The French Angel

Maurice Tillet (23 October 1903 – 4 September 1954) was a Russian-born French professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel/The Angel.[3] Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Champion in the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser in Boston.

Maurice Tillet
Tillet in 1953
Birth nameMaurice Tillet
Born(1903-10-23)23 October 1903
Orenburg Governorate, Ural, Russian Empire
Died4 September 1954(1954-09-04) (aged 50)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The French Angel
The Angel
World's Ugliest Man[2]
Maurice Tillet
"The Angel" Maurice Tillet
Billed height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Billed weight122 kg (270 lb)[1]
Trained byKarl Pojello
Debut1937
RetiredFebruary 14, 1953

It has been rumored[4] that Tillet was the inspiration for the animated movie character Shrek, based on the resemblance; but there's no evidence for this.

Early life

Tillet was born in 1903 in the Ural in Russia to French parents.[1] His mother was a teacher and his father was a railroad engineer. Tillet's father died when he was young. As a child, he had a completely normal appearance and was even given the nickname "The Angel" by his mother due to his innocent face. In 1917, Tillet and his mother left Russia due to the Revolution and moved to France, where they settled in Reims. When Tillet was twenty years old, he noticed swelling in his feet, hands, and head, and after visiting a doctor was diagnosed with acromegaly—a condition usually caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland, resulting in bone overgrowth and thickening.[1][5]

Tillet completed his law degree at the University of Toulouse, but felt he would never be successful due to his deep voice and physical appearance. Tillet served in the submarine service of the French Navy for five years as an engineer.[1][3][5][6]

Professional wrestling career
The French Angel against Lou Thesz in the ring, 1940
Tillet being interviewed in Montreal, 1940.

In February 1937, Tillet met Karl Pojello in Singapore; Pojello was a professional wrestler, and persuaded Tillet to enter the business. Tillet and Pojello moved to Paris for training, and Tillet wrestled for two years in France and England until World War II forced them to leave for the United States in 1939.[1]

In Boston, Massachusetts, in 1940, promoter Paul Bowser pushed Tillet, who was wrestling as The French Angel, as a main eventer, and he became a large draw in the area. As a result of his popularity, Tillet was booked as unstoppable, and was unbeaten for a span of nineteen consecutive months. Tillet was the AWA World Heavyweight Champion from May 1940 until May 1942. He reappeared with the Boston-based title for a short time in 1944.[1]

As a result of his success, several Angel imitators emerged, including Paul Olaffsen (Swedish Angel), who also had acromegaly; Tony Angelo (Russian Angel), Tor Johnson (Super Swedish Angel), Jack Rush (Canadian Angel), Wladislaw Tulin (Polish Angel), Stan Pinto (Czech Angel), Clive Welsh (Irish Angel), Jack Falk (Golden Angel), Gil Guerrero (Black Angel), and Jean Noble (Lady Angel). Tillet competed against Tor Johnson, who was billed as The Swedish Angel on those occasions.[1]

Maurice Tillet in 1953

By 1945, Tillet's health began to fail and he was no longer advertised as unstoppable. In his final wrestling match, in Singapore on 14 February 1953, working The National Wrestling Alliance Mid South Area then known as Tri-State and owned by Leroy McGuirk he agreed to lose to Bert Assirati.[1]

In 1950, Chicago sculptor Louis Linck befriended Tillet and made a series of plaster busts commemorating him for his wrestling career. One of the busts is in Chicago's International Museum of Surgical Science. Another is now in the personal collection of Bruce Prichard.

Death

Tillet died on 4 September 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. He suffered from a heart attack after hearing of his friend and former trainer, Karl Pojello's death.[1] Tillet and Pojello are buried together at the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, Cook County, 20 miles (32 km) south of Chicago. Their gravestone reads: "Friends Whom Even Death Couldn't Part".[7]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. Oliver, Greg (December 14, 2011). "The French Angel was more man than monster". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  2. "Maurice Tillet". IMDb.
  3. O'Hara, Kassondra (November 1, 2020). "The French Angel". Medium. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. Ryan Grenoble (December 29, 2014). "Meet Maurice Tillet, The Man Rumored To Have Inspired Shrek". Huff Post. Retrieved September 1, 2023. Despite the uncanny physical similarities between Tillet and Shrek, DreamWorks -- the studio which released the film -- has never officially addressed the long-standing rumor that Tillet's appearance served as the basis for the animated character. A spokesman at the company did not immediately return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.
  5. Croal; Louden; Smith; Wismer (1948). General Biology. The Copp Clark Co. Ltd. p. 449.
  6. Toplack, Chris (October 10, 2020). ""The French Angel" Maurice Tillet: The Box Office Attraction You've Likely Never Heard Of". Wrestler Spotlight. The Signature Spot. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  7. "Karolis Pozela". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  8. "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title [Boston]".
  9. "Title Lineages: AWA (Boston) World Heavyweight Championship".

Bibliography
  • Parker, Mike. The World's Most Fantastic Freaks (1983). ISBN 0-7064-2145-0.
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