# How strong was Andre the Giant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415 "2013-02-26T04:40:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/41 "2013-02-27T04:24:51Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > Anybody want a peanut? Stop the references, I mean it! ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/42 "2013-02-27T04:38:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Unbelievable that several people here have actually ran into the guy, talked and met him on different occassions. Well, he did spend much of his life on the road, eating and drinking in bars and restaurants. Andre, incidentally, is said to hold the world record for the greatest number of beers drank in one sitting. I won’t mention the number, since I’m not quite sure weather to believe it, but it’s a lot. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/43 "2013-02-27T05:03:19Z")
One of the most poignant moments in the documentaries on the special edition _TPB_ DVD was Robin Wright talking about how, when it was cold on the set (which was apparently most of the time), Andre would put his hand on her head to help her keep warm. And his hand would much more than cover her head. She lost her composure a bit describing it, and I must confess to getting a little catch in my throat as well listening to it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/44 "2013-02-27T11:32:05Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > By the time of The Princess Bride, the answer is “not very”. Like many people with acromegaly, he suffered from severe bone, nerve and joint pain, and just after Princess Bride had very invasive back surgery to attempt to correct what’s described as an [abnormally narrow opening that the spinal cord runs through](http://books.google.com/books?id=u8RNM7QmEqkC&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=andre+the+giant+illness&source=bl&ots=6RKndbqTH1&sig=gaJbety5yBT8AqxgPtNEzEHZ2Fc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=12otUbSIL8vMqQHM24CoCg&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=andre%20the%20giant%20illness&f=false) (spinal stenosis, perhaps? I can’t find a diagnosis, but that’s what it sounds like). Cary Elwes was quite concerned about hurting him during their fight scene, and some camera tricks were used to make it look like he was bearing Elwes’ weight on his back when he wasn’t. While he could probably still \*pull \*weight, using his own impressive bodyweight as a counter weight, he couldn’t lift much anymore. > > Citation, citation…uh, the commentary on one of the DVDs maybe? I wrote a paper on it in school once, but that was a couple of hard drives ago. Citation: I’ll corroborate this, what **WhyNot** says, based on a TV show about his life. I think it was an episode of Biography. It was a good insight into the life of this man. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/45 "2013-02-27T15:35:43Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > By the time of The Princess Bride, the answer is “not very”. Like many people with acromegaly, he suffered from severe bone, nerve and joint pain, and just after Princess Bride had very invasive back surgery to attempt to correct what’s described as an [abnormally narrow opening that the spinal cord runs through](http://books.google.com/books?id=u8RNM7QmEqkC&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=andre+the+giant+illness&source=bl&ots=6RKndbqTH1&sig=gaJbety5yBT8AqxgPtNEzEHZ2Fc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=12otUbSIL8vMqQHM24CoCg&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=andre%20the%20giant%20illness&f=false) (spinal stenosis, perhaps? I can’t find a diagnosis, but that’s what it sounds like). Cary Elwes was quite concerned about hurting him during their fight scene, and some camera tricks were used to make it look like he was bearing Elwes’ weight on his back when he wasn’t. While he could probably still \*pull \*weight, using his own impressive bodyweight as a counter weight, he couldn’t lift much anymore. > > Citation, citation…uh, the commentary on one of the DVDs maybe? I wrote a paper on it in school once, but that was a couple of hard drives ago. Your description is accurate. With a rope tied around his waist he could have towed a Space Shuttle, but his back was in terrible shape. > [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > Well, he did spend much of his life on the road, eating and drinking in bars and restaurants. > > Andre, incidentally, is said to hold the world record for the greatest number of beers drank in one sitting. I won’t mention the number, since I’m not quite sure weather to believe it, but it’s a lot. Andre used to drink a case of beer the way an ordinary guy drank a single beer after work. When he had his leg operating on the anesthetists had no way to guage how much anasthetic to use except to estimate based on his drinking capacity. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/46 "2013-08-20T04:38:49Z")
> [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > Well, he did spend much of his life on the road, eating and drinking in bars and restaurants. > > Andre, incidentally, is said to hold the world record for the greatest number of beers drank in one sitting. I won’t mention the number, since I’m not quite sure weather to believe it, but it’s a lot. That would have been 200 iirc on a flight back from Japan. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/47 "2013-08-20T11:51:08Z")
Just wanted to point out how apropos the OP’er’s handle was. ---
**Author:** ![mrwade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@mrwade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrwade)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/48 "2017-05-03T08:56:26Z")
well, according to the big show, paul white, his own strength was GREATER then it is now, because they removed the tumor. so andre , never having his removed would have kept that strength. I never saw andre stain to do anything, and i seen him pick and body slam near 400 pound kamala, slap around 6 foot 9, 350 erinie ladd, double arm suplex, near 400 pound bam bam bigalow. the car incident is legit, there are police records of it, and there were three men in It, so even more weight Again to compare, big show, while still having the tumor, got real life mad after a match, and tore the ring apart, and i use to put those together, he’d broken the steel support cable under the ring to do that. andre was just as big, if not bigger It is said, by anyone that knew him, nobody could beat him, if he diddn’t allow it. So he had to be strong enough to over power guys like hogan, who addmitted, andre was stronger then him, by a lot. so take hogan, s strength, and maybe , half again as strong ? mass means a LOT also. i’m big, 260 pounds, and it’s so easy, to lift and move things, regular sized guys cant. i can’t imagine, being over 500, without it being blubber. he got over wieght, but was more muscle then fat, he just had no cuts ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/49 "2017-05-03T10:24:42Z")
> [@mrwade](#): > > well, according to the big show, paul white, his own strength was GREATER then it is now Yes, I find it very easy to believe that Andre the Giant’s strength in the past was greater than it is now. ETA: Oh, wait, you are saying someone named Paul White was stronger in the past. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/50 "2017-05-03T10:43:25Z")
What, no Obey jokes yet? > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > The story is repeated in various forms all over the net. Well, it must be true then! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/51 "2017-05-03T12:26:43Z")
Oh, and > [@](#): > > Quoth **Enter the Flagon** : > > Well, he did spend much of his life on the road, eating and drinking in bars and restaurants. That, plus the fact that he’s instantly recognizable. Most famous actors, if they don’t want to be recognized, can just look like an ordinary guy (that’s what they’re trained at, after all). Or at most, people would walk by and say “Hey, that guy looks a lot like \_\_\_\_\_”. Probably lots of us have shared a restaurant with various celebrities and just never realized it. With Andre, though, if you were in a restaurant with him, you **would** notice, and there would **not** be any chance of mistaking who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/52 "2017-05-03T12:33:20Z")
To update the Andre/Samuel Beckett story I mentioned four years ago, there is a now [a very entertaining dramatization of this](http://observer.com/2017/01/urban-myths-recap-samuel-beckett-andre-the-giant/), told in a suitably Beckettesque style. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/53 "2017-05-03T12:37:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, and > > That, plus the fact that he’s instantly recognizable. Most famous actors, if they don’t want to be recognized, can just look like an ordinary guy (that’s what they’re trained at, after all). Or at most, people would walk by and say “Hey, that guy looks a lot like \_\_\_\_\_”. Probably lots of us have shared a restaurant with various celebrities and just never realized it. With Andre, though, if you were in a restaurant with him, you **would** notice, and there would **not** be any chance of mistaking who he was. And he was rather uncomfortable with that. Nobody would say “Hey, that guy looks a lot like Andre Rousimoff”. He wasn’t comfortable having his whole life consumed by the character he played. I have no doubt his prodigious drinking was a way of coping with the public existence he couldn’t escape. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/54 "2017-05-03T14:24:49Z")
He was almost a Redskin . . . sort of . . . > **[Urban Legends of the NFL: Andre the Giant, Defensive End, Washington Redskins](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2655400-urban-legends-of-the-nfl-andre-the-giant-defensive-end-washington-redskins)** > > The NFL was filled with colorful characters in the 1970s. There was "Mean" Joe Greene and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, "Hacksaw" Jack Reynolds and Jack "The Assassin" Tatum. And, of course, there was Andre Roussimoff, better known as Andre the Giant... ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415/55 "2017-05-03T16:00:56Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Per NPR’s “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” the [source of that tale is Cary Elwes](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127043558), supposedly retelling what Andre told him: I read in a book by William Goldman with lots of Princess Bride stories, though I recollect it that they would WALK to school together. I’ll recheck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-was-andre-the-giant/651415.md?page=2)