Born to French parents in the mountains of Russia in 1903, Maurice Tillets life was never going to be an easy one. His father died when he was 14 and young Maurice and his mother were forced to escape to France following the Russian revolution. By the time he turned 17, his face and hands had contorted and grown to enormous size. It must have been an extremely painful time, both emotionally and physically, for the young man. Tillet was suffering from acromegaly, which is the same condition that famously affected The Big Show and Andre The Giant, as well as Abraham Lincoln. Instead of growing taller, however, Tillet simply became hugely disproportioned. Tragically, there was nothing that any doctors of his era could do for him. A fiercely intelligent young man (he spoke at least five, some sources say as much as fourteen, languages and was very well read), Maurice Tillet became a law student, but, as his condition slowly closed his vocal chords, he realized that practicing law would be impossible. He had a stint in the navy, acted in a few movies and, in his own words, tried a little of all professions without much success. Tillet took out his frustrations by playing rugby, which developed his physical strength and conditioning. He also wrestled in France and England (where he was billed as The Angel or, rather unkindly, The Ugliest Man In The World), but the outbreak of World War Two forced him to seek employment in America instead. In the US, Maurice Tillet became a star. Not only did he allow himself to be studied and measured by a team of Harvard professors, he also posed as a Neanderthal Man at the Museum of Natural History. Some may call this exploitation and, in large part, it was, but Tillet made good money from his appearances and attracted many to his wrestling shows by doing so. He also participated in strongman events, pulling trains and buses in order to demonstrate his physical prowess. Now being exclusively billed as The Angel, which is what his mother used to call him, Maurice held a version of the World Heavyweight Championship three times (by our count officially he is only listed as a two-time World Champ) in the Boston, Massachusetts area and was declared a World Champion in Canada as well. By the late 1940s, Maurice Tillet was Americas highest paid sports figure. He was so popular in the 40s, that other promoters (in particular Jack Pfeffer) started ripping off his act and billing other deformed or odd looking wrestlers as The Angel (including Tor Johnson, The Super Swedish Angel more on him later), this meant that Tillet had to wrestle as The French Angel and in retaliation, he eventually knocked Pfeffer out cold. Aside from that one incident, Tillet was pretty much a gentle giant. He loved children, had a lot of friends and had many girlfriends, although he never married. As a fascinating postscript, The French Angel is also at the centre of one of wrestlings greatest ghost stories. Following his death in 1954, the ghost of the French Angel is said to have haunted one of three busts made from his enlarged head. According to Tillets friend, businessman Patrick Kelly (who owned one of the busts), the ghost of The Angel would occasionally return and play chess with him. Tillet was an avid chess player and had especially enjoyed matching wits with Kelly. By the 1980s, Kelly, who still missed his old friend, had an electronic chess set setup next to his bust of Tillet. Allegedly, the device would deviate from its programming and use Tillets favoured tactics...Especially when it wasnt plugged in. As long as the chess set was near the bust of Tillets head, it would play against Kelly and play as Tillet would have played. Once the story caught on, the head was X-rayed by scientists and found to contain nothing but solid plaster. Spooky. Despite the many setbacks he suffered, Maurice Tillet had an indomitable spirit. He was in pain and ill health for much of his life and he only lived until the age of 45, but he rarely, if ever, let it get him down. In 1943, Tillet told the Oakland Tribune, Since I was a little boy old enough to know what it was about, I have been the object of curiosity. Long ago I accepted my appearance for what it was. No, I do not have an inferiority complex. I have not let my looks how you say it? down.
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
In the US, Maurice Tillet became a star. Not only did he allow himself to be studied and measured by a team of Harvard professors, he also posed as a Neanderthal Man at the Museum of Natural History. Some may call this exploitation and, in large part, it was, but Tillet made good money from his appearances and attracted many to his wrestling shows by doing so. He also participated in strongman events, pulling trains and buses in order to demonstrate his physical prowess. Now being exclusively billed as The Angel, which is what his mother used to call him, Maurice held a version of the World Heavyweight Championship three times (by our count officially he is only listed as a two-time World Champ) in the Boston, Massachusetts area and was declared a World Champion in Canada as well. By the late 1940s, Maurice Tillet was Americas highest paid sports figure. He was so popular in the 40s, that other promoters (in particular Jack Pfeffer) started ripping off his act and billing other deformed or odd looking wrestlers as The Angel (including Tor Johnson, The Super Swedish Angel more on him later), this meant that Tillet had to wrestle as The French Angel and in retaliation, he eventually knocked Pfeffer out cold. Aside from that one incident, Tillet was pretty much a gentle giant. He loved children, had a lot of friends and had many girlfriends, although he never married. As a fascinating postscript, The French Angel is also at the centre of one of wrestlings greatest ghost stories. 