Was Andre a nice guy?

[Sephiroth]

I hear a lot of mixed stories. On one hand, he is painted as a party animal who loved to have fun, who was very generous with his money and would do anything for his friends, and who had a soft spot for little kids. But on the other hand, he was a drunk, a womanizer, had a hair trigger temper, and wasn't above taking his frustrations out on someone in the ring if the mood struck him. I have personally concluded that part of why Big Show has not been as dominant as Andre was is because he is a nicer guy than Andre; the stories make it sound like Andre was not above bullying promoter's to stay on top of the show, and that if he did not want to take part in a storyline or feud then that was all she wrote on it. Big Show seems to actually enjoy doing some oef the goofy stories and characters he has been given, and doesn't mind being made to look like a giant doofus. But I could be wrong.

[Cam]

I think Andre was kind of a big grump who just liked the simple things in life, but was a nice enough guy once you became close with him.

[Mac]

He seems like a dick from most stories, but for some reason the people who liked him act as if his dickish behavior was somehow a good thing.

[The Sam]

I'd say he was a human. He probably good days and bad days, just like everyone else.

[notasmark]

I think Andre has the classic "Deceased so a nice guy" routine going on.

I've heard a lot of stories and Andre seemed to be a bit of a dick to the fans and some workers (Trying to hurt Warrior anyone?) but he seemed okay with a majority of workers.

[molson5]

I bet a guy that gigantic, especially in that time, didn't have the same social development as the rest of us.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

I'm under the impression that his attitude grew worse as his health did. In the last few years of his life, he was constantly in considerable pain

He also had the misfortune of being both an attraction and a very private person. After a while, he got tired of being stared at, of people asking, "How tall are you?," "How much do you weigh?," "Are you Andre the Giant?"

Bobby Heenan told a story about seeing Andre in the airport, sitting in a public area and obviously getting annoyed with all the attention he was getting. Bobby tried to get him to come into the private lounge with him, but Andre said no because Vince Sr. had told him that as an attraction, he should make himself visible.

[Smiley Smile]

There are quite a few quite unpleasant stories about him doing the rounds. The most notorious is the one about him making racist comments around Bad News Allen/Brown and almost getting a kicking for his troubles.

Someone touched on this before in this thread, but I think the legend and myth very much affects the way people in and out of the business view him..

[Blindkarevik]

I guess it depends on who you talk to.... I've heard a lot of stories from the set of "The Princess Bride" saying he was a nice, gentle giant. I hear a lot of road stories saying he was a dick. Like if he was booked into a Battle Royal and got bored, he'd just step over the top rope and leave even if he was supposed to win.

To be honest, though, I think there's a bit of the kayfabe era behind the "being a dick" stories. A LOT of wrestlers seemed like dicks back then, but you almost had to be since you're hearing your profession is staged, and you're constantly trying to defend it because that's how they did things. You don't want to show weakness to fans or other wrestlers, especially ones you're put in charge of teaching the road to.

Andre was an attraction and, unlike most other wrestlers.. if you look hard enough, you can probably find someone else with similar skill, personality, charisma or whatever.... so you could tell them what's what and they'd have to listen otherwise, there's a dime a dozen just like them. Andre, there's only one of him and he's recognizable... just saying Andre The Giant was going to be at your show could guarantee a good payday and he knew that... he could be a dick and knew it wouldn't hurt him because the promotion couldn't afford to piss him off, because he might not come back.

[mrjl]

Nov 25, 2012 13:02:42 GMT -5 notasmark said:

I think Andre has the classic "Deceased so a nice guy" routine going on.

I've heard a lot of stories and Andre seemed to be a bit of a dick to the fans and some workers (Trying to hurt Warrior anyone?) but he seemed okay with a majority of workers.

he didn't hurt Warrior anymore than Warrior was hurting him

[Deleted]

I heard a story about how he made some comments about Haku/Meng, and got an ass whooping.

[ritt works hard fo da chickens]

Besides the racist bs, which is inexcusable but in context it was also a totally different era then most of us know, I don't think he was a dick. A womanizer and hard drinker yeah.

It's impossible for people to even grasp the life that man lived. He grew up being hauled to school in a truck by the author Samuel Beckett because he couldn't fit in a school bus. Every promoter wanted to milk him for what they could and any new guy would love to get a chance to prove something with him. He had to be tough because he wasn't mobile enough or ever really healthy enough to actually go with a lot of those trained shoot fighters. Big Show's been on specially designed medicine his entire adult life to deal with a lot of the negative side effects of giantism. Andre had asprin and booze. With joints stressed from that much weight and pressure he wouldn't have had a chance against a Danny Hodge or Harley Race if they wanted to prove something. So he had to be a bit paranoid. Hogan recounts how Andre would watch his back overseas because he knew there was always someone ready to shoot on you back in those days. Big Show started in the main event scene of WCW. He was a cash cow to Bischoff and never had to deal with
a fraction of the crap Andre did.

[Mozenrath]

Nov 25, 2012 15:32:16 GMT -5 mrjl said:

Nov 25, 2012 13:02:42 GMT -5 notasmark said:

I think Andre has the classic "Deceased so a nice guy" routine going on.

I've heard a lot of stories and Andre seemed to be a bit of a dick to the fans and some workers (Trying to hurt Warrior anyone?) but he seemed okay with a majority of workers.

he didn't hurt Warrior anymore than Warrior was hurting him

Yeah, that is literally the worst example to display he was a dick: hitting someone back who was working unsafely just to look good.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Nov 25, 2012 13:09:21 GMT -5 molson5 said:

I bet a guy that gigantic, especially in that time, didn't have the same social development as the rest of us.

The amount of pain he had to have been in at any one time probably didn't help his disposition any.

Plus, a guy like Big Show is looked at like just a huge guy; Andre was very much treated like a freak in a lot of ways probably.

As has been said, he was a human being that probably had good days and bad just like everyone.

[sdoyle7798]

Nov 25, 2012 17:39:49 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Nov 25, 2012 15:32:16 GMT -5 mrjl said:

he didn't hurt Warrior anymore than Warrior was hurting him

Yeah, that is literally the worst example to display he was a dick: hitting someone back who was working unsafely just to look good.

Or it could be seen as defending himself.

If I am correct, you are talking about when Warrior and Andre were doing the house shows, and they did a spot in those matches where Warrior clothelines Andre into the ropes and Andre ends up tied up.

Warrior kept hitting Andre, who was in pretty bad shape by this point, full force, even after Andre's requests that he lighten up. Finally, Andre had enough, and when Warrior came in to do the clothesline spot, running full speed, Andre stuck out his fist, and Warrior ran head first into it, knocking himself silly.

After that, Warrior lightened up.

If that is the story you meant, Andre tried to handle it with words. When that didn't work...well, he handled it the way most wrestlers take care of things when words don't work.

Don't see how that makes him a dick.

[Sephiroth]

I do suspect that some of the more outrageous stories about Andre's behavior come largely from later in his life, when his ailing health and the years of living in the spotlight had sapped any patience he may have had. A younger, healthier Andre may have been more willing to put up with fans pestering him, or green workers being stiff in the ring-but by that stage in his life Andre had no patience left and was just locked in a perpetually grouchy state. It also sounds like the McMahon's never really put any limits on Andre-they let him get away with doing pretty much whatever he wanted, so he had no reason to hold back in certain situations. Other promoters may, for instance, have told Andre not to sit around backstage in the buff in full view of fans-though whether he would have actually listened is another matter.

[mizerable]

I don't think it was much of him being a dick as it was being a prima donna. It seems like if Andre didn't get his way, he would go out of his way to snub you or worse yet...make you look bad.

[Corporate H]

By most accounts he was a glorified A-hole.

[NOwave]

As has been said, he was a human being that probably had good days and bad just like everyone.

This is certainly true. Magnify that by the fact that he knew he would die young and in pain. Add that to the "circus act" attention he got thru his entire life, and I'd bet very few people could be polite all the time. Must have been very hard.

Andre, there's only one of him and he's recognizable... just saying Andre The Giant was going to be at your show could guarantee a good payday and he knew that... he could be a dick and knew it wouldn't hurt him because the promotion couldn't afford to piss him off, because he might not come back.

This was why the promoters let him get away with a lot. In the 1970s, he was just about the only guy that could guarantee a full house in any arena in the country based on his name being on the card.

With joints stressed from that much weight and pressure he wouldn't have had a chance against a Danny Hodge or Harley Race if they wanted to prove something. So he had to be a bit paranoid. Hogan recounts how Andre would watch his back overseas because he knew there was always someone ready to shoot on you back in those days.

This is a good question: Do you think it's true? Could a legit fighter truly have beaten Andre? A lot of people didn't think so. Bret Hart commented in his book that all the WWF guys of that era knew that Andre could literally kill them in the ring if he wanted to, and so tried hard to stay on his good side. The Bad News Brown incident might have been the exception that proved the rule. Maybe Andre knew enough not to actually take him up on his challenge because he knew he could kill Brown? Maybe Brown was so upset by the racial comments from Andre(which were obnoxious) that he let his pride get the best of him.

I remember my dad working in the Memphis territory in the 70s, felt that way, as did the rest of the guys. Mike Stark was a legit tough guy then, at 6'5" and 295 or so. He seemed to be no exception in his regard for Andre, as far as I could tell.

[Todd Pettengill]

My father got drunk with Andre & Ted DiBiase one night at the Desmond (A large hotel with a bar) in Albany in the late 80s. The bar was fairly dead, so maybe that contributes a little him standing by the fact that they were genuinely very nice & polite to him, the handful of other patrons, and the barkeep. My Father was too intimidated to ask Andre for his autograph, despite sharing a number of drinks, but he watched closely as Andre signed for the tab at the end of the night, and to this day is so impressed how a man of Andre's size could hold a tiny pen after a bunch of drinks, and sign his name so eloquently.