The French Angel

[2] Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Champion in the American Wrestling Association run by Paul Bowser in Boston.

When Tillet was twenty years old, he noticed swelling in his feet, hands, and head, and after visiting a doctor was diagnosed with acromegaly—a condition usually caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland, resulting in bone overgrowth and thickening.

[1][4] Tillet completed his law degree at the University of Toulouse, but felt he would never be successful due to his deep voice and physical appearance.

[1] In Boston, Massachusetts, in 1940, promoter Paul Bowser pushed Tillet, who was wrestling as The French Angel, as a main eventer, and he became a large draw in the area.

[1] In 1950, Chicago sculptor Louis Linck befriended Tillet and made a series of plaster busts commemorating him for his wrestling career.

The French Angel against Lou Thesz in the ring, 1940
Tillet being interviewed in Montreal, 1940.
Maurice Tillet in 1953