Shrek is a real person. Did you know that Shrek had a real prototype from Russia? last years of life

Among the stars on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame created in honor of Hollywood actors, only one is dedicated to a cartoon character. They became a fierce-looking but kind-hearted character named Shrek, whose adventures earned him an Oscar. But the most interesting thing is that Shrek had a real prototype originally from Russia.

Creepy "angel"

It’s difficult to say how the animators selected the prototype for Shrek, but their find turned out to be truly brilliant. The popular boxer of the first half of the twentieth century, Maurice Tillet, looked exactly like his cartoon incarnation, and his fate largely repeated the plot of the cartoon. Despite his French name, Maurice Tillet was born on October 23, 1903 in the very center of Russia in the Urals. True, the boy’s parents were indeed French, working in the Russian Empire under a contract. His father worked as a railway engineer, and his mother was an ordinary teacher. When the country plunged into the chaos of revolutionary events in 1917, the Tillet family returned to France. At this moment, incredible events begin in the fate of young Maurice. Until the age of seventeen, those around him called him nothing more than “angel”, for his amazingly regular, beautiful facial features. And, of course, they jinxed it. Over the next few years, the young man gradually turned from a fairy-tale prince into a real monster. But these metamorphoses took place not in a fairy tale, but in real life. Starting at the age of 17, Maurice's arms, legs and head began to swell. Doctors made a terrible diagnosis - acromegaly. In people suffering from this disease, a rapid and disproportionate increase in all bones of the body, including the cranial bones, begins. So the prince became a goblin - Shrek.

From court to ring

Before the onset of his illness, the young man planned to build a career as a lawyer, but with the tragic changes in his appearance, appearances in court could be forgotten. Moreover, his shrunken voice sounded more like the braying of a donkey than the speech of a man. Maurice Tillet himself stated this with a grin more than once in his numerous interviews. Soon, while serving in the navy in 1937, fate brought Tiye together with professional wrestler Karl Podjalo. Seeing a living goblin, who also had gigantic strength, Podzhelo suggested that Tiya leave the fleet and become a wrestler. Maurice immediately agreed, after which the newly-minted friends set off to conquer Paris. For two years, Maurice Tillet alternately performed at the best fighting venues in London and Paris. In 1939, the rising star wrestler moved to the United States, continuing to perform under the sonorous pseudonym “The French Angel.” Throughout the year, Maurice Tillet did not lose a single fight, becoming the absolute US champion. In 1940, he won the World Heavyweight Championship in Boston. The popularity of the future Shrek prototype was enormous. The public did not have time to assign him new pop nicknames: “Invincible”, “French Angel”, “Cannibal of the Arena”, “Ugly Giant-Eater from the Ring”, “Terrible Organizer of the Ring”. At the same time, fierce on the outside, Maurice Tillet was a very kind, vulnerable person at heart. Despite his career as a wrestler, Maurice Tillet learned 14 languages, played excellent chess and was even invited to a reception with the Pope. Maurice Tillet died in 1954 from a heart attack.

It may seem like a cruel joke or a farce, but this incredible story is historically accurate and true! The prototype of the cartoon Shrek was the famous wrestler Maurice Tillet. He was born in 1903 in Russia, in the Urals, into a French family, which in 1917, due to the revolution, returned back to France.

As a child, Maurice was no different in appearance from his peers, rather the opposite - he was called “Angel”, thanks to his pretty facial features. But everything changed at the age of seventeen, when he began to develop a rare disease, acromegaly, which causes a monstrous, disproportionate increase in bones, especially the facial ones.

Due to these terrible external transformations, Maurice had to give up his desired career as a lawyer. But he did not give up on his life, but decided to use his disadvantage as a huge advantage! Maurice went to the United States to become a professional wrestler, and in May 1940 he became the American Wrestling Association champion, holding the title for the next 19 months. He was known under the nickname “the scary ogre of the ring,” but later they began to call him, as in childhood, “the French angel,” thanks to his warmth and kind character.

It is also worth noting that Maurice Tillet was distinguished by phenomenal intellectual abilities, which many were not even aware of. He was fluent in 14 languages ​​and wrote wonderful stories and poems.

Unfortunately, his illness progressed and at the age of 51, Maurice died of a heart attack. But his entire short but bright life is a wonderful example of human courage and bravery. Instead of complaining that life only gave him “sour lemons,” he cleverly learned to make “lemonade” out of them and enjoy his life. I am sure that Maurice would really like his cartoon prototype Shrek, who, like him, is kind and sensitive, despite his terrifying appearance.

Although the DreamWorks film studio has never revealed how and where the image of the famous Shrek came from, one glance at photographs of wrestler Maurice Tillet will be enough to understand who became the prototype of the green, kindly giant.

Russian French

Maurice was born in 1903 in the Urals, not far from Chelyabinsk. His parents, French, worked in Russia under 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 his mother’s teaching talent, in addition to his native French and Russian, which he knew since childhood, Maurice was able to master several more foreign languages. The boy lost his father quite early, but grew up as a completely 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 Paris college. Around then, doctors diagnosed him with acromegaly, a disease in which the growth of the hands, feet, and skull increases significantly. The disease changed Maurice's life forever, but could not break him.

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

Maurice Tillet in 1936

Maurice abandoned his studies and signed up as a mechanic on a military ship. He wanted to go to sea, where no one cared about appearance, and people were 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 ship's crew keep fit and at least somehow have fun during long sea voyages.

A bit of cinema

During the years of naval service, Maurice became quite accustomed and even treated his peculiar appearance with humor, and after finishing his service, he got a job at a French film studio. Tillet starred in about a dozen films, although all his roles were episodic.

Maurice did not become a movie star. 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 as an unknown actor, and part-time watchman, if a significant meeting had not occurred in his life - Tillet met Karl Poggello.

Oh sport, you are the world!

Karolis Pozela (or, in European terms, Karl Pogello) was 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 production activities - he began training young and promising fighters.

Walking along the boulevards of Paris, Karl noticed the colorful Maurice, who stood out sharply from the crowd. Pogello's experience as a producer told him that he had a future wrestling star in front of him. The men got to talking, and Karl was convinced that he was not mistaken: Maurice had a memorable appearance, physical strength and acting experience - a full set of qualities necessary for a sports show.

Great wrestler

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

Maurice Tillet in 1940

Tillet was nicknamed the French Angel with the "deadly bear grab." He worked as a “ruthless” wrestler for two decades and repeatedly won the championship title. However, the real Maurice Tillet was a completely different person.

Despite his worldwide fame, the devout and deeply religious athlete remained kind and responsive to the misfortune of others. Maurice repeatedly participated in charity performances, the proceeds from which went to orphanages.

Best friends

Over the years of working together, Tiye and Pogello became close friends. Maris became practically a member of the family for Karl. By coincidence, even the health of friends deteriorated almost simultaneously.

Karl's lung cancer progressed, and Maurice's acromegaly-related diseases worsened. Pogello died on September 4, 1954, and literally a few hours later, upon learning of the death of his comrade, Tiye also died. The French angel is gone, but Shrek has appeared, who reminds us of the wonderful man and great wrestler Maurice Tillet.

The creator of the popular cartoon “Shrek,” William Steig, based his character on professional wrestler Maurice Tillet.

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

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

As a child, Maurice was no different in appearance from his peers, rather the opposite - he was called “Angel”, thanks to his pretty facial features. But at the age of seventeen, the rare disease acromegaly began to progress. 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 the angel he was when he was very little.

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

“I may have been able to become a lawyer with that face, but my voice, like a donkey’s bray, is simply impossible to listen to, so I joined the Navy,” Tiye told 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 with the Pope, becoming the only wrestler in history to receive such an honor. Largely thanks to his mother, who taught foreign languages ​​all her life at a Catholic school, where Maurice also went, by mid-1942 Tillet spoke fluent Russian, French, Bulgarian, English and Lithuanian. According to some sources, he learned about 14 languages ​​throughout his life.

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

Once he even posed for a paleontolic museum next to exhibits of Neanderthals, whose resemblance greatly amused him.

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 American Wrestling Association champion, holding the title for the next 19 months. He started out under the nickname “the scary ogre of the ring,” but later they began to call him, as in childhood, “the French angel,” thanks to his sincerity and kind character.

During his wrestling career, Tillet was nicknamed the "ugly ogre giant of the ring." Due to Tiye's enormous, giant-like appearance, disfigured face, and wrestling career, he is believed to have served as the original inspiration for the animated film Shrek.

Some argue that Tillet's stereotypical behavior as a man-eating giant made him the perfect living example to help create the approximate image of the Shrek character that the producers wanted him to be.

There is an extraordinary resemblance in appearance between Tiye and Shrek.

At the age of 51, Maurice died of a heart attack. But his entire short 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 terrifying appearance.

And, finally, a small test from the editors of More.

Which famous movie characters have real prototypes? Take our test and find out! 🙂

World culture

Who was the real prototype of Shrek

4 months ago

Elvira

The book about the adventures of a young green ogre living in a swamp appeared in 1990. The plump character with tube ears and an exotic appearance was invented by the American writer William Steig. The original Ogre story was a 32-page illustrated story. It was first published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and was simply and impressively called "Shrek!" The author gave the name to the hero not by chance, since “schreck” is translated from German as “fear”, “horror”.

In fact, although Shrek was huge, he had a kind character. Despite the fact that the friendly fat man was descended from evil trolls, he could not harm people, even those who deserved it.

The success of a cartoon ogre

A few years after the book was published, the directors of the film company DreamWorks, which is very successful in creating and distributing films and cartoons, became interested in the story. Actor, comedian and screenwriter Bill Murray worked on the image of the cartoon character, with help from William Steig. The result of the work of 2 outstanding people was the creation of several full-length films, the main character of which was a green giant with a memorable smile.

The successful release of a series of 4 films allowed Bill Murray to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Shrek became a recognizable hero for all generations and entered the list of 20 significant characters who have appeared in cinema over the past 20 years. The ogre traveler became an example of how success can be achieved through good deeds. The love story of Shrek and the enchanted princess Fiona has won the hearts of many people.

Who became the prototype of Shrek?

According to legend, Shrek was created in the image of the famous French wrestler of the 19th century. Maurice Tillet. If you look at the photos of the wrestler, there is no doubt that he was the prototype of the cartoon character, although there were other versions.

Maurice was born in 1903 in Russia, but worked in France. In the world, the good-natured wrestler was called the “French Angel,” although he was distinguished by his enormous height, rough appearance and considerable weight. The wrestler's appearance was unusual due to a disease discovered in him at the age of 19 - acromegaly. It was caused by a benign brain tumor, so the guy continued to live.

This is how the disease affected the wrestler’s appearance

Despite his intimidating appearance, Tiye was a good-natured, empathetic and vulnerable person. He died in 1954 of a heart attack, having lived 50 years. Tiye never offended people, was a devoted friend and knew how to love. The creators of Shrek endowed him with the same qualities. He was kind, brave, big and strong, helped his friends and had a loving heart.

The cinematic story, unlike the book story, received a logical continuation. Fans of the character have access to 4 full-length films and several sequels.

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