André the Giant

He has since become an ironic icon, stemming in part from a series of ubiquitous André the Giant Has a Posse art (which can be found on street corners and building walls in much of North America). In late 2003, Baer began developing an empty Walmart building and its property at the south end of Carson City into a Beverly Hillbillies-themed hotel and casino called Jethro's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino, which has yet to open. He was cremated and his ashes were spread over his ranch in North Carolina. He began to see it as a good marketing opportunity toward the gambling and hotel industry and began acquiring the contracts necessary to obtain the rights for marketing his latest idea. His heart finally failed him in 1993, and André passed away peacefully in his sleep at a hotel in Paris while in town for his father's funeral. A lot of people think of him as "Jethro Bodine" from The Beverly Hillbillies, he came to terms with that. He stopped competing entirely in the very early 1990s due to the increasing pain his illness was causing him, retiring to his winery in France. Baer decided if tourists would pay to see a ranch because of a well known series, then surely they would gladly pay "nothing" to see something dealing with the series The Beverly Hillbillies, whose TV audience was much larger than that of Bonanza.

By the late 1980s André was in constant, near-crippling pain and his heart struggled to pump blood throughout his massive body. Once inside, all there was to see was a working ranch, but people enjoyed it mostly because of the Bonanza connection. The disease that granted him his immense size also began to take its toll on his body. He also noticed that tourists would pay $5.00 to $6.00 admission to tour the "Ponderosa Ranch," which was the site of location filming on some episodes of TV's Bonanza. He had a cameo appearance in 1984's Conan the Destroyer as Dagoth, the resurrected horned giant beast, which is killed by Conan, the character portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, later Governor of California. In 1985, Baer began studying the gambling industry. André starred in several movies towards the end of his career, most notably as Fezzik in The Princess Bride. He directed the comedy Hometown USA (1979), then retired to his home at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, making occational guest appearances on TV.

André had a (real life?) falling out with Heenan and soon retired. When ABC tried to prevent him from making the movie, he sued and won a judgment of over $2,000,000. André won the WWF tag team titles with his partner Haku but they lost their titles at Wrestlemania 6 to Demolition. Baer later decided to pursue the rights to the 1984 song Like a Virgin by Madonna. Afterwards, André and Hogan's feud died down after a series of 'cage matches.'. Since the success of Ode to Billy Joe, the first movie based on a popular song, the motion picture industry has capitalized on the trend, producing over 100 song title movies. At Wrestlemania 4, André and Hulk Hogan went to a double DQ in a WWF title tournament match. It was made for $1.1 million and grossed $27,000,000 at the box-office, plus earnings in excess of $2.65 million in the foreign market, $4.75 million from television and $2.5 million from video.

André then "sold" the title to "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and the title was vacated. Bear produced the drama Ode to Billy Joe (1976), which turned a big profit. The replacement was referee Earl Hebner, who replaced his twin brother Dave Hebner. Baer then conceived the idea of using the title of a popular song to make a movie and acquired the rights to a 1967 Bobbie Gentry hit. André won the WWF title from Hogan on February 5, 1988 in a match where the original referee was knocked out and a replacement made a three count on Hogan while his shoulders were off of the mat. He wrote, produced and directed the drama The Wild McCullochs (1975), in which he also played Culver Robinson. Andre had to undergo back surgery in this time period. Made for $110,000, it grossed almost $25,000,000 at the box-office.

The feud between André and Hogan simmered, even as André's health declined. It was the largest grossing movie per dollar invested of all time. Hogan defeated Andre, in what many experts believe was a passing of the torch from André, wrestling's biggest star of the '70s, to Hogan, wrestling's biggest star of the '80s. Baer wrote and produced the drama Macon County Line (1974), in which he also played Deputy Reed Morgan. The event, held at the Pontiac Silverdome, broke the indoor attendance record with over ninety thousand fans in attendance, with millions watching on Pay-Per-View. After The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air in 1971, he made several more guest appearances on TV, but his major contribution to the entertainment industry was in the field of feature motion pictures. This was likely the most highly anticipated professional wrestling matchup in history – the apex of wrestling's most recent golden era. He has had one wife, Joanna Hill (married 1970-divorced 1971).

André then challenged Hogan to a title match at Wrestlemania 3, ripping the t-shirt and crucifix off of Hogan. During the nine year run of the show, he also appeared on Vacation Playhouse and Love, American Style, and in the Western movie A Time for Killing. Heenan announced that his new protege was André. In 1962, Baer was cast in the role of doltish Jethro Bodine on the TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, which he played with comidic mastery. Then, on an edition of Piper's Pit, Hogan was confronted by Heenan. His acting career began in 1960 at Warner Bros., where he appeared on TV programs that included Maverick, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne and 77 Sunset Strip. Hogan came out to congratulate André, but André walked out in protest. He attended Santa Clara University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in philosophy.

Shortly afterwards, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being undefeated for "15 years" (in the storyline). Max Baer, Jr., grew up in Sacramento. André came out to congratulate him. He was born Maximilian Adalbert Baer, Jr. in Oakland, California, the son of legendary boxing champion Max Baer and Mary Ellen Sullivan. His brother and sister are James Baer (born 1941) and Maude Baer (born 1943). In early 1987, Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF champion for 3 years. Max Baer, Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, screen writer, producer and director. André was turned heel in 1987 so that he could face Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania III.

Soon afterwards, Giant Machine disappeared and André was reinstated, to the approval of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Afterwards, André continued his feud with Studd and King Kong Bundy. Andre was suspended after a no-show; he returned under a mask as 'The Giant Machine' part of a team with 'Big Machine' (Robert "Blackjack" Windham) and 'Super Machine' (Bill Eadie). At Wrestlemania 2, André won a battle royal. After slamming Studd, he attempted to give the $15,000 prize to the fans, before having the bag stolen from him.

At Wrestlemania 1, André defeated Big John Studd in a bodyslam match. He was one of the WWF's most beloved "babyfaces" throughout the 1970s and early '80s, and was in fact undefeated for over ten years (before losing in 1987, his last defeat was sometime prior to 1977). He was reputedly offered a professional American football contract with the Chicago Bears and seriously considered it before turning it down, reasoning that he could make far more money wrestling (which was probably true, especially at that time). It is also said that André could drink an entire case of beer and not feel so much as a buzz.

Some of André's opponents were legitimately afraid to get in the ring with him for fear of getting accidentally crushed or pulverized, but those who got to know him soon learned that his personality was perhaps one of the gentlest in the world. André was a very imposing figure – it is said that he never tested the full extent of his true strength because he was afraid of the damage it might cause. By the time WWF owner Vince McMahon began to expand his promotion to the national level in the early 1980s, André wrestled exclusively for the WWF. After touring the world with different promotions for many years, he was signed by the World Wide Wrestling Federation (which would later change its name to the World Wrestling Federation) in the late 1970s and is now known as the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

Being around 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) and 520 pounds (236 kg) – his exact height is disputed by some – the sight of him alone was enough to draw huge crowds. Originally from a small farm near Grenoble, he left home in his adolescence to become a pro wrestler. André was one of the most well-known and respected professional wrestlers in the world. His great size was a result of acromegaly, or excessive growth hormone.

André the Giant (May 19, 1946 – January 27, 1993) was a professional wrestler and actor, born André René Roussimoff in Grenoble, France. Conan the Destroyer - 1984. The Princess Bride - 1987.