Maurice Tillet (; ; 23 October 1903 – 4 September 1954) was a Russian-French

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

, The French Angel/The Angel. Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

run by

Paul Bowser Paul Forbes Bowser (May 28, 1886 – July 17, 1960) was an American professional wrestling promoter who was active from the 1920s to the 1950s in the Boston area.Tim Hornbaker,Paul Bowser Biography" 2006 Wrestler Bowser grew up on a farm in we ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. It has been rumored that Tillet was the inspiration for the storybook and animated movie character

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

based on their resemblance.

Early life

Tillet was born in 1903 in the Ural in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

parents. His mother was a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and his father was a

railroad engineer A train driver is a person who operates a train, railcar, or other rail transport vehicle. The driver is in charge of and is responsible for the mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all of the train handling (also known as bra ...

. Tillet's father died when he was young. As a child, he had a completely normal appearance and was even given the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"The Angel" by his mother due to his innocent face. In 1917, Tillet and his mother left Russia due to the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

and moved to France, where they settled in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. When Tillet was twenty years old, he noticed swelling in his feet, hands, and head, and after visiting a doctor was diagnosed with

acromegaly Acromegaly is a disorder that results in excess growth of certain parts of the human body. It is caused by excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed. The initial symptom is typically enlargement of the hands and feet. There ...

—a condition usually caused by a

benign tumor A benign tumor is a mass of Cell (biology), cells (tumor) that does not Cancer invasion, invade neighboring tissue or Metastasis, metastasize (spread throughout the body). Compared to Cancer, malignant (cancerous) tumors, benign tumors generally ...

on the

pituitary gland The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...

, resulting in bone overgrowth and thickening. Tillet completed his law degree at the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

, 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 The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

for five years as an engineer.

Professional wrestling career

In February 1937, Tillet met

Karl Pojello Karl Pojello (born Karolis Požėla, February 13, 1893 – September 4, 1954) was a Lithuanian and later American professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter. Early life Pojello was born in Steigviliai, Russian Empire, in 1893. ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

; Pojello was a Lithuanian

, and persuaded Tillet to enter the business. Tillet and Pojello moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for training, and Tillet wrestled for two years in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

forced them to leave for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1939. In

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in 1940, promoter

pushed Tillet, who was wrestling as The French Angel, as a main eventer, and he became a large

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * 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 The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). A ...

from May 1940 until May 1942. He reappeared with the Boston-based title for a short time in 1944. As a result of his success, several Angel imitators emerged, including Phil Olafsson (Swedish Angel), who also had acromegaly; Tony Angelo (Russian Angel),

Tor Johnson Karl Erik Tore Johansson (19 October 1903 – 12 May 1971), better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor. As an actor, Johnson appeared in many B-movies, including some famously directed by Ed Wood. ...

(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. 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 The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

Mid South Area then known as Tri-State and owned by

Leroy McGuirk Leroy Michael McGuirk (December 13, 1910 – September 9, 1988) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. He was involved in professional wrestling for more than fifty years. As one of the longest surviving memb ...

he agreed to lose to

Bert Assirati Bartolomeo "Bert" Assirati (9 July 1908 – 31 August 1990), was an English professional wrestler who became a multiple-time British Heavyweight Champion, and, posthumously, a charter member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. ...

. In 1950, Chicago sculptor

Louis Linck Louis Linck (January 12, 1895 – October 31, 1962) was a French and American sculptor. During his lifetime of sculpting he worked for a number of private clients as well as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), during the Depression, and t ...

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 The International Museum of Surgical Science is a museum located in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is operated by The International College of Surgeons and features exhibits dealing with various aspects of Eastern and Weste ...

. Another is now in the personal collection of

Bruce Prichard Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler who works for WWE as Executive Director - CWT. In addition to ...

Death

Tillet died on 4 September 1954 in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

after hearing of the death of his friend and former trainer, Karl Pojello.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Association ''(Boston)'' **

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

(2 times) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

** Class of 2012

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Time magazine article from Mar 04, 1940 listing his measurements

The Human Marvels biography
J. Tithonus Pednaud {{DEFAULTSORT:French Angel, The 1903 births 1954 deaths French male professional wrestlers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Wrestlers with acromegaly Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Russian male professional wrestlers White Russian emigrants to France Russian people of French descent 20th-century French sportsmen