Maurice Tillet -- the French Angel -- was a star in the early days of professional wrestling. At the only age of 51, the French Angel was buried at the Lithuanian National Cemetery at Justice Illinois, Cook country. Maurice grew up to be a very smart young man with a particular talent for language and literature; the polyglot allegedly spoke 14 different languages! His name and presence alone had made a huge impact on the wrestling world, and soon many Angel imitators emerged in the scene. The Early Years. He trained Tillet in Paris and would tour Europe fighting the caveman with cauliflower ears. On 1 August 1944, while zoot suit riots were raging in Vancouver, the French Angel beat Steve "The Crusher" Casey to win . Found inside – Page 723Thevenot , France ( Lons - le - Saunier ) Thiébaud , Maurice Switzerland ( Bienne ) Thiébaut , Charles France ( Île ... J. Belgium ( Jodoigne ) 584 Tidestrom , Ivar , 1864–1956 Ireland ( General ) 101 Tillet , Paul France ( Uriage ) 114 ... Wrestling promoter Paul Boesch writes about Tillet in his autobiography: “The fans crowded arenas to get a look at him and when the aberrant animal ambled down the aisle their curiosity was well satisfied.”. Here is a little more on his life. Maurice Tillet was born to French parents in the remote Ural Mountains of Russia Still, due to his deep voice and his altered physical appearance, he soon decided that it was unlikely that he could succeed as a lawyer. During her life she worked as a circus performer, earning an impressive $200 a week. Maurice Tillet (October 23, 1903 - September 4, 1954) was a Russian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel; Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Champion by the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser . I wanted to pass it on in case you haven't heard about it. Before 13 hours of his demise, one of his friends Pojello was also dead. In fact, his ogre-ific head was modeled after a real person; he was named Maurice Tillet and he was actually a very intelligent person who was a poet and writer who could speak 14 languages. (Above is Yohe again---CM) May 12, 1952 Manitowoc, WI - (New Opera House) -Maurice Tillet won 2 straight falls over Bob Massey. Found insideMaurice Tillet, the French Angel, suffered from a glandular disease called acromegaly that gave him enlarged, ... After that the title turned over several times before it passed to a wrestler named Lou Thesz, who would win and lose it ... Soon his whole body was disfigured as a result. Unfortunately, the PE class switches to basketball. Maurice Tillet whose bones . His story was to live on in the Death Masks that had been sculpted in 1954 by Bobby Managoff. Tillet enjoyed enormous popularity in the 1940's and eventually went on to win the professional wrestling championship and hold the title for an incredible 19 months. His size and his balance, along with a certain clumsiness that created an unorthodox defense, made you wary when you entered the ring with him.”. His father died when he was young. As a child, Maurice was incredibly intelligent. 6y. Maurice Tillet could pull a subway car and would perform the stunt in NYC to build up hype for his bouts. Originally published in 1934, A Backward Glance is a memoir written by Wharton in her last years. The book dwells on Wharton's early and middle life leading up to and including her experiences during the First World War. A bust of Maurice Tillet, on display at the Surgical Sciences museum in Chicago, IL, USA. He was the gentle giant, or a benevolent ogre. When Maurice Tillet was informed of Pojello’s death, the French Angel also passed away, dying 13 hours after his friend. The legend is that he died from grieving. Maurice Tillet was a gifted, highly intelligent man who could speak 14 languages.Maurice Tillet (in his 20s) developed Acromegaly, a rare and horrific disease which causes bones to grow wildly and uncontrollably.Within months, Tillet was transformed from a regularly developed young man to a deformed shell of himself. When he was young he was such a beautiful little boy that he was nicknamed The Angel. Nobody really knows what happened to the Russian beauty. I had never seen Maurice Tillet before, but he certainly has more than a passing resemblance to the Shrek character. Just shortly before Maurice Tillet passed away Chicago sculptor Louis Linck befriended Tillet and made a series of plaster busts commemorating him for his wrestling career. Before applying these tests, the experts use Maurice Tillet was born in 1903 to French parents in the Ural Mountains, Russia. For this reason, he made a career change, and he signed up to serve in the French Navy. The two were buried next to each other at the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. His birth name was Maurice . According to his Wikipedia entry, Tillet's bout in Vancouver was less than a week before he reached the pinacle of his career. Shrek was based on his physical appearance. Maurice Tillet (October 23, 1903 - September 4, 1954) was a French professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel. In 1942, Tillet moved to Montreal to wrestle and quickly picked up the Montreal version of the World Heavyweight Championship. He had an angelic face so his nickname was "The Angel". . Maurice Tillet was born on 23 April 1903 in Russia, and was such a beautiful boy he was given a nickname - The Angel. Maurice Tillet was born in 1903 in Russia to French parents who soon moved back to France to raise their son.By all accounts, he had a relatively normal childhood with no major health issues. Of particular interest to Effaced was the glimpse offered by Mark Humphries of . Renamed ‘The French Angel and often called the ‘freak ogre of the ring’, Maurice was a great success finishing off adversaries with his patented Bear Hug. This book explores both the facts and the emotions behind the newspaper headlines and medical textbooks. We are not dealing with a kind disease. Maurice Tillet would jump into the wrestling ring and roar at the crowd. Explore. Today. His disfigured appearance drove him to a career in wrestling, but Tillet was also a cultured, intelligent man who spoke 14 languages and wrote poetry. Maurice Tillet was featured in Time Magazine as the whole of America began to learn of his gargoyle face and wrestling feats. We are focusing on Maurice Tillet, who was a French wrestler after whom the character Shrek from the popular movie trilogy is said to be based one. Maurice Tillet Became a Model for Shrek Character (14 pics) Maurice Tillet was born in France and was very intelligent and spoke 14 languages. He became famous as a pro-wrestler in the states and eventually died of a heart attack at age 51. In 1903 Maurice Tillet was born somewhere in the Ural mountains, a vast Russian mountain range. From that mold, it was detailed he had created a few busts. In 1945, his health began to fail, and, in his matches, he could no longer be advertised as unstoppable. He had a tumor on his pituitary gland, resulting in the. Maurice "The French Angel" Tillet Early life, Professional . He wasn’t bitter about it.” – Tony Borne. 1956 This man is Maurice Tillet who was born in 1903. typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'&&__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-positivenegativeimpact_com-medrectangle-4-0'). Found inside – Page iv... Jr. Scott Lange Robert Langer Maurice Nadeau Donald Palmer Daniel Queior Wesley Straub Star Topinka Wesley Vasko ... William Singletary Louis Smith III Dean Thomas Eduardo Tillet Terrell Underwood James Witt Vocational Instructor ... Before 13 hours of his demise, one of his friends Pojello was also dead. They settled in Reims, France, where Tillet dreamt of becoming a lawyer or an actor. typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'&&__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-positivenegativeimpact_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'). The doctors diagnosed him with acromegaly- caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland which causes bone overgrowth. His parents were both Fench, but for the first years of Tillet’s life, he was raised in the Ural Mountains, where his mother worked as a teacher, and his father was a railroad engineer. One was given to Milo Steinborn, while the other two two ended up with Tillet's good friend Patrick Kelly. At the beginning of the 2001 film Shrek, the title character lives as a recluse in a remote swamp in the fairy-tale land of Duloc. Tillet was pissed with this one and the pair had a series of bouts; Tillet unanimously showed who was boss and the French Angel battered the Swedish one every time. At the age of 13, Maurice still had a normal stature. When he migrated to the United States, he became better known as the ‘French Angel,’ and he drew crowds in because of his unique appearance and skill. Maurice grew up to be a very smart young man with a particular talent for language and literature; the polyglot allegedly spoke 14 different languages! Afterwards, he fled France, became a . If you're looking for only the most well known guys, we've put those on this page here, along with bios, photos and videos.. Make sure to also check out our list of deceased wrestling managers and personalities.. Last updated: 6/30/2018 • About this list • Summarized data from this list (average age of . He became famous as a pro-wrestler in the states and eventually died of a heart attack at age 51. He fought his last wrestling bout in Singapore, on Valentines Day of 1953, where he was defeated by Bert Assirati, and took home a stunning Russian blond to complete the Shrek love story*. However, in his twenties, Maurice developed acromegaly. Known formally as Maurice Tillet, a Russian-born Frenchman, the man rose to prominence as a wrestling star in the 1930s and '40s. Maurice Tillet is a Russian-born French professional wrestler who had the ring name "The French Angel." Maurice Tillet had a disease called acromegaly, which meant that his bones would overgrow and thicken. He just kept growing. He was a mean fighter in the ring. His ears were so abundant he had customized headphones built out speakers*, but Shrek has to make do with these squidgy little mushrooms jutting out of his big green meathead. How strong and muscular can women get without steroids? He would have conversations with anyone and his knowledge of languages always impressed. Later dubbed the "French Angel," young Maurice was a perfectly normal little boy. Maurice was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 23, 1903 of French parents. (Above is Yohe again---CM) May 12, 1952 Manitowoc, WI - (New Opera House) -Maurice Tillet won 2 straight falls over Bob Massey. Maurice Tillet. Tillet’s life was changed by the death of his father and the 1917 Revolution, which forced his mother to relocate back to France in the Reims region to avoid the potential effects of the revolution. According to his Wikipedia entry, Tillet's bout in Vancouver was less than a week before he reached the pinacle of his career. Alan Behrens is an experienced writer and our editor-in-chief.PNI's goal is to publish high-quality, educational content covering everything from history to current events. The cash kept reigning in as he toured the States and wowed crowds with his freakish appearance. His popularity increased over the years, and he even had nineteen consecutive months in which he was not beaten in a single match. By 1945 Tillet was still beating the other big stars in the ring. He was born in 1903 in Russia. The main cause of Maurice Tillet's death was cardiovascular disease. With his slurred voice and thick French accent, most wrestlers said they struggled to have a conversation with him. In fact, he had such a cherubic face that he earned the nickname "The French Angel" in the course of his wrestling career, but wrestling wasn't always Tillet's dream. chakufia nini said: #1 1.) He was diagnosed with acromegaly. Trivia. Given his huge success, it came as no surprise when a series of wrestlers started performing under the angle nickname. So Tillet had to forget about the court room and join the French Navy. In August 1944 he bear-hugged Steve ‘Crusher’ Casey to take the American Wrestling Association World Championship. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He was the world champion and remained undefeated for over a year. He aspired to become an actor and was highly intelligent, allegedly speaking 14 languages and being quite gifted in prose. Maurice used his new appearance to . Even in the autobiographies of 40’s and 50’s wrestling legends, there are few clues as to who Maurice Tillet shared his bed with. Shrek was based on his physical appearance. Tillet was absolutely unstoppable in Boston and soon won the Boston version of the World Heavyweight Championship in May 1940. And so his legend managed to live on, through an animated reincarnation. As we've reminded you before, people in the past just didn't give a shit. Amazing! Unable to endure the constant gawking and humiliation, Maurice fled France. Meet the pro wrestler who was the inspiration for Shrek. 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