The giant named Andr Roussimoff who towered among wrestlers

To wrestling fans, Andrthe Giant appeared larger than life.

But outside the ring, the man otherwise known as AndrRoussimoff could attest to the fact he did, in fact, find himselftoo large for various parts of day-to-day life.

"They don't build anything for a giant," saidRoussimoff, when speaking to CBC News back in March of 1985.

As Roussimoff explained, he found himself living in a world where cars were too compact, beds too small and ceilings too low for the 7'4" and then-480-pound wrestler to navigate.

"As I say, I have to live in your world," he said.

By that point in his career, Roussimoff hadspent half his lifein the wrestling ring, thrilling fans in Canada and the United States, as well as in his native France where he was born to a farming family on May 19,1946 and other countries around the globe.

A condition known as acromegaly made Roussimoff the giant he became. And that size gave him a natural advantage when grappling withopponents during the many years he spent in the ring.

Big opportunity

How Andr the Giant started wrestling

49 years ago

Duration 0:42

In 1975, Andr the Giant talks to CBC about how he got into the wrestling game.

In1975, Roussimoff told the CBC's Les Stoodleywhat drew him into the wrestling ring in the first place.

A translator explained that Roussimoff had grown up in France and seen occasional wrestling matches there.

"Then he got watching wrestling on TV and from there he got interested in coming into the sport because he was a big man and he thought he could do good in that sport," the translator said.

That brought him to the attention of local promoters and eventually into the world of wrestling.

"How long have you been in the game?" asked Stoodley.

"Ten years," Roussimoff saidin English.

Hitting the big time

Roussimoff, of course, would eventually find big-time fame as a featured member of the World Wrestling Federation.

He also landed some occasional acting work, such as when he played the role of Fezzik a giant, of course in The Princess Bride. He also appeared in guest roles on various TV shows includingThe Six Million Dollar Man andThe Fall Guy.

He was even a pitchman for Labatt at one point appearing in at least one French-language commercial for the Canadian brewer.

According to what CBCreported, Roussimoffwas making a reported annualsalary of $750,000, as of the mid-1980s.

His income allowed him to maintain a home at a ranch in North Carolina, where he stayed when he was not wrestling.

'I still love to get in the ring'

His work as a wrestler took him travelling around the world to challengeopponents and dazzle fans and from what he told CBC, he liked what he did.

"I love my profession. I know what I'm doing, Ilove travelling," said Roussimoff, who was 38 at the time of the1985 interview.

"Maybe if I retire now, I don't think I would feel good. I could retire if I wanted ... but I still love to get in the ring every night."

InJanuary 1993, Roussimoff travelled to France to attend the funeral for his father. He died that same month in the country where he was born at the age of 46.

"He just went to sleep and never woke up," his friend Frenchy Bernard told The Canadian Press in the wake of Roussimoff's death.

In death, Roussimoff left behind a daughter, in addition to his friends and family.