I have a favorite drunkard. He was an athlete--a professional wrestler in fact--but he was also a gifted entertainer and a true artist. His parents named him Andre Rene Roussimoff, but we knew him as The Eighth Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant.
via www.drunkard.com
I found this article re: Andre the Giant's drunken escapades utterly charming. (Maybe that's bad?)
It reminded me of this Entertainment Weekly article about Rob Reiner that I read (!), which had this quote about M. Roussimoff:
Andre the Giant weighed 500 pounds, so we couldn't figure out how to get him on the horse. So we hooked up a pulley system with wires. Now, this is the day the Beaujolais nouveau has come out, and he starts drinking at 9 a.m. By the end of the day, he's literally drunk 20 bottles of [wine]. I'm finishing shooting in the Fire Swamp. [A crew member] said, 'Governor, do you want to take a look at this rig?' So I go to the other end of the studio. They open the doors of the soundstage, and there's this semi-drunken giant being lowered from the ceiling onto this horse, and he's going, 'Hullo, boss!' And I'm thinking, 'What do I do for a living? What is this job I have?'''
"M. Roussimoff" is a completely unacceptable way to refer to Andre the Giant.
Posted by: Anil Dash | August 11, 2009 at 10:35 PM
OMG, everybody at the age over 35 in Japan knows Andre the Giant. He has been one of the most favorite pro-wrestlers among Japanese fans, much much bigger or giant, than the current WWE heroes.
Posted by: fumiakiy | August 11, 2009 at 10:46 PM