Andre the Giant's daughter wants a tribute to dad

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

Wrestling Giant's Daughter Wants Father Remembered

 

SEATTLE (Reuters) - It would be hard to forget Andre the Giant, whose freakish size belied surprising grace and agility and made him one of the most popular professional wrestlers of all time, even now, nearly a decade after his death.

 

Andre the Giant, nicknamed "The Eighth Wonder of the World," was billed as 7-foot-5 and 520 pounds with a sprawling 71-inch chest and 16-inch hands that made beer cans look like thimbles.

 

Yet to his only child, watching today's beefcakes strut for screeching fans at a raucous World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. news conference last week, the man who was one of the foremost worldwide attractions in professional wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s seemed less than an afterthought.

 

"It seems like they don't honor him. It's almost like he's forgotten," said Robin Christensen, 23-year-old daughter of Andre Roussimoff, born in France in 1946 with overactive growth hormones that would ultimately lead to his death in January 1993 at age 46 after a lifetime with the medical condition known as acromegaly.

 

Nearly 6 feet tall herself and bearing a striking resemblance to her father, Christensen hopes WWE will mark the 10th anniversary of his death when it brings its signature WrestleMania event next March to Seattle, where she lives.

 

During his career, Andre the Giant was one of the top attractions in professional wrestling -- a spectacle of matches with predetermined finishes that blends athletics with outlandish showmanship.

 

Andre wrestled frequently for the World Wrestling Federation, as WWE was known until earlier this year, but also was a wrestling star abroad, particularly in Japan. He also appeared in several films and television shows, most notably a key role in director Rob Reiner's 1987 hit "The Princess Bride."

 

'WE HONOR ANDRE'S MEMORY'

 

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, the world's most-famous wrestling impresario, gave few details about the program for WrestleMania -- an annual pay-per-view extravaganza that is the biggest day of the year for professional wrestling in the United States. But McMahon spoke fondly of Andre the Giant.

 

"We honor Andre's memory almost every day. Hardly a day goes past where we don't think and/or talk about Andre, but nothing specific (was planned) for WrestleMania," McMahon told Reuters after the presentation.

 

McMahon promised to pack 50,000 fans into Seattle's Safeco Field and "blow the roof off" at WrestleMania, which dates to 1985. WrestleMania came of age in 1987, when Hulk Hogan pinned Andre the Giant, symbolically taking over as wrestling's biggest star, in front of an announced crowd of 93,000 people at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

 

But handouts detailing the history of WrestleMania focus on attendance and box office receipts, failing to mention any specific wrestlers until the 1995 event.

 

A stylized version of Andre the Giant's imposing visage is still seen in cities around the world, stenciled across street signs and sidewalks by artist Shepard Fairey beginning in the 1990s, or by followers he inspired.

 

But while Fairey's work helped rekindle interest in the mountainous wrestler, which his daughter appreciates, Christensen is less enthralled by Fairey's sales of prints including his Giant stencils.

 

'HE NEEDS TO PAY ROYALTIES'

 

"I can't get into it because there are legal procedures," Christensen said. "But he needs to pay royalties."

 

In a similar case involving sales of T-shirts bearing the likenesses of the Three Stooges comedy troupe, the U.S. Supreme Court ( news - web sites) ruled last January that a portrait artist must pay the Stooges' heirs $75,000 in profits plus $150,000 in legal fees.

 

Christensen enjoys watching the current crop of WWE wrestlers, and she stood and screamed with the young crowd when her favorites were introduced in Seattle, bathed in flashing lights and pulsating music.

 

"They're unbelievable guys," she said with a grin.

 

The largest of the current WWE behemoths, "Big Show" Paul Wight, is listed at 7-foot-2 and 500 pounds.

 

Christensen had no doubts about who would win a match between Andre the Giant and Big Show.

 

"Oh, I know my dad could take him," she said.

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Um, I've read Bio's and seen the A&E Special on Andre and I could swear all of them said Andre and his daughter wasn't close. She didn't want anything to do with him. I believe Tim White said that in the A&E Bio. Now she wants ROYALTIES?

[Guest buffybeast]

When doesn't WWF mention Andre or show his pic? She just wants to get paid, probably.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Probably...cause every time Mania comes around they have to mention Hogan/Andre and they give that a mini tribute every year.

 

She's probably just looking for a handout.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

Nearly 6 feet tall herself and bearing a striking resemblance to her father

She's a female Hoss!!

[Guest Repo Man jr]

Was Nicole Bass a hoss?

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I'm still not convinced Bass didn't have a wiener...SHIT, don't wanna get sued...

[Guest Army Eye]

a striking resemblance to her father? Yikes.......

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Nearly 6 feet tall herself and bearing a striking resemblance to her father...

Does that mean she hits men in the head with clubs and drags them to her cave?

[Guest SupaTaft]

Well I personally think that they should do a big tribute to Andre. The man is an icon in the business and to ignore the anniversary of his death would be silly. All the WWE wants is money and passing up this opportunity to draw in at least a few more dollars is not like the company.

 

But on the subject of his daughter she introduced a wonderful idea... accept for demanding money. Fuckin freeloaders. But if you were in her shoes, wouldn't you do the same thing.

 

For a few dollars more...

 

-Taft

[Guest Trivia247]

well If Andre's Daughter asks for royalities wouldn't the children of other wrestlers ask the same when they die?

[Guest Anglesault]

Princess Andre bears a striking resemblance to her father? How Unfortunate.

[Guest Trivia247]

maybe hopefully they only mean that shes...um tall. Has anyone even see a pic of her?

[Guest Anglesault]

Well, she either looks like a man, is tall, fat, or has a afro. I'll pass.

[Guest Brian]

Meltzer said she looks like her old man.

[Guest TheHulkster]

This does seem really seedy. Andre has has a lot of tributes already by the WWF/E, more than even Hogan.

[cawthon777 0]

Of all the legendary WWF stars, Andre seems to be one of the most respected and loved by the company.

 

Guys like Hogan, Savage, Piper, Bret, and Sammartino who all helped build the company and were the cornerstones for the federation for many years don't seem to be as fondly remembered as Andre was.

 

I mean, hell, when the WWF bought out Coliseum Home Video back in 98 - what was one of their first videos? Andre the Giant: Larger than Life. Not Hogan, who was a bigger draw in the long term.

 

He was the first to be inducted in the WWF Hall in Fame shortly after his death, everyone loves him, everyone has great stories about him, and there doesn't seem to be a point to do a tribute just because his daughter is from Seattle.

 

(And yes, I'm sure she's a Hoss and could take Batista to the limit)

[Guest Luke Cage]

http://www.geocities.com/roseofdarknesss/W...girl-060925.jpg

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

"It seems like they don't honor him. It's almost like he's forgotten," said Robin Christensen, 23-year-old daughter of Andre Roussimoff

 

What a crock, WWE released a video on him.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

What a shame to forget the man who shat on someone during a house show. What legacy did he leave anyway? Being very tall and fat and immobile?

 

Since we can tell she wouldn't look good in a bikini from description alone, that makes the tribute all the more unlikely

 

(And yes, I'm sure she's a Hoss and could take Batista to the limit)

And Battista--overcome by lust--would take her far past it.

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

Nearly 6 feet tall herself and bearing a striking resemblance to her father

She's a female Hoss!!

Sign this bitch now... aren't you just waiting for the women's division to start getting hosses?

[Guest Trivia247]

What a shame to forget the man who shat on someone during a house show. What legacy did he leave anyway? Being very tall and fat and immobile?

 

Since we can tell she wouldn't look good in a bikini from description alone, that makes the tribute all the more unlikely

 

(And yes, I'm sure she's a Hoss and could take Batista to the limit)

And Battista--overcome by lust--would take her far past it.

Yea Insult the dead thats Mature.

 

The man was the symbol of wrestling people look at him and see Wrestling, like they would too Hogan.

 

Contributions? Oh Im Sorry he didn't Hit any Emerald Fusions or Hurricanrana's.... I Suppose he is suppose to have a extensive moveset before you even Respect the dead hmmm? Its not like Andre was Hogging any World Championship? Or held anyone down (Besides literally) Andre went out and Wrestled, even in Constant unending Pain, and you sit there and Insult him. WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!

 

Maybe its that once you seen Chris Benoit you just shit on anyone else who doesn't measure up to him.

 

Andre was da man. and He didn't achieve that being a Giant, or a Moveset machine. Andre was Da Man because he didn't bitch and moan about his creative direction. He didn't clutch to his own character. He didn't demand others shouldn't even be in the same ring with him. Or try to jerk with the booking just to keep the RVD's of his day in feuds with the Dino Bravos. Andre went out there, and Wrestled, Everyone Sold to him because it would be Royally Disrespectful not to. Andre is the figure head of what a Giant is.