ELLERBE — The “Eighth Wonder of the World” has again been memorialized in the area he called home the last decade of his life.
The late wrestling legend Andre the Giant was honored Thursday with a State Historical Highway Marker by the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation near the rest area at the intersection of U.S. 220 and N.C. 73 in Ellerbe.
The marker sits a few miles southeast of where Andre lived when he wasn’t traveling for work.
THE MAN
Born Andre Roussimoff on May 19, 1946 in France, the Giant was known around the world for his career in professional wrestling, traveling through the North American territories and Japan throughout the ‘70s and becoming one of the first iconic stars of the World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment, in the ‘80s.
He also appeared in several television shows and movies, notably as the gentle giant Fezzik in “The Princess Bride.”
Andre passed away in 1993 while back home in France for his father’s funeral.
In 2015, the Rankin Museum of American Heritage in Ellerbe opened a permanent exhibit to honor the former Richmond County resident. Most of the items were donated by Jackie McAuley, who helped take care of Andre’s home and ranch while he was on the road along with her late ex-husband Frenchy Bernard, who was also in the wrestling business.
The ranch’s name and brand, AFJ, bears each of their initials.
“I think it is wonderful, because people get a chance to actually … know that this is where Andre lived,” McAuley said following the dedication. “And from that point on, they can ask at a store or, better yet, the museum … and they can learn more about the man.”
McAuley said since Andre has been gone for more than 30 years, there are those who remember him and a new generation that hasn’t been told any of his story.
“He considered this his home, and if he wasn’t anywhere else, this is where he wanted to be,” she said of the Ellerbe area. “Nothing made him happier than having his pig picking and people just dropping by and visiting.”
McAuley remembered waking up in the early morning hours “and they were still sitting outside my window … still eating, still drinking, but still having a good time.”
She said Andre loved Ellerbe because “he could be himself.”
“He knew that he could sit down and talk to these people,” McAuley said, whether it be Ellerbe Hardware or Dixie Burger, which had a chair for him since he couldn’t fit in the booths.
McAuley said that when Andre was home, would get up every morning, take a shower and go to Dixie Burger and be joined later by Frenchy.
THE MARKER
Brett Webb, chairman of the museum’s board, welcomed the small crowd to the marker unveiling ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
“We really appreciate people coming out to support the town, support the legacy of Andre the Giant,” Webb said.
There are 1,669 historic markers throughout the state, according to Leslie Leonard, chief research historian with DCNR and administrator of the program.
“Getting a Highway Historical Marker is not an easy task,” Leonard said. “Each subject has to rise to a level of statewide significance, not just local or regional significance. So when we’re putting a marker in the ground, we’re saying that this topic is important to all of us in the state of North Carolina.
The limited amount of words on the marker, Leonard continued, are referred to as “history tweets.”
“We have very few words to tell a very large story.”
Historian Forest Hazel applied to have the Andre marker erected. He said he’s written a few applications in the past few years, but most are related to American Indian history.
According to Hazel, Ashley Wegner, who formerly ran the marker program, several times mentioned how much it would mean to the state to have a marker for Andre the Giant.
“I said, ‘Well, I’ll give it a try if you want,’” Hazel recalled. “Apparently, it did the job.
“I could joke and say that, well, Andre was a big part of North Carolina history,” Hazel continued, “and that would be true.”
The marker was unveiled by McAuley and retired wrestler Carl Brantley, better known as Vladimir Koloff.
Koloff said he met Andre, Frenchy and Jackie in 1987 at his family farm in Wilkesboro when the wrestler bought the first of the longhorn cattle for AFJ Ranch.
“I later broke into the wrestling business in 1990 and this man was very instrumental in guiding me and getting me to where I needed to be for my training and my subsequent career,” Koloff said.
“Andre is footed deeply as a foundation of the professional wrestling industry …without Andre, we as wrestlers, we as an industry would not exist in the massive, global space that we have now,” Koloff continued.
Following the dedication, Koloff sold replica posters from Andre’s final North American appearance — at a show in Pembroke — and donated all proceeds to the Rankin Museum.
THE LEGACY
Last week, the WWE Hall of Fame memorialized the infamous body slam of Andre by Hulk Hogan at 1987’s Wrestelmaia III with the Immortal Moment Award. The award was presented by legendary manager Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart along with Robin Christiensen-Roussimoff, Andre’s daughter, and Nick Hogan, Hulk Hogan’s son.
The Rankin Museum has shuffled a few things around and even added to the Andre exhibit, including one case dedicated to Wrestlemania III. In 2023, the museum hosted “A Giant Celebration, welcoming hundreds of wrestling fans and a few wrestlers — both old and new.
Former WWE referee Tim White, who often traveled with Andre, visited the museum and ranch in 2020.
The following year, Congressman Dan Bishop recognized the icon on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on what would have been the wrestler’s 75th birthday.
HBO produced a documentary on the Giant’s life in 2018 and it was released on DVD in May of 2019. During filming, a crew came to Richmond County to record interviews and shoot B-roll.
Local artist Daniel Webb is also planning to paint a mural of Andre in the near future.
