Shrek is a real person. Did you know that Shrek had a real prototype from Russia? Monument in the form of Shrek

On February 14, 1953, the famous Frenchman had his last fight in the professional wrestling ring. Maurice Tiye, about whose appearance disputes still do not subside. He was born in the Urals ordinary family French, and kind parents nicknamed him from childhood Angel, as the name of many children. The face of the child could indeed resemble the appearance of an angel, but the nickname remained with him for life. In 1917, after the death of his father due to the October Revolution, Tiye and his mother moved to their historical homeland in Reims.

Donkey roar and the appearance of a Neanderthal

As he reached adulthood, Maurice noticed that his bones continued to grow and thicken, and his face took on angular and not at all angelic features. Doctors soon diagnosed him with acromegaly, a disease in which a tumor forms in the pituitary gland, which continues to produce growth hormone and adulthood. 170-centimeter Tiye, due to huge bones, soon weighed 120 kg, turning into a huge ugly giant. Because of this, he had to give up his dream of becoming a lawyer.

But even if a potential client agreed to entrust his fate to a person with such a face, Maurice's voice, similar to a donkey's roar, was impossible to listen to, which made his chances of winning any business close to zero. Tiye went to work in the navy, and later worked as a doorman at a film studio, occasionally acting in horror films. According to rumors, he even played the hunchback Quasimodo in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Despite his deformity, he remained a kind and very erudite person, and by the age of 40 he had mastered 14 languages. But to find himself in life to him for a long time failed, until meeting with another native of Russia, former owner pharmacies Karolis Pozhela.

wrestling king

Lithuanian Pozhela was fond of Greco-Roman wrestling in St. Petersburg and knew that the shortcomings of a new acquaintance can be turned into virtues. He began teaching Tiye wrestling, becoming his manager along the way and promoting him into the professional wrestling ring. Maurice's talent and his colorful appearance were simply doomed to success, and the giant, who until recently received 60 francs a week, began to earn a thousand for one performance. After Hitler's attack on France, Tiye was forced to flee for the second time in his life - now to America, where tremendous success awaited him.

In 1940, he won the Boston World Championship in heavyweight, and in 1942 he won a similar title in Montreal. During the war years, he almost did not lose, because he was well prepared and liked by the public, and fights in professional wrestling were even then a well-directed production. The success of the French angel was so great that he had a whole army of successors: Tony Angelo(Russian angel) Tour Jonsson(Swedish superangel) Jack Rush(Canadian Angel) Vladislav Tulin(Polish angel) Stan Pinto(Czech angel) Clive Welsh(Irish angel) Jack Folk(golden angel) Gil Guerro(black angel) and Gene Noble(lady angel), but none of the copies could compare with the original.

Illness and death

The decline of Tiye's career began in 1945, when his health began to deteriorate sharply. Due to severe headaches, he lost his former shape and was no longer fit for the role. undefeated champion. Against the background of heavy loads and the development of the disease, he began to have heart problems. He ended his career at the age of 50 on February 14, 1953, losing in Singapore Bertha Assirati. Trouble crept up to him to the best friend Pozhele, who, due to complications of pneumonia, got lung cancer.

In the autumn of 1954, Pozhela died after a long and prolonged illness in the arms of his Russian wife Olga Nikolaevna. Tiye couldn't bear the loss close friend and a few hours after the bitter news died from heart attack. “And death can not separate friends,” reads the inscription on their common grave in the vicinity of Chicago.

Monument in the form of Shrek

However main monument Tiye received many years after his death. DreamWorks, although officially considers this to be their creative, under the influence of the image of the French strongman created the image of Shrek, which is enough to look at once to see Tiye in him. Chicago sculptor Louis Lin also created a number of plaster busts, one of which is kept in the International Museum of Scientific Surgery.

People with pronounced features of gigantism in the wake of Tiye's success are still interesting to the public. Suffice it to recall the bright performances in Japan by the colorful giant Silva or an opponent Fedor Emelianenko Hong Man Choi. In 2011 the Russian giant Nikolai Valuev was forced to end his boxing career and remove a benign tumor, due to which he also had the features of gigantism. Finally, another rival of Emelianenko is a Brazilian Antonio Silva about the nickname Bigfoot" in last years experiencing serious problems with health and is knocked out even after not the strongest blows.

Although the DreamWorks film studio has never reported how and where the image of the famous Shrek originated, one look at the photos of the wrestler Maurice Tiye will be enough to understand who became the prototype of the green good-natured giant.

Russian French

Maurice was born in 1903 in the Urals, not far from Chelyabinsk. His parents, French, worked in Russia under a contract. His father, an engineer by profession, built the Trans-Siberian Railway, and his mother worked as a teacher.

Maurice Tillet in 1916

Probably, thanks to the teaching talent of his mother, in addition to his native French and Russian, which he knew from childhood, Maurice managed to master several more foreign languages. The boy lost his father quite early, but grew up quite an ordinary child. After the October Revolution took place in the Russian Empire, mother and son returned to France.

From lawyers to sailors

Maurice completed his primary education in Reims - he graduated from a Parisian college. Around that time, doctors diagnosed him with acromegaly - a disease in which the growth of the hands, feet, and skull increases significantly. The disease forever changed the life of Maurice, but could not break him.

At first, Tiye continued to live a full life: he studied law and played well in the university rugby team, but when his appearance changed a lot, he realized that he was unlikely to make a career as a lawyer.

Maurice Tillet in 1936

Maurice abandoned his studies, signed up as a mechanic on a military ship. He wanted to go to the sea, where no one cares about appearance, and people are judged only by their actions. The young man served in the Navy for about five years. It was there that he began to engage in wrestling: regular competitions helped the crew of the ship to keep fit and somehow have fun during long sea voyages.

A bit of cinema

During the years of naval service, Maurice got used to and even treated his peculiar appearance with humor, and at the end of his service he got a job at a French film studio. Tiye starred in about a dozen films, however, all of his roles were episodic.

A movie star from Maurice didn't work out. To earn extra money, between filming, he worked as a security guard at the same film studio, driving away and scaring away local onlookers. So Maurice would have vegetated no one famous actor, and part-time watchman, if a significant meeting had not taken place in his life, Tiye met Carl Poggello.

Oh sport, you are the world!

Karolis Pojela (or, in European terms, Carl Pogello) was originally from Lithuania. He was a professional wrestler, so he constantly traveled, taking part in sports competitions around the world. In his youth, Pogello performed in the rings of America, France, Italy, Japan and China, and later took up producing activities - he began to train young and promising fighters.

Walking along the boulevards of Paris, Karl noticed the colorful Maurice, who stood out sharply from the crowd. Producing experience prompted Pogello that he had a future wrestling star in front of him. The men began to talk, and Karl was convinced that he was not mistaken: Maurice had a memorable appearance, physical force and acting experience - a complete set of qualities necessary for a sports show.

Magnificent wrestler

Maurice had nothing to lose, so he easily agreed to become a wrestler. Tiye began performing in the sports arenas of England and France. Karl trained his ward, thought over the image necessary for the show and suggested spectacular tricks. Over time, Maurice Tiye gained popularity not only in Europe, but also in the United States, which allowed him to obtain American citizenship.

Maurice Tillet in 1940

Tiye was nicknamed the French Angel with a "deadly bear grip". As a "ruthless" wrestler, he worked for two decades and repeatedly received the championship title. However, the real Maurice Tiye was a completely different person.

Despite the worldwide fame, pious and deeply religious, the athlete remained kind and sympathetic to someone else's misfortune. Maurice repeatedly participated in charity performances, the fees from which were received in favor of orphanages.

Best friends

Over the years joint work Tiye and Pogello became close friends. Maris became almost a family member for Carl. By coincidence, even the health of friends deteriorated almost simultaneously.

Carl's lung cancer progressed, and Maurice's comorbidities with acromegaly worsened. Pogello died on September 4, 1954, and just a few hours later, upon learning of the death of his comrade, Tiye also died. The French angel was gone, but Shrek appeared, who reminds us of a wonderful man and great wrestler Maurice Tiye.

The creator of the popular cartoon "Shrek" William Steig copied his character from the professional wrestler Maurice Tiye.

The real prototype knew 14 languages, played chess brilliantly and was a very modest and friendly man, despite his intimidating appearance.

Maurice Tillet was born in 1903 in Russian Empire, in the Urals French family, which in 1917, in connection with the revolution, returned back to France. His mother was a teacher and his father was an engineer railway. Tiye's father died when he was young.

As a child, Maurice outwardly did not differ from his peers, rather the opposite - he was called "Angel", thanks to his pretty features. But at the age of seventeen, he began to progress the rare disease acromegaly. Its manifestations are a disproportionate increase in bones, especially facial ones. In this photo, Maurice is already 13 years old and, of course, he is no longer such an angel as he was very small.

In France, Tillet entered Talouse University in France to study law, but after a while the disease began to progress and severely affected his vocal cords. Due to illness, Maurice had to give up his desired career as a lawyer.

“Maybe with a face like that, I could become a lawyer, but my voice, like a donkey, is simply impossible to listen to, so I went to the Navy,” Tiye said in an interview with the Lowell Sun Newspaper, Lowell Mass. U.S.A, April 8, 1943. Tillet served five years in the French Navy as an engineer.

Maurice was a very devout Catholic and in 1947 received an audience from the Pope, becoming the only wrestler in history to receive such an honor. Largely thanks to the mother, who taught all her life foreign languages at the Catholic school, where Maurice also went, by mid-1942 Tiye was fluent in Russian, French, Bulgarian, English and Lithuanian. According to some reports, he learned about 14 languages ​​in his entire life.

Tiye treated his appearance philosophically and with humor. In his youth, it was much more difficult for him to adapt in society, but with age he understood how to turn his shortcomings into advantages.

Once he even posed for a paleontolic museum next to exhibits of Neanderthals, the resemblance to which he was very amused.

In February 1937, Tiye met Carl Pogello in Singapore. Pogello was a professional wrestler and convinced Tiye to do the same.

In May 1940, he became the champion of the American Wrestling Association, holding this title for the next 19 months. He started under the nickname "terrible ogre of the ring", but in the future they began to call him, as in childhood, "French Angel", thanks to his sincerity and kind character.

During his career as a wrestler, Tiye was nicknamed "the ugly ogre of the ring". Due to Tiye's huge, giant-like appearance, his disfigured face, and his wrestling career, he is believed to have been the original inspiration for the Shrek cartoon.

Some argue that Tiye's stereotypical ogre behavior was the perfect "live" example to help shape the Shrek character the way the producers wanted him to be.

There is an extraordinary resemblance between Tiye and Shrek.

Maurice died of a heart attack at the age of 51. But all of it is short-lived, but bright life is a wonderful example of human courage and bravery. Without a doubt, Maurice would really like his cartoon prototype Shrek, who, like him, is kind and sensitive, despite his intimidating appearance.

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Perhaps, many of us, having seen a photo of Maurice Tiye, will notice his resemblance to the main character of the cartoon "Shrek". It was definitely not a cartoon that brought Maurice worldwide fame, but a suddenly discovered ailment - acromegaly. The disease brought Tiya a lot of trouble and ridicule from his peers, but even this did not prevent him from achieving dizzying success in sports and remaining a good-natured person.

We are in website were shocked by the resilience of this man, who, despite all the blows of fate, retained self-irony and a good heart.

Angelic child and the first signs of illness

Maurice Tiye was born on October 23, 1903 in Russia, in the Urals. His parents were immigrants from France, his mother worked as a school teacher, and his father was a railway engineer. As a child, Maurice did not differ from other children, except for his pretty appearance, for which his relatives called him an Angel.

In 1917, the Tiye family, fleeing the revolution, moved back to France. The boy at that time was only 14 years old. At the same time, the first signs of the disease appeared, which eventually changed him beyond recognition.

Academic achievement and disease progression

By the age of 17, Maurice's face and limbs began to change. It took another 2 years before the doctors were able to establish the cause of such changes - the guy was diagnosed with acromegaly. This disease manifests itself as a disproportionate growth of bones and their deformation, especially for the bones of the skull. Over time, there was no trace of the "angelic" appearance, which gave reason to Maurice's entourage to maliciously make fun of him.

“Peers called me a monkey, and I was very upset. Who will like this? To hide from ridicule, I often went to the pier and that's it. free time spent near the water. The people who lived there didn't care what I looked like."

Despite this, the guy was distinguished by success in studies and sports. He was a good rugby player and in 1926 even received a handshake from the King of England, George V. In addition, Maurice played amazing chess and spoke 5 languages ​​(French, Russian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and English). Later, Tiye entered the Faculty of Law, but after a while the disease began to progress and greatly affect his vocal cords, in connection with which he had to leave his studies and choose a different type of activity for himself.

“Maybe with such a face I could have become a lawyer, but my voice, like a donkey’s roar, is simply impossible to listen to, so I went to the Navy,” admitted Maurice.

The meeting that changed my life

Carl Pogello.

It is possible that Maurice would have been able to build a successful military career, but fate again took a sharp turn. After 5 years as an engineer on a ship, he decided to try his hand at cinema, playing small comic roles. After filming in several films, Tiye realized that he was unlikely to be able to build successful career in this area, and again changed jobs - he moved to the security of the film studio.

In 1937, Maurice accidentally met a professional wrestler of Lithuanian origin Karl Pogello, who, having evaluated external data young man, convinced him to move to the United States and seriously engage in professional wrestling.

It was there that his non-trivial appearance and successful sports past came in handy. As a pseudonym, Maurice took a childhood nickname - French Angel. Soon, Angel was known all over the world: wrestling brought Maurice wide fame, making him a two-time world heavyweight champion.

Outstanding success in sports

The charismatic wrestler quickly won the love of the audience. His trademark "bear hold" technique has brought victory more than once. The French Angel was able to conquer Europe, and then became one of the favorites of the American public. The wrestler's career lasted as long as 20 years. This period brought Maurice a multiple championship.

Despite his harsh and sometimes cruel profession, Maurice remained kind and sensitive. He held charity performances, and transferred the proceeds for them to orphanages and hospitals. In addition, Tiye was and remains the only wrestler who was invited to an audience with the Pope (Pius XII). Once Tiye even kindly posed in the paleontological museum in the role of a Neanderthal - because of his outward resemblance to him. This caused laughter not only among the visitors, but also among the wrestler himself.