no weight in his arms.

1046
00:55:20,300 --> 00:55:23,425
He had this wonderful sense
of humor about himself,

1047
00:55:23,426 --> 00:55:24,924
but he had a sadness too.

1048
00:55:24,925 --> 00:55:27,633
The reality of who he was was

1049
00:55:27,634 --> 00:55:30,133
was getting more intense on him.

1050
00:55:30,134 --> 00:55:33,174
He knew he wasn't gonna live long.

1051
00:55:33,175 --> 00:55:36,966
André knew that he wasn't
long for the world.

1052
00:55:36,967 --> 00:55:40,007
And he was hurting,
he was really, really hurting,

1053
00:55:40,008 --> 00:55:41,591
and I went over to visit with him.

1054
00:55:41,592 --> 00:55:44,550
And André told me, "I'm done, boss."

1055
00:55:44,551 --> 00:55:47,508
When he said done,
he meant not just wrestling,

1056
00:55:47,509 --> 00:55:50,882
but "After this, I'm done,
" basically, "I'm gonna go die."

1057
00:55:50,883 --> 00:55:52,716
And he told me about his neck and his back

1058
00:55:52,717 --> 00:55:54,216
and things of that nature

1059
00:55:54,217 --> 00:55:56,341
and what it would take to have it fixed,

1060
00:55:56,342 --> 00:55:57,675
but he was not interested at all.

1061
00:55:57,676 --> 00:55:59,425
And then when I spoke to him about,

1062
00:55:59,426 --> 00:56:01,174
"Well, here's why I came over, you know,

1063
00:56:01,175 --> 00:56:04,550
because there's a building
in Pontiac, Michigan,

1064
00:56:04,551 --> 00:56:06,676
it holds 93,000 people...

1065
00:56:09,634 --> 00:56:14,133
...and I think that we could
set up the promotion correctly

1066
00:56:14,134 --> 00:56:17,508
and I think it would sell it out."

1067
00:56:17,509 --> 00:56:20,091
What would everyone really want to see?

1068
00:56:20,092 --> 00:56:23,216
And as mean André comes in,
"Who's gonna stop André?"

1069
00:56:23,217 --> 00:56:26,466
If he had a temper or if he's a bad guy,
who's gonna stop him?

1070
00:56:26,467 --> 00:56:28,842
Well, there's only one person
who might be able to...

1071
00:56:35,717 --> 00:56:37,716
André was in bad shape.

1072
00:56:37,717 --> 00:56:39,633
André needed the back surgery.

1073
00:56:39,634 --> 00:56:41,675
Vince had to tell André,
"Get the operation,

1074
00:56:41,676 --> 00:56:43,882
prolong your career, come back to wrestle."

1075
00:56:43,883 --> 00:56:46,882
André wanted to have a reason to live,
not a reason to die.

1076
00:56:46,883 --> 00:56:48,174
And he knew that, "Wow,

1077
00:56:48,175 --> 00:56:49,591
I would have a whole lease on life

1078
00:56:49,592 --> 00:56:51,174
if I can get through this operation."

1079
00:56:51,175 --> 00:56:54,800
The allure of Hogan pulled André through.

1080
00:56:56,842 --> 00:56:59,174
Hogan in a lot of ways was the sort of

1081
00:56:59,175 --> 00:57:01,341
territorial hero,

1082
00:57:01,342 --> 00:57:03,508
but now the territory
is the entire country.

1083
00:57:03,509 --> 00:57:05,591
They bring in villains for him to face,

1084
00:57:05,592 --> 00:57:07,174
and at some point you gotta

1085
00:57:07,175 --> 00:57:09,091
come up with something bigger and better.

1086
00:57:09,092 --> 00:57:12,341
André the Giant, as a villain,

1087
00:57:12,342 --> 00:57:15,425
was bigger and better than
everything that had come before.

1088
00:57:15,426 --> 00:57:17,799
Wasn't sure how it was gonna go down,

1089
00:57:17,800 --> 00:57:20,675
I didn't have a problem doing
the job and André beating me.

1090
00:57:20,676 --> 00:57:24,049
It made me just as big in my mind.

1091
00:57:24,050 --> 00:57:26,550
I wanted to be him, he was the guy.

1092
00:57:26,551 --> 00:57:29,258
On the surface, this is earth-shattering.

1093
00:57:29,259 --> 00:57:31,383
André and Hogan are going to have a match

1094
00:57:31,384 --> 00:57:33,466
after being buddies for so long

1095
00:57:33,467 --> 00:57:35,675
and they've never fought before.

1096
00:57:35,676 --> 00:57:37,799
In reality, of course,
they had fought before.

1097
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:39,882
They'd only wrestled all over the country.

1098
00:57:39,883 --> 00:57:41,383
They'd wrestled in Florida,
they wrestled in Georgia,

1099
00:57:41,384 --> 00:57:42,716
they'd wrestle in Alabama,

1100
00:57:42,717 --> 00:57:43,997
they'd wrestle in the northeast.

1101
00:57:47,342 --> 00:57:49,133
And they would often be a tag team.

1102
00:57:49,134 --> 00:57:50,591
And it was a great attraction,

1103
00:57:50,592 --> 00:57:52,133
André the Giant and Hulk Hogan tag team

1104
00:57:52,134 --> 00:57:53,799
against whoever the
villains were at the time.

1105
00:57:53,800 --> 00:57:55,591
I can't think of a better partner,

1106
00:57:55,592 --> 00:57:57,591
a better person that'll stand toe to toe

1107
00:57:57,592 --> 00:57:59,133
and fight with me all the way

1108
00:57:59,134 --> 00:58:00,882
than the big boss André the Giant.

1109
00:58:00,883 --> 00:58:03,091
For the purposes of "WrestleMania III,"

1110
00:58:03,092 --> 00:58:04,757
none of that ever happened.

1111
00:58:04,758 --> 00:58:06,550
That was a hard and fast rule.

1112
00:58:06,551 --> 00:58:10,091
Anything that happened before
"WrestleMania III,"

1113
00:58:10,092 --> 00:58:11,258
forget about it.

1114
00:58:11,259 --> 00:58:13,341
The majority of the fans

1115
00:58:13,342 --> 00:58:15,882
that are new cable fans

1116
00:58:15,883 --> 00:58:17,799
have not seen these two
guys wrestle before.

1117
00:58:17,800 --> 00:58:20,049
Now, I'm sure that Hogan and André

1118
00:58:20,050 --> 00:58:22,425
had wrestled sometimes
in the New York area,

1119
00:58:22,426 --> 00:58:25,924
but the world had not seen these
guys go against each other.

1120
00:58:25,925 --> 00:58:28,841
Wait, what's going on here? Hold on, man.

1121
00:58:28,842 --> 00:58:31,174
What are you doing with him?

1122
00:58:31,175 --> 00:58:34,591
Hogan and André are both on "Piper's Pit,"

1123
00:58:34,592 --> 00:58:37,425
and André comes out with Bobby
"The Brain" Heenan.

1124
00:58:37,426 --> 00:58:39,882
You're the reason I got
into professional wrestling,

1125
00:58:39,883 --> 00:58:41,882
you were like a God to me, a role model!

1126
00:58:41,883 --> 00:58:44,091
You can't be here with him, man.

1127
00:58:44,092 --> 00:58:47,091
Aligning yourself with Bobby
"The Brain" Heenan

1128
00:58:47,092 --> 00:58:51,049
is the most evil thing a
professional wrestler can do,

1129
00:58:51,050 --> 00:58:53,299
except maybe slapping an old lady.

1130
00:58:53,300 --> 00:58:57,675
He's sick and tired of you
and what you stand for.

1131
00:58:57,676 --> 00:59:00,299
It's the first time any wrestling fans

1132
00:59:00,300 --> 00:59:02,174
had seen André turn heel.

1133
00:59:02,175 --> 00:59:04,799
He had worked heel in Japan, but again,

1134
00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:06,924
if it didn't happen on American TV,

1135
00:59:06,925 --> 00:59:08,341
it doesn't count for the WWF.

1136
00:59:08,342 --> 00:59:10,341
You're so jealous of this man

1137
00:59:10,342 --> 00:59:11,799
you can't stand it!

1138
00:59:11,800 --> 00:59:14,841
This is the man for 15 years

1139
00:59:14,842 --> 00:59:15,966
that is undefeated.

1140
00:59:15,967 --> 00:59:17,508
But did you ever once--

1141
00:59:17,509 --> 00:59:19,882
No, man, you're wrong, you're wrong!

1142
00:59:19,883 --> 00:59:22,591
The company told the story so perfectly.

1143
00:59:22,592 --> 00:59:25,007
This was Cain and Abel.

1144
00:59:25,008 --> 00:59:27,341
Look at me when I'm talking to you.

1145
00:59:27,342 --> 00:59:29,383
I'm here for one reason,

1146
00:59:29,384 --> 00:59:33,007
to challenge you for the
World Championship match

1147
00:59:33,008 --> 00:59:34,217
in "Wrestlemania."

1148
00:59:35,758 --> 00:59:38,258
André, please, no, it's not happening.

1149
00:59:38,259 --> 00:59:41,924
I wanted to have it be
such an emotional moment.

1150
00:59:41,925 --> 00:59:43,633
I knew when André ripped the shirt

1151
00:59:43,634 --> 00:59:47,007
if I could shed a tear,
that that would seal the deal.

1152
00:59:47,008 --> 00:59:48,882
We're friends, André, please.

1153
00:59:48,883 --> 00:59:50,508
You can't believe it?

1154
00:59:50,509 --> 00:59:52,634
Maybe you'll believe this, Hogan!

1155
00:59:56,925 --> 00:59:58,716
What are you doing, man?

1156
00:59:58,717 --> 01:00:01,216
I had Vicks VapoRub on my finger,

1157
01:00:01,217 --> 01:00:02,716
and you could see me as
he's ripping the shirt,

1158
01:00:02,717 --> 01:00:04,341
I'm trying to stick it in my eye,

1159
01:00:04,342 --> 01:00:06,384
but he's jerking me back and forth...

1160
01:00:10,883 --> 01:00:12,383
I really didn't need it.

1161
01:00:12,384 --> 01:00:14,425
It was just so upsetting that he did that

1162
01:00:14,426 --> 01:00:16,174
that I was in the moment anyway.

1163
01:00:16,175 --> 01:00:18,007
What is he doin'?

1164
01:00:18,008 --> 01:00:19,258
You're bleeding.

1165
01:00:19,259 --> 01:00:22,216
- What's-- Andr?
- Come on.

1166
01:00:22,217 --> 01:00:25,675
We wanted a clear-cut good and bad guy.

1167
01:00:25,676 --> 01:00:29,882
André became bitter and jealous and evil.

1168
01:00:29,883 --> 01:00:32,716
The significance made the fans go,
"You know what?

1169
01:00:32,717 --> 01:00:36,716
We want Hulk Hogan to beat this big,
nasty giant now.

1170
01:00:36,717 --> 01:00:39,133
Now we're all on Hulk Hogan's side."

1171
01:00:39,134 --> 01:00:42,591
Are you or are you not gonna fight him

1172
01:00:42,592 --> 01:00:47,258
at "WrestleMania III" for the
World Heavyweight Championship?

1173
01:00:47,259 --> 01:00:48,633
Yes or no?

1174
01:00:48,634 --> 01:00:50,175
Yes!

1175
01:00:57,134 --> 01:00:59,550
We are here for the most auspicious signing

1176
01:00:59,551 --> 01:01:02,383
for any heavyweight title match
in history, as you all know.

1177
01:01:02,384 --> 01:01:03,924
It was monumental,

1178
01:01:03,925 --> 01:01:06,757
Because André had been
such a revered character

1179
01:01:06,758 --> 01:01:09,133
for so many years.

1180
01:01:09,134 --> 01:01:11,966
He was the kind of guy
that people could relate to

1181
01:01:11,967 --> 01:01:15,757
and felt that they knew the real André

1182
01:01:15,758 --> 01:01:18,091
and that he was genuinely a good guy.

1183
01:01:18,092 --> 01:01:22,133
All of a sudden we're gonna
create a new character,

1184
01:01:22,134 --> 01:01:25,675
totally different from anything
that people had ever seen,

1185
01:01:25,676 --> 01:01:27,633
and that's the bad guy André the Giant.

1186
01:01:27,634 --> 01:01:30,633
You never once gave this
man an opportunity.

1187
01:01:30,634 --> 01:01:32,966
Now he's got that opportunity.

1188
01:01:32,967 --> 01:01:35,633
Sign it if you're gonna sign it!

1189
01:01:35,634 --> 01:01:37,341
In the fans' eyes, they were shocked.

1190
01:01:37,342 --> 01:01:40,216
When you tore my shirt off,
man, when you tore the cross,

1191
01:01:40,217 --> 01:01:43,966
you tore the heart and soul out
of all the little Hulksters, man.

1192
01:01:43,967 --> 01:01:45,508
Not just me.

1193
01:01:45,509 --> 01:01:48,757
For fans of my generation,

1194
01:01:48,758 --> 01:01:51,049
that wasn't just the first
time we'd seen André as a heel,

1195
01:01:51,050 --> 01:01:56,299
that was the first time that we'd even
thought about morality on that level.

1196
01:01:56,300 --> 01:01:59,299
We can't possibly imagine Hogan losing.

1197
01:01:59,300 --> 01:02:02,716
But we also can't imagine
him beating André the Giant.

1198
01:02:02,717 --> 01:02:05,425
You know, it's crazy, but we would
really talk about these things

1199
01:02:05,426 --> 01:02:07,882
like you're talking about Ali-Frazier.

1200
01:02:07,883 --> 01:02:10,091
Both are physical phenoms.

1201
01:02:10,092 --> 01:02:12,174
André stands at 7'4"

1202
01:02:12,175 --> 01:02:14,258
and weighs 525 pounds.

1203
01:02:14,259 --> 01:02:16,716
We were kids, but we were
breaking this down like

1204
01:02:16,717 --> 01:02:19,007
it was a real sporting contest,

1205
01:02:19,008 --> 01:02:21,383
even though on some level
we knew it was fake, right?

1206
01:02:21,384 --> 01:02:23,550
But it's just like,
"How could this possibly go?"

1207
01:02:23,551 --> 01:02:26,383
Hulk Hogan, champion for over three years,

1208
01:02:26,384 --> 01:02:29,841
André the Giant, undefeated for 15 years.

1209
01:02:29,842 --> 01:02:34,007
It promises to be the greatest
title bout in wrestling history.

1210
01:02:34,008 --> 01:02:38,049
Hulk Hogan versus André the Giant in
"WrestleMania III."

1211
01:02:38,050 --> 01:02:40,258
Sunday afternoon, March the 29th.

1212
01:02:40,259 --> 01:02:44,633
André was in dire straits
when it came to his health.

1213
01:02:44,634 --> 01:02:46,550
He had had the back surgery,

1214
01:02:46,551 --> 01:02:50,049
and he was walking around on a cane.

1215
01:02:50,050 --> 01:02:51,633
And I said to myself,

1216
01:02:51,634 --> 01:02:54,633
"That's gonna be your main event for
"WrestleMania III?"

1217
01:02:54,634 --> 01:02:57,133
How are these two guys
gonna pull this off?"

1218
01:02:57,134 --> 01:03:01,341
André didn't let Hogan know a whole lot

1219
01:03:01,342 --> 01:03:04,049
about what he could or
couldn't do in the ring.

1220
01:03:04,050 --> 01:03:08,924
And I think that kind
of weighed on Hulk Hogan

1221
01:03:08,925 --> 01:03:12,675
in the back of his mind for
a match of that magnitude.

1222
01:03:12,676 --> 01:03:14,550
It bothered him.

1223
01:03:14,551 --> 01:03:16,882
Hogan was really concerned
that André wasn't gonna,

1224
01:03:16,883 --> 01:03:18,383
quote, "Put him over."

1225
01:03:18,384 --> 01:03:20,882
And André did not want Hogan to know.

1226
01:03:20,883 --> 01:03:22,966
Terry had so much respect,
again, for André,

1227
01:03:22,967 --> 01:03:25,091
he just wouldn't come up to André and say,

1228
01:03:25,092 --> 01:03:26,841
"Are you gonna put me over?" You know?

1229
01:03:26,842 --> 01:03:29,383
He wouldn't do that because
that would be disrespectful.

1230
01:03:29,384 --> 01:03:31,924
So it was always this bit of doubt.

1231
01:03:31,925 --> 01:03:33,425
And Hogan kept coming to me,

1232
01:03:33,426 --> 01:03:35,675
"Are you sure the boss
is gonna put me over?"

1233
01:03:35,676 --> 01:03:36,757
"No problem."

1234
01:03:36,758 --> 01:03:37,924
"Are you sure?"

1235
01:03:37,925 --> 01:03:39,924
"No, he's gonna do it, Terry."

1236
01:03:39,925 --> 01:03:41,966
He was nervous.

1237
01:03:41,967 --> 01:03:44,383
Because André kept playing to him:

1238
01:03:44,384 --> 01:03:46,633
"I'm gonna do what I wanna do."

1239
01:03:46,634 --> 01:03:49,591
And Hogan would hear that, "What the fuck?"

1240
01:03:49,592 --> 01:03:52,383
I kept asking Vince,
"What are we gonna do for a finish?"

1241
01:03:52,384 --> 01:03:54,591
He goes, "Hey, don't worry about it,
I'm gonna talk with André."

1242
01:03:54,592 --> 01:03:57,591
Finally we're in Detroit, okay?

1243
01:03:57,592 --> 01:03:59,757
The night before "WrestleMania."

1244
01:03:59,758 --> 01:04:02,383
He goes, "Well, what do
you picture the match as?"

1245
01:04:02,384 --> 01:04:04,384
I said, "Give me your yellow legal pad."

1246
01:04:09,300 --> 01:04:10,966
So I get Vince's legal pad

1247
01:04:10,967 --> 01:04:14,466
and I go, "Okay,
walk to the center of the ring,

1248
01:04:14,467 --> 01:04:16,467
start arguing, I'll start shaking my head.

1249
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:21,216
André throws a punch, I block it,

1250
01:04:21,217 --> 01:04:22,633
hit him one punch, two punch,

1251
01:04:22,634 --> 01:04:24,216
I go to the slam, he falls on top of me,

1252
01:04:24,217 --> 01:04:27,841
one-two, almost pins
right out of the chute.

1253
01:04:27,842 --> 01:04:30,133
Picks me up, slam me again,
step on my back"--

1254
01:04:30,134 --> 01:04:31,425
I wrote it all down.

1255
01:04:31,426 --> 01:04:33,341
Wrote the hole match from top to finish,

1256
01:04:33,342 --> 01:04:34,799
and then I left the finish open.

1257
01:04:34,800 --> 01:04:37,633
Gave Vince the legal pad,

1258
01:04:37,634 --> 01:04:39,716
Vince goes to talk to André.

1259
01:04:39,717 --> 01:04:41,133
André loved to bust balls,

1260
01:04:41,134 --> 01:04:43,466
and, you know, he was busting Hogan's,

1261
01:04:43,467 --> 01:04:45,799
and out of respect to André

1262
01:04:45,800 --> 01:04:47,174
I'm gonna go right along with it.

1263
01:04:47,175 --> 01:04:49,591
So Hogan was concerned all the way up

1264
01:04:49,592 --> 01:04:50,676
to the day of the show.

1265
01:04:54,217 --> 01:04:55,799
The next day

1266
01:04:55,800 --> 01:04:57,341
I'm at the building early,

1267
01:04:57,342 --> 01:05:00,341
and I said, "Hey, man,
what's the deal, brother?

1268
01:05:00,342 --> 01:05:02,341
"Oh, don't worry, you're gonna be okay."

1269
01:05:02,342 --> 01:05:04,341
I said, "Well, what's the finish?"

1270
01:05:04,342 --> 01:05:06,676
"Andre’s gonna do the right thing."

1271
01:05:08,717 --> 01:05:13,342
Welcome to the magnificent Silverdome...

1272
01:05:15,342 --> 01:05:18,883
and welcome to "WrestleMania III"!

1273
01:05:21,426 --> 01:05:23,716
If Vince knew the finish,

1274
01:05:23,717 --> 01:05:27,091
I don't remember him telling me that
"You're gonna win."

1275
01:05:27,092 --> 01:05:29,882
I never remember him saying that to me.

1276
01:05:29,883 --> 01:05:31,799
I never remember him saying,
"You're winning."

1277
01:05:31,800 --> 01:05:36,133
When he got to the building that day,
André, typical André,

1278
01:05:36,134 --> 01:05:38,882
he went in, put a bottle
of wine on the table,

1279
01:05:38,883 --> 01:05:40,508
started playing cards.

1280
01:05:40,509 --> 01:05:43,007
Everyone's running around, nervous wrecks.

1281
01:05:43,008 --> 01:05:45,841
I mean, this was the
biggest show of all time.

1282
01:05:45,842 --> 01:05:48,216
Usually I didn't sit next
to him in the dressing room.

1283
01:05:48,217 --> 01:05:50,174
But that day he wanted
me in the dressing room.

1284
01:05:50,175 --> 01:05:52,007
And I know his back was killing him.

1285
01:05:52,008 --> 01:05:53,633
And as we were sitting there I said,

1286
01:05:53,634 --> 01:05:56,799
"André, what do you want to do out there?"

1287
01:05:56,800 --> 01:06:00,217
"Don't worry." I said,
"Okay, I won't worry."

1288
01:06:02,300 --> 01:06:06,425
André just kept playing cards.
Wasn't sweatin' a thing.

1289
01:06:06,426 --> 01:06:09,966
Hulk came over a couple times
and said, "We good, boss?"

1290
01:06:09,967 --> 01:06:11,384
He goes, "I don't know."

1291
01:06:16,800 --> 01:06:19,757
And André the Giant just moments away from

1292
01:06:19,758 --> 01:06:21,216
you're stepping through the ropes

1293
01:06:21,217 --> 01:06:22,841
and into the ring to meet Hulk Hogan

1294
01:06:22,842 --> 01:06:25,216
in the biggest title match of all time.

1295
01:06:25,217 --> 01:06:27,216
I want to get your thoughts.

1296
01:06:27,217 --> 01:06:30,716
Gene, you see me now,
and I'm going into the ring,

1297
01:06:30,717 --> 01:06:33,049
and believe me,
it's not gonna take me too long

1298
01:06:33,050 --> 01:06:35,591
to come back right here
in front of the camera

1299
01:06:35,592 --> 01:06:39,716
with the World Championship
belt around my waist.

1300
01:06:39,717 --> 01:06:42,299
We're getting ready to
go out for the main event

1301
01:06:42,300 --> 01:06:44,049
with 93,000 people,

1302
01:06:44,050 --> 01:06:45,841
and maybe André changed his mind.

1303
01:06:45,842 --> 01:06:50,676
Vince wasn't completely sure.

1304
01:06:52,426 --> 01:06:56,049
This is the main event of the evening!

1305
01:06:56,050 --> 01:06:58,133
There was this incredible buzz.

1306
01:06:58,134 --> 01:06:59,799
It was time for the main event.

1307
01:06:59,800 --> 01:07:01,299
That's a sight to behold,

1308
01:07:01,300 --> 01:07:03,550
just André on that cart going to the ring

1309
01:07:03,551 --> 01:07:06,007
and how big he is standing
next to Bobby Heenan.

1310
01:07:06,008 --> 01:07:08,841
An awesome figure,

1311
01:07:08,842 --> 01:07:12,007
that 7'5" frame of André the Giant.

1312
01:07:12,008 --> 01:07:16,174
The roof of the Silverdome
about to explode here!

1313
01:07:16,175 --> 01:07:18,841
I remember it was just so loud in there

1314
01:07:18,842 --> 01:07:22,757
my jaws watered like I
smelled food or something.

1315
01:07:22,758 --> 01:07:27,133
It was just so electric and so loud
that it was just pure adrenaline.

1316
01:07:27,134 --> 01:07:31,216
You got 93,173 fans

1317
01:07:31,217 --> 01:07:33,716
standing on their feet
for this one, Gorilla.

1318
01:07:33,717 --> 01:07:37,757
The irresistible force
meeting the immovable object!

1319
01:07:37,758 --> 01:07:39,216
We started the match,

1320
01:07:39,217 --> 01:07:42,007
and out of nowhere he
throws that first punch.

1321
01:07:42,008 --> 01:07:43,675
Whoa. I block it.

1322
01:07:43,676 --> 01:07:45,966
I throw one, I throw two,

1323
01:07:45,967 --> 01:07:47,675
and I go under him for the slam,

1324
01:07:47,676 --> 01:07:50,508
and we fall backwards exactly
like I wrote it down.

1325
01:07:50,509 --> 01:07:53,007
And the Hulkster unloading,
going for a slam!

1326
01:07:53,008 --> 01:07:58,007
Oh, he almost got him up!
He collapsed! One, two!

1327
01:07:58,008 --> 01:08:02,675
He pulled himself up by the ropes, and
I'm waiting, he picks me up and slams me.

1328
01:08:02,676 --> 01:08:06,966
Oh, a slam! André picked him up with ease!

1329
01:08:06,967 --> 01:08:08,882
Ohhhh!

1330
01:08:08,883 --> 01:08:12,841
Then he stood on me and
walked over me with his foot.

1331
01:08:12,842 --> 01:08:14,426
Exactly what was written down there.

1332
01:08:16,758 --> 01:08:18,882
The whole match was built
around Andre’s limitations.

1333
01:08:18,883 --> 01:08:20,841
And Hulk Hogan working around André.

1334
01:08:20,842 --> 01:08:22,091
André couldn't move.

1335
01:08:22,092 --> 01:08:23,966
His back was really bad,

1336
01:08:23,967 --> 01:08:26,966
he probably should not
have been in the ring.

1337
01:08:26,967 --> 01:08:29,716
Oh! The bear hug!

1338
01:08:29,717 --> 01:08:31,841
It was a very basic match.

1339
01:08:31,842 --> 01:08:33,508
One of the key spots in the match,

1340
01:08:33,509 --> 01:08:34,882
actually one of the most memorable spots

1341
01:08:34,883 --> 01:08:36,508
'cause it was like four minutes,

1342
01:08:36,509 --> 01:08:38,551
André grabbing him in a bear hug.

1343
01:08:40,384 --> 01:08:42,258
Usually when we grab the bear hug

1344
01:08:42,259 --> 01:08:44,133
I'd jump up and he'd hold me up in the air

1345
01:08:44,134 --> 01:08:45,882
and rag doll me--

1346
01:08:45,883 --> 01:08:47,841
I wouldn't let him do any of that.

1347
01:08:47,842 --> 01:08:49,258
Made sure I stood up straight

1348
01:08:49,259 --> 01:08:51,133
so he could stand up as
straight as he could.

1349
01:08:51,134 --> 01:08:56,425
The Hulkster, just withering away here.

1350
01:08:56,426 --> 01:09:00,925
One more time. If that
arm drops, it's over.

1351
01:09:05,092 --> 01:09:09,259
Tossing it up! It's up there!
Listen to these fans!

1352
01:09:10,634 --> 01:09:12,466
André knew what to do.

1353
01:09:12,467 --> 01:09:14,675
André could do the basic
things that he had to do

1354
01:09:14,676 --> 01:09:16,550
that didn't tax any physicality.

1355
01:09:16,551 --> 01:09:19,841
André being stung now!

1356
01:09:19,842 --> 01:09:23,550
But they were so popular,
it didn't matter what they did.

1357
01:09:23,551 --> 01:09:25,299
It was like no way this match couldn't work

1358
01:09:25,300 --> 01:09:28,007
short of André getting hurt and
then being unable to continue.

1359
01:09:28,008 --> 01:09:32,258
André now with an Irish Whip!

1360
01:09:32,259 --> 01:09:34,758
Oh, he dropped the big guy!

1361
01:09:36,758 --> 01:09:38,633
That's the first time I think that

1362
01:09:38,634 --> 01:09:40,924
the Giant's ever been knocked
off his feet like that!

1363
01:09:40,925 --> 01:09:43,508
Look at the look on the
face of the champion!

1364
01:09:43,509 --> 01:09:45,341
He's Hulking up, Jess!

1365
01:09:45,342 --> 01:09:47,466
Finally, out of nowhere, "Slam!"

1366
01:09:47,467 --> 01:09:50,426
Holy shit, he called slam.

1367
01:09:54,634 --> 01:09:56,133
Look at this!

1368
01:09:56,134 --> 01:09:58,841
He slammed him! I don't believe it!

1369
01:09:58,842 --> 01:10:02,924
Right when he hit I heard him go,
"Leg drop!"

1370
01:10:02,925 --> 01:10:06,299
I went and hit the leg drop,
thinking he's gonna kick out.

1371
01:10:06,300 --> 01:10:08,300
You know? And he didn't kick out.

1372
01:10:14,467 --> 01:10:16,591
Hulk dropping a big leg!

1373
01:10:16,592 --> 01:10:20,425
Over for the jumper! He got him!

1374
01:10:20,426 --> 01:10:22,342
Unbelievable!

1375
01:10:25,634 --> 01:10:29,174
I never thought it could be done, Gorilla.

1376
01:10:29,175 --> 01:10:33,174
Neither did these 93,000 plus

1377
01:10:33,175 --> 01:10:35,591
as the World Heavyweight Champion,

1378
01:10:35,592 --> 01:10:39,800
Hulk Hogan, has proven to
everyone what he's made of.

1379
01:10:44,342 --> 01:10:46,217
Hmm.

1380
01:10:48,092 --> 01:10:50,882
At the time he knew much
more than all of us.

1381
01:10:50,883 --> 01:10:55,508
He knew that that's what had to be done

1382
01:10:55,509 --> 01:10:59,466
to get me to where I needed to be

1383
01:10:59,467 --> 01:11:01,757
to help Vince move this business forward.

1384
01:11:01,758 --> 01:11:05,216
That's 525 pounds of living flesh

1385
01:11:05,217 --> 01:11:07,383
that he picked up and slammed.

1386
01:11:07,384 --> 01:11:10,841
There go the losers.
Look at Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

1387
01:11:10,842 --> 01:11:13,091
André still extremely upset.

1388
01:11:13,092 --> 01:11:18,049
And that man right there has
won the hearts of everyone.

1389
01:11:18,050 --> 01:11:20,883
Look at what the Hulk is giving them now.

1390
01:11:22,217 --> 01:11:24,882
For the narrative of wrestling,

1391
01:11:24,883 --> 01:11:28,425
you want that old star to pass
the torch to the new star,

1392
01:11:28,426 --> 01:11:30,924
and that was, you know,
the moment that it happened.

1393
01:11:30,925 --> 01:11:34,341
In the history of wrestling,
it was-- it was huge.

1394
01:11:34,342 --> 01:11:36,049
If Hogan talks about his legacy,

1395
01:11:36,050 --> 01:11:37,716
I bet you that's the first
thing he talks about still.

1396
01:11:37,717 --> 01:11:42,966
Hogan beating André was
symbolic of Vince McMahon

1397
01:11:42,967 --> 01:11:45,425
putting the ghosts of the
territorial era to bed.

1398
01:11:45,426 --> 01:11:49,133
This is Hulk Hogan
defeating the biggest star

1399
01:11:49,134 --> 01:11:52,259
in professional wrestling
history until Hulk Hogan.

1400
01:11:55,092 --> 01:11:58,133
Andre’s career started going downhill

1401
01:11:58,134 --> 01:12:01,841
pretty much immediately after
"WrestleMania III."

1402
01:12:01,842 --> 01:12:04,091
They kept him feuding with Hulk Hogan,

1403
01:12:04,092 --> 01:12:05,799
but I don't think he
ever wanted to be a heel.

1404
01:12:05,800 --> 01:12:09,716
He liked to ride into every town
with people cheering him on.

1405
01:12:09,717 --> 01:12:11,799
And that sort of reaction is addictive.

1406
01:12:11,800 --> 01:12:14,007
It's hard to be booed
when you go out in public,

1407
01:12:14,008 --> 01:12:16,757
especially if you're 7'4"
and it's impossible

1408
01:12:16,758 --> 01:12:18,591
to hide from those sort of reactions.

1409
01:12:18,592 --> 01:12:20,049
At one time,

1410
01:12:20,050 --> 01:12:22,174
André was a hero to young and old alike,

1411
01:12:22,175 --> 01:12:23,757
male, female-- didn't matter.

1412
01:12:23,758 --> 01:12:25,508
Everybody loved André.

1413
01:12:25,509 --> 01:12:27,966
But now? Persona non grata.

1414
01:12:27,967 --> 01:12:29,341
There he is outside the ring,

1415
01:12:29,342 --> 01:12:31,508
and the fans are letting him know

1416
01:12:31,509 --> 01:12:34,092
he's not very welcome here.

1417
01:12:38,426 --> 01:12:40,133
It was over a matter of time.

1418
01:12:40,134 --> 01:12:42,591
You didn't see it every day.

1419
01:12:42,592 --> 01:12:47,134
But month after month you
could see André failing.

1420
01:12:49,842 --> 01:12:53,425
First he starts working a
very limited ring style.

1421
01:12:53,426 --> 01:12:55,383
Now he can barely walk around the ring.

1422
01:12:55,384 --> 01:12:56,966
I mean, you see him in some fights where

1423
01:12:56,967 --> 01:12:59,966
he constantly has one hand on the ropes.

1424
01:12:59,967 --> 01:13:02,216
Or he has his hands on
his opponent, to get--

1425
01:13:02,217 --> 01:13:03,966
He just needs something to steady himself.

1426
01:13:03,967 --> 01:13:07,174
André the Giant with glazed eyes.

1427
01:13:07,175 --> 01:13:10,049
Then he starts working
predominantly tag team matches

1428
01:13:10,050 --> 01:13:13,174
where he can just stand
there and look imposing.

1429
01:13:13,175 --> 01:13:14,508
I spent every day with him.

1430
01:13:14,509 --> 01:13:17,508
And I could see it going this way.

1431
01:13:17,509 --> 01:13:20,133
He was in a lot of pain.

1432
01:13:20,134 --> 01:13:22,299
To look at him in the rear view mirror,

1433
01:13:22,300 --> 01:13:26,007
he was-- you could see it on his face,
the pain he was in.

1434
01:13:26,008 --> 01:13:30,007
I'd say, "Boss, you all right?
" "Don't worry, boss."

1435
01:13:30,008 --> 01:13:33,174
He was so easy even
though he was suffering.

1436
01:13:33,175 --> 01:13:37,091
Andre’s body was breaking
down and he could not perform.

1437
01:13:37,092 --> 01:13:39,383
So we could slow things down for André

1438
01:13:39,384 --> 01:13:41,757
in the latter years, and what have you.

1439
01:13:41,758 --> 01:13:44,049
But eventually it does catch up with you,

1440
01:13:44,050 --> 01:13:45,591
and your career is over.

1441
01:13:45,592 --> 01:13:47,508
And it's difficult for
someone to accept that.

1442
01:13:47,509 --> 01:13:50,550
André got knocked out of the game.

1443
01:13:50,551 --> 01:13:54,799
It was very hard on him...
you gotta remember this was his life.

1444
01:13:54,800 --> 01:13:57,550
Now all of a sudden where
you're not in action,

1445
01:13:57,551 --> 01:14:00,591
you're introduced as a guest.

1446
01:14:00,592 --> 01:14:01,717
André didn't like that.

1447
01:14:04,050 --> 01:14:06,383
He kind of disappeared off the scene

1448
01:14:06,384 --> 01:14:10,799
and was spending his time
more down in North Carolina,

1449
01:14:10,800 --> 01:14:13,049
kind of on the shelf.

1450
01:14:13,050 --> 01:14:16,049
As his physical health
started to deteriorate,

1451
01:14:16,050 --> 01:14:18,049
his knees and his back were succumbing

1452
01:14:18,050 --> 01:14:20,133
to the weight of his body.

1453
01:14:20,134 --> 01:14:23,299
And he wasn't laughing and joking as much.

1454
01:14:23,300 --> 01:14:25,882
I still think he had that...

1455
01:14:25,883 --> 01:14:27,341
that instinct, you know,

1456
01:14:27,342 --> 01:14:29,174
"I'm young at heart, I love this business."

1457
01:14:29,175 --> 01:14:31,091
I think he wanted to be
out there with the fans.

1458
01:14:31,092 --> 01:14:34,091
He just loved this business,
and he lived for it.

1459
01:14:34,092 --> 01:14:36,757
I'm going to be here

1460
01:14:36,758 --> 01:14:41,966
for a long, long, long time.

1461
01:14:41,967 --> 01:14:45,299
That happens to a lot of us. You know?

1462
01:14:45,300 --> 01:14:47,591
It happens to a lot of the guys,

1463
01:14:47,592 --> 01:14:49,634
and André was our leader.

1464
01:14:51,092 --> 01:14:53,091
When his career was over,

1465
01:14:53,092 --> 01:14:57,300
he had no value, you know, to himself.

1466
01:14:59,800 --> 01:15:02,216
"No longer. I'm not gonna
be around the boys

1467
01:15:02,217 --> 01:15:04,550
and socializing and things of that nature.

1468
01:15:04,551 --> 01:15:06,299
I'm stuck here in North Carolina,

1469
01:15:06,300 --> 01:15:09,174
and I was responsible for the
fact that business was good."

1470
01:15:09,175 --> 01:15:11,049
And everybody else was
going on without him.

1471
01:15:11,050 --> 01:15:13,299
André more or less wanted to blame me

1472
01:15:13,300 --> 01:15:15,341
and resented me a bit

1473
01:15:15,342 --> 01:15:18,216
because he knew that the business
was going to go on without him.

1474
01:15:18,217 --> 01:15:20,508
I think André resented
that a little bit too,

1475
01:15:20,509 --> 01:15:22,341
that his time was up, damn it. You know?

1476
01:15:22,342 --> 01:15:24,841
And yet I was gonna continue on.

1477
01:15:24,842 --> 01:15:28,591
And sometimes it can even
be a situation whereby

1478
01:15:28,592 --> 01:15:30,007
"Well, you used me."

1479
01:15:30,008 --> 01:15:31,966
No longer, when I was in Andre’s presence,

1480
01:15:31,967 --> 01:15:34,799
no longer was it this loving,
warm, admiration

1481
01:15:34,800 --> 01:15:36,341
that we had for each other.

1482
01:15:36,342 --> 01:15:38,092
Wasn't there.

1483
01:15:41,134 --> 01:15:43,299
In December of 1992,

1484
01:15:43,300 --> 01:15:45,425
Andre’s health was getting worse.

1485
01:15:45,426 --> 01:15:49,258
He really, really was in bad shape.

1486
01:15:49,259 --> 01:15:50,633
He was still growing,

1487
01:15:50,634 --> 01:15:52,133
but the organs,

1488
01:15:52,134 --> 01:15:54,134
and especially the heart, weren't.

1489
01:15:56,134 --> 01:15:58,049
His father had been sick

1490
01:15:58,050 --> 01:16:00,007
and in and out of the hospital.

1491
01:16:00,008 --> 01:16:03,800
And he flew back to France.

1492
01:16:32,217 --> 01:16:34,007
I get a call saying

1493
01:16:34,008 --> 01:16:36,591
that his father had passed
and he was staying there

1494
01:16:36,592 --> 01:16:38,508
for the funeral.

1495
01:16:38,509 --> 01:16:40,466
While he was in his hometown,

1496
01:16:40,467 --> 01:16:43,882
he had been sitting in
the local bar/restaurant

1497
01:16:43,883 --> 01:16:46,383
with his friends.

1498
01:16:46,384 --> 01:16:49,882
The skin tone and texture
in the pictures...

1499
01:16:49,883 --> 01:16:53,842
he just looked so bad.

1500
01:16:56,050 --> 01:17:00,883
I don't know, it's almost like he
already looked like he was dying.

1501
01:18:09,426 --> 01:18:10,799
One of the legends

1502
01:18:10,800 --> 01:18:12,550
of the professional wrestling world

1503
01:18:12,551 --> 01:18:13,509
is dead tonight.

1504
01:18:13,510 --> 01:18:14,924
André Roussimoff,

1505
01:18:14,925 --> 01:18:16,882
better known as André the Giant,

1506
01:18:16,883 --> 01:18:18,966
died of an apparent heart attack in Paris.

1507
01:18:18,967 --> 01:18:21,799
The professional wrestler
known as André the Giant

1508
01:18:21,800 --> 01:18:24,550
has died in Paris of an
apparent heart attack.

1509
01:18:24,551 --> 01:18:26,634
He was 46 years old.

1510
01:18:29,342 --> 01:18:33,842
We all have regrets in life, but I wish...

1511
01:18:39,634 --> 01:18:42,175
There's no cryin' in wrestlin'.

1512
01:18:47,676 --> 01:18:50,467
I wish I could have been there.

1513
01:18:55,509 --> 01:18:57,966
With him.

1514
01:18:57,967 --> 01:19:01,883
He died all alone in a hotel room.

1515
01:19:05,800 --> 01:19:08,842
I can't change that now, can I?

1516
01:19:11,925 --> 01:19:15,008
Do you remember the last
time you spoke with him?

1517
01:19:17,342 --> 01:19:19,174
Not specifically.

1518
01:19:19,175 --> 01:19:20,175
Um...

1519
01:19:22,008 --> 01:19:23,008
No, I don't.

1520
01:19:24,758 --> 01:19:28,757
I have a facility to...

1521
01:19:28,758 --> 01:19:33,007
to get rid of negatives very quickly.

1522
01:19:33,008 --> 01:19:36,217
And if something hurts me, I get rid of it.

1523
01:19:38,467 --> 01:19:41,841
Did Andre’s passing affect
you more than other passings

1524
01:19:41,842 --> 01:19:42,966
that you've experienced?

1525
01:19:42,967 --> 01:19:44,299
More than what?

1526
01:19:44,300 --> 01:19:45,550
More than other passings that--

1527
01:19:45,551 --> 01:19:47,758
Oh, God.

1528
01:19:54,758 --> 01:19:56,883
He was special.

1529
01:20:52,467 --> 01:20:54,299
You never know, maybe tonight

1530
01:20:54,300 --> 01:20:55,675
will be my last night.

1531
01:20:55,676 --> 01:20:57,383
Maybe tomorrow will be my last night,

1532
01:20:57,384 --> 01:21:00,467
and so I don't make any plans,
I just keep going.

1533
01:21:05,967 --> 01:21:07,133
He was like...

1534
01:21:07,134 --> 01:21:08,299
a brother.

1535
01:21:08,300 --> 01:21:11,633
He was like a big part of me.

1536
01:21:11,634 --> 01:21:13,925
How do you replace that?

1537
01:21:16,967 --> 01:21:19,467
He was the guy,
and he always will be the guy.

1538
01:21:21,717 --> 01:21:24,550
And I say all the time,
I don't want to be the champion,

1539
01:21:24,551 --> 01:21:25,924
I just want to be the Giant.

1540
01:21:25,925 --> 01:21:28,341
I just want to be André the Giant.

1541
01:21:28,342 --> 01:21:31,174
André never needed costuming.

1542
01:21:31,175 --> 01:21:36,508
He never needed to paint his
face or wear strange robes.

1543
01:21:36,509 --> 01:21:38,341
The single most extraordinary athlete

1544
01:21:38,342 --> 01:21:40,007
of this or any other generation...

1545
01:21:40,008 --> 01:21:42,383
He was absolutely unique.

1546
01:21:42,384 --> 01:21:45,676
He was a figure of the
imagination come to life.

1547
01:21:49,842 --> 01:21:51,633
We're a myth-making people.

1548
01:21:51,634 --> 01:21:54,007
That's how we understand ourselves

1549
01:21:54,008 --> 01:21:55,633
and the world around us.

1550
01:21:55,634 --> 01:21:57,174
He's not the only real person

1551
01:21:57,175 --> 01:21:59,007
around whom mythology has grown.

1552
01:21:59,008 --> 01:22:00,216
William Wallace,

1553
01:22:00,217 --> 01:22:02,299
Vlad the Impaler, Davy Crockett.

1554
01:22:02,300 --> 01:22:04,383
These are real people around whom

1555
01:22:04,384 --> 01:22:07,508
these incredible mythologies
grew over the years.

1556
01:22:07,509 --> 01:22:10,133
André the Giant is one of those people.

1557
01:22:10,134 --> 01:22:13,049
He is at once a real human,

1558
01:22:13,050 --> 01:22:16,049
but at the same time he's
a mythological figure.

1559
01:22:16,050 --> 01:22:17,799
I like to make everybody happy

1560
01:22:17,800 --> 01:22:20,091
and that's why I'm traveling
all over the world.

1561
01:22:20,092 --> 01:22:22,174
I want to make everybody have the chance

1562
01:22:22,175 --> 01:22:23,383
to see the Giant,

1563
01:22:23,384 --> 01:22:25,092
and I want to say hello to everybody.

1564
01:24:47,509 --> 01:24:50,217
This has been a presentation of...

1564
01:24:51,305 --> 01:24:57,843
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