This may come to you as a surprise or a silly joke, but it’s nothing but the truth.

The popular CGI cartoon Shrek actually existed!





Rather, his ogre-ific head was modeled after a real person; he was called Maurice Tillet and he was actually a very intelligent person: a poet and writer who could speak 14 languages, and sure enough he did use plenty of colorful idioms ().

Tillet was born in 1903, and as a teenager he manifested a rare disease called acromegaly, which causes his bones to grow uncontrollably. As result his body was disfigured, and he turned into what people back then referred to as “freak show”; do you think that put him down? Think again! He headed just the opposite of down, by going to the United States to actually take advantage of his condition, by turning into a pro wrestler called the “freak ogre of the ring”.

Maurice Tillet reached the title of world champion of the American Wrestling Association in the 1st of August 1944, after defeating Steve “Crusher” Casey. Tilled had a few trademark moves, including the “Palm Strike” (his finishing move) and the “Bearhug”. Even though he was nick-named by shallow minded people as the “Freak Ogre of the Ring”, he was actually best known as “The French Angel“.

He was a close friend to entrepreneur Patrick Kelly, whose home in Braintree (Massachusetts) Tillet regularly visited, for their routinely game sessions; both of them were enthusiast chess players.

Tillet fought till the end – which arrived in 1954 when he was 51 years old – and he died with a heart attack. Not long before he died, a friend of his asked him to get a lifecast, and Tillet agreed. There were actually three casts, one of which ended up in Iowa (International Wrestling Museum); the second mask went to his friend, and the third one was sent to the York Barbell Museum, where it would allegedly be used as a model to design the popular cartoon character.

Doubtlessly, Maurice Tillet was a very brave person who refused to be put down by his physical deformity; in a sense, I think he would have liked knowing the cartoon Shrek was modeled after him… after all there’s a positive message to this cartoon, which closely resonates Tillet’s own legacy of unwavering self-esteem and upbeat personality. He was the kind of person who learned to make lemonade, rather than complaining for getting only lemons out of life; his example should be inspirational for us all.

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Damn, he,s ugly

Nella you can do better

thanks for sharing

the dude is really an ogre

@op

Thanks for the history lesson.How come the producer/s of ''Shrek'' have not acknowledged that the character was built around a real human being?

The guy ugly die.Did he marry a fine damsel?

aieromon:

@op

Thanks for the history lesson.How come the producer/s of ''Shrek'' have not acknowledged that the character was built around a real human being?

The guy ugly die.Did he marry a fine damsel?

he

Thanks, I am not so sure why it has not been officially acknowledged, but you can definitely see the physical similarities. The guy may have been ugly but it was clearly not a hinderance to him .

shotster50:

Nella you can do better

I can't fit shout

There is strong evidence that Maurice really was the inspiration for Shrek. I have become a completely obsessed Maurice Tillet fan for one very specific reason. I am marketting a recently discovered 4th Maurice Tillet death mask. All others are in museums. Even though I am seeking to sell this very unique artifact, I am even more interested in learning more about Maurice an collecting and sharing all known details on the man. I have gone deep into why Maurice is very likey an inspiration for Shrek as well as everything I can find on the death masks AND Maurice himself. For everything Maurice Tillet, and the details of this 4th mask for sale, go here: http://deathmaskofmauricetillet-theangel..com/

Wow. Interesting.

And why is something as inspirational as this not on the frontpage.

I like the fact that he didn't allow his medical condition n his looks put him down.

There are a lot of Nigerians today that are fully fit and are just about the street begging. May God help us.

Ohhh Ohhh..!

He would have been a tourist sensation or a celebrity if he was alive today.

The mind boggles!

indeed