Hollywood actor Cary Elwes revealed that WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant often had an undercover NYPD officer follow him when he went out drinking.
Cary Elwes, star of The Princess Bride, has shared many stories about Andre the Giant while promoting his 2014 book As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. In one passage (via The Daily Beast), Elwes discussed Andre’s legendary drinking habits and some stories that fans have heard for decades.
Elwes mentioned that Andre drank because he was in pain, not because he just wanted to drink. When asked about the Andre’s infamous custom drink. A mix of 40 ounces of various liquors poured into a single pitcher, something Andre could finish several times in one sitting.
He said, “Yes. The man was extraordinary. He never even slurred his words or was tipsy! He was absolutely a man who could consume vast amounts of alcohol and not have it affect him at all. I’ve never seen anything like it. I went drinking with him after our first screening in New York, and I was sipping a beer all night, which he thought was very funny. There was no way I was going to compete with that, because I knew he could consume 100 beers in one sitting.”
A mishap led to the NYPD assigning Andre The Giant an undercover cop when he went out drinking
He was also asked about the part in his book where he revealed that the NYPD actually assigned an undercover cop to follow Andre whenever he went out drinking, all because of a mishap. He said, “Yes. Apparently, there was one time where he tripped and fell on an unsuspecting patron while waiting for his car, and after that, any time he went out drinking, the NYPD would send an undercover cop to follow him around—which, by the way, I always thought was a great gig to get. Andre would just order the cop drinks all night—which the guy happily took, by the way.”
Elwes also revealed that Andre once convinced him to taste “The American.” He described it by saying, “I’ve never tasted airplane fuel, but I imagine it’s very close to what that must taste like. It’s very potent indeed, and I remember coughing a lot. But to him, it was like chugging water.”
READ MORE: Andre The Giant Once Let Out A Nasty Fart That Stopped A Film Production
