I was reading William Goldman's 'Which Lie Did I Tell?' the other day and it has the obituary that he wrote for Andre the Giant when he died at 40. (William Goldman wrote the novel and the screenplay of 'The Princess Bride', and 'Which Lie Did I Tell?' is his second book about his experiences as a screenwriter. I'd recommend it.)

It has a few great paragraphs about Andre's friendship with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Requiem for a Heavyweight

[Andre the Giant] was very strong. I was talking to an actor who was shooting a movie in Mexico. What you had to know about Andre was that if he asked you to dinner, he paid, but when you asked him, he also paid. This actor, after several free meals, invited Andre to dinner and, late in the meal, snuck into the kitchen to give his credit card to the maitre d'. As he was about to do this, he felt himself being lifted into the air. The actor, it so happens, was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who remembers, "When he had me up in the air, he turned me so I was facing him, and he said 'I pay'. Then he carried me back to my table where he sat me down in my chair like a little boy. Oh yes, Andre was very strong."

When Arnold Schwarzenegger tells me that someone is very strong, I'll go along with it.

Andre once invited Schwarzenegger to a wrestling arena in Mexico where he was performing in front of 25,000 screaming fans, and, after he'd pinned his opponent, he gestured for Schwarzenegger to come into the ring.

So through the noise, Schwarzenegger climbs up. Andre says, "Take off your shirt, they are all crazy for you to take off your shirt. I speak Spanish." So Schwarzenegger, embarrassed, does what Andre tells him. Off comes his jacket, his shirt, his undershirt, and he begins striking poses. And then Andre goes to the locker room while Schwarzenegger goes back to his friends.

And it had all been a practical joke. God knows what the crowd was screaming, but it wasn't for Schwarzenegger to strip and pose. "Nobody gave a shit if I took my shirt off or not, but I fell for it. Andre could do that to you."

Andre never knew what reaction he might cause in people. Sometimes children and grown-ups would see him and be terrified. Sometimes children would see him, shriek with glee, and begin clambering all over him as if the greatest toy imaginable had been given to them. And he would sit, immobile, as they romaed around him. Sometimes he'd put a hand out, palm up, and they'd sit there for what they hoped would be forever.

I'll type up the rest if anybody is interested, but it's a great tribute to Andre the Giant, and definitely worth a read.

TL;DR - Andre the Giant is a stand-up guy and had the balls to make Schwarzenegger look like a bit of a jackass in front of 25,000 people. Is still a gentle giant and a boss. They were bros.