The world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun today shook hands with He Pingping who claims to be Earth’s shortest.
Astonishingly, two men actually come from the same region of Inner Mongolia. Bao Xishun, a herdsman, is from Chifeng, while He Pingping was born nearby in Wulanchabu city, both Inner Mongolia.
Bao Xishun was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6″ Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age. Mr Xishun is officially the world’s tallest man, listed in the Guinness Book of Records at a towering 2.361 metres (7 ft 8.95 in).
Mr Pingping who stands just 73 centimeters (28.7 inches) hopes also to feature in the Guinness Book of Records as officially the world’s shortest man although he may be disappointed as the record is currently held by Lin Yih-Chih, who stands a mere 67.5 cm (26.6 inches).
July 14th, 2007
Chris Benoit is the latest in a long line of pro wrestlers to meet an untimely demise. That he murdered his wife, Nancy Benoit, and their seven year old son (said to suffer from Fragile-X syndrome) only adds to the pro-wrestling premature-death body count.
Below is a list of dead wrestlers who have died or been killed before the age of 60.
Famous Wrestlers Who Have Died Before the Age of 60 (Since 1985) - Updated Aug 2008
Adrian Adonis (Keith Franke) - 34 (car accident)
Andre the Giant (André Roussimoff) - 46 (congestive heart failure)
Art Barr - 28 (unknown)
Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Charles Bigelow) - 45 (drug toxicity)
Bertha Faye (Rhonda Singh) - 40 (drug overdose)
Big Boss Man (Raymond W. Traylor, Jr.) - 42 (heart attack)
Big Dick Dudley (Alex Rizzo) - 34 (kidney failure)
Big John Studd (John William Minton) - 46 (liver cancer)
Billy Joe Travis (William Joseph) - 40 (heart attack)
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34 (drug overdose)
Brady Boone (Dean R. Peters) - 40 (car accident)
Brian Adams - 44 (inconclusive, possible prescription med overdose)
Brian Pillman (Flyin’ Brian) - 35 (arteriosclerotic heart disease)
Bruiser Brody (Frank Goodish) - 42 (stabbed to death)
Bulldog Brown (Robert Brown) - 58 (heart attack)
Buzz Sawyer (Bruce Woyan) - 32 (heart attack)
Chase Tatum - 34 (accidental drug overdose)
Chris Adams - 46 (shot)
Chris Benoit - 40 (suicide - hanging)
Chris Candido - 33 (blood clot)
Chris Von Erich (Chris Adkisson) - 21 (suicide - shooting)
Crash Holly (Mike Lockwood) - 32 (overdose)
Curt Hennig - 44 (cocaine intoxication)
D.J. Peterson - 33 (motorcycle crash)
Davey Boy Smith (The British Bulldog) - 39 (heart attack)
Dave Sheldon (”Angel of Death”) - 52 (Unknown)
Dick Murdoch - 49 (heart attack)
Dino Bravo (Adolfo Bresciano) - 44 (murdered)
Dr. Jerry Graham - 58 (stroke)
Earthquake (John Tenta) - 42 (bladder cancer)
Ed Gatner - 31
Eddie Gilbert - 33 (heart attack)
Eddie Graham (Edward Gossett) - 55 (suicide - shooting)
Eddie Guerrero - 38 (acute heart failure)
Gary Albright - 34 (heart failure - in the ring)
Gene Anderson - 58 (heart attack)
Gino Hernandez (Charles Wolfe) - 29 (officially, a cocaine overdose although initially thought murdered)
Greg Gillies (”Mr Gillis,” “Doby Gillis”) - 44 (Heart Attack)
Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) - 46 (heart attack)
Haystacks Calhoun (William Calhoun) - 55 (diabetes)
Hercules (Raymond Fernandez) - 45 (heart disease)
Jay Youngblood (Steven Romero) - 30 (ruptured spleen)
Jeep Swenson (Robert Swenson, Jr.) - 40 (heart failure)
Jerry Blackwell - 45 (Pneumonia)
Joey Marella - 30 (car crash)
John Kronus (George B. Caiazzo) - 38 (heart failure)
Johnny Grunge (Michael “Mike” Durham) - 39 (sleep apnoea complications)
Juan Manuel Rodriguez (Bestia Salvaje) - 46 (liver failure)
Jumbo Tsuruta (Tomomi Tsuruta) - 49 (kidney transplant surgery complications)
Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter) - 45 (car accident)
Ken Timbs - 53 (cardiomyopathy / heart failure)
Kerry Von Erich (Kerry Gene Adkisson) - 33 (suicide)
Larry Cameron - 41 (heart attack)
Leroy Brown (Roland Daniels) - 38 (heart attack)
Louie Spiccoli - 27 (choked on his own vomit)
Marianna Komlos - 35 (breast cancer)
Mark Curtis (Brian Curtis Hildebrand) - 38 (stomach and bowel cancer)
Mike Awesome (Michael Lee Alfonso) - 42 (probable suicide - hanging)
Mike Davis - 46 (heart attack)
Mike Von Erich (Michael Brent Adkisson) - 23 (suicide - overdose)
Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ann Hulette) - 42 (accidental overdose)
Moondog King (Ed “Sailor” White) - 56
Moondog Spot (Larry Booker) - 51 (heart attack in the ring)
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43 (murdered by her pro-wrestling husband, Chris Benoit)
Owen Hart - 33 (died of blunt chest trauma after WWF stunt went badly wrong)
Pez Whatley - 54 (heart attack)
Pitbull #2 (Anthony Durante) - 36 (drug overdose)
Randy Anderson - 41 (cancer)
Ray Candy - 43 (heart attack)
Rick McGraw - 30 (heart attack)
Rick Rude (Richard Erwin Rood) - 41 (heart failure from ‘mixed medications’)
Rocco Rock (Theodore James Petty) - 49 (heart attack)
Sherri Martel (Sherri Schrull) - 49 (accidental drug overdose)
Tarzan Tyler (Camille Tourville) - 55 (car accident)
Terry Gordy - 40 (blood clot induced heart attack)
The Renegade (Richard C. Williams) - 33 (suicide - shooting)
The Spoiler (Don Jardine) - 56 (heart attack / leukaemia)
The Wall / Malice (Jerry Tuite) - 36 (heart attack)
Tony Parisi (Antonio Pugliese) - 58 (heart attack)
Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier) - 54 (diabetes)
Vivian Vachon - 40 (road accident)
Yokozuna (Rodney Agatupu Anoa’i) - 34 (heart attack)
Essential in compiling this list:
Wrestling’s Dirty Secret - About.com
Wrestling Information Archive
June 27th, 2007
