Tragic story of ‘real life Shrek’ who suffered rare disease
While the plot of Shrek may have been based on fairy-tale, the DreamWorks character may have been inspired by a real-life wrestler.
The grumpy green ogre is said to have an uncanny resemblance to Maurice Tillet, a Frenchman who suffered from a rare disease that resulted in his joints and face swelling.
Like all fairy tales, Tillet’s story began with the death of a parent.
Born in Russia in 1903, Tillet’s father had been a railroad engineer and died while the would-be wrestler was very young.
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As revolution began to spread throughout the country, Tillet's family feared for their lives and fled to France, where they settled in countryside near Reims.
Tillet hoped for a simple life and at age 20, began a law degree at the University of Toulouse in the hopes of becoming a lawyer.
Sadly, this wasn’t meant to be as the then-young Tillet began to notice swelling in his face, hands and feet.
It continued throughout his early twenties and even affected his voice, causing it to become noticeably deeper within a few years.
The wrestler eventually sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a benign tumour on his pituitary gland, which had caused rapid thickening of his bones.
A common condition among the world’s tallest people, the disease is also known as acromegaly and can often have complications which limit life expectancy.
These include high blood pressure, sleep apnea and heart failure - although this wasn’t known at the time.
Due to his strange appearance, Tillet decided that he would never be a successful lawyer and abandoned his fledging law career to join the French navy.
While he spent five years serving his adoptive country, Tillet would turn to wrestling as he main source of income with his career taking off just as the second world war began.
Under the watchful eye of his trainer Karl Pojello, the wrestler began to become well known for his unusual look and moved to Boston in the US in the hope of making it big.
It was there that he met promoter Paul Bowser, who marketed Tillet as the main event in big bouts and the wrestler would remain undefeated for over 19 months.
Just like Cinderella, the former refugee had gone from rags to riches but his worsening condition would eventually mean the end for his career.
As Tillet’s health failed, he caught the eye of Chicago sculpture Louis Linick and the artist made a series of busts to immortalise the wrestler’s career.
It’s thought that it inspired Shrek’s appearance in the 2000s film, as one of the artworks is still on display at the International Museum of Surgical Science.
Though the wrestler died a few years later in 1953, his memory lives on through his wrestling, artwork and as a beloved character for children all over the world.
Topics: World News
Katherine Sidnell