Maurice Tillet - French Angel Wrestler Maurice Tillet was the inspiration for Shrek.
Maurice Tillett and Wild Bill Sim
Wild Bill was 5 feet 9 inches, Morris 5 feet 8.5 inches. Many stories and pictures of Morris focus on how different he is proportionally to others, but you don't really see how different he is until you see him next to another man of similar height. Those close to him are said to have said that Morris was a very kind and decent man, and that he gave most of his money to children in need.
Maurice Tillett
Maurice Tillet, better known by his professional wrestling name "The French Angel". Maurice was born on October 23, 1903, in St. Petersburg, Russia, of French parents. His father was an engineer involved in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and his mother was a language teacher. Maurice lost his father when he was 8 years old. After some time, Maurice's mother moved him to Moscow, Russia, where she taught at St. Philip Neri Catholic School, where Maurice attended classes.
With the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917, his mother decided to move to Reims, France. She found a job teaching languages at a local girls' college. Through his mother's influence, Maurice learned to speak many languages. Morris was a devout Catholic and went to church every Sunday. Once in 1947 he was even given a tournament to watch the Pope.
By age 17, Morris' head, chest, arms and legs began to expand. At the age of 19, he was diagnosed with acromegaly. Acromegaly is a disease caused by a tumor of the pituitary gland, which then causes the bones to become abnormally thick. It made the public perceive him as an angelic youth and him as a monster.
Maurice received his secondary education at St. Stanislaus, a Catholic school in Paris. Upon completion, he went on to post-secondary studies at the University of Law of Toulouse.
He was always an athlete and particularly enjoyed rugby. Once in 1926 he was named in an all-French rugby team. After a match in London, he had the honor of shaking hands with King George V., to whom he was often mentioned.
Morris completed his law degree but decided not to practice.
In the French Navy, Maurice served as an engineer on many warships and eventually attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer, serving for 5 years. Eventually, he got tired of the Navy life and joined the civilian population again.
During this time frame, he dabbled in a number of careers and acted in French cinema. He wept when he heard that the French Navy had sunk his ship to avoid capture by the Nazis during World War II.
Morris was discovered in Paris, France in 1936 by Lithuanian light heavyweight champion amateur wrestler Carl Pojello. Carl knew Morris' good looks could make him a professional wrestling sensation. At the time, Morris was working as an actor and as a doorman at a local Paris studio. 1939 saw Morris wrestling in England, a nickname given to him by his mother as "The Angel". Other names given to him are less kind, such as "the ugliest man in the world". Bear hugs became his signature move.
By late 1939, Morris had a proven track record and was poised to invade professional wrestling in the United States. Morris made his American debut on January 24, 1940 at Boston Park against Luigi Bacigiupi. Morris came down the aisle, entered the ring, leaned against the ropes, and booed the crowd.
In his American debut, Harvard scientists anticipated Morris' vision. They asked him if he should measure up for science, and Morris agreed. Acromegalyx often didn't make it past their 30s, so they were curious about Morris. Acromegalyx would probably be debilitating, as Morris was still very strong and healthy at his current age of 37. Morris was 5 feet 8.5 inches tall, 276 pounds, chest 47 inches. Morris had twice the average head for a man his size and had hands that could shuffle three decks of cards. He was claimed to be the closest living specimen of Neanderthal known to date.
Crowds flocked to see this monster of a man who had gone back to prehistoric times. Morris proved incredibly strong and staged events where he pulled a bus or a street car. He wrestled and won against all the greatest wrestlers of his time. His personality was fierce, and although he was sold as a heel, he was kind, gentle, educated and well-mannered.
On May 13, 1940, Morris defeated Steve Casey by disqualification for the American Wrestling Association World Championship in Boston and rematched him two weeks later. Morris revived professional wrestling as crowds grew to see his physique and his ability. He went undefeated for nineteen months, but on May 13, 1942, Morris lost the AWA Championship back to Steve Casey.
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