Friends With An Angel: The Unwavering Friendship Between Karl Pojello and ‘The French Angel’ Maurice Tillet

Brian Damage

Professional wrestling is often considered a fraternity or sorority among the wrestlers because only a select few men and women actually take part in this profession. The bond that they share is unique and there is a sense of community between most that are involved. As time wears on, the friendships and brotherhood may fade like a distant memory in many cases. For pro wrestlers Kar Pojello and Maurice Tillet that was not the case at all. Here was a friendship that stood the test of time. They were truly “friends to the end.”

Karl Pojello was an outstanding amateur and professional wrestler from Lithuania. He wrestled all over Europe, Russia and places like Japan and China. He wrestled professionally from the early 1920’s until the late 1930’s. While visiting France in 1937, Pojello noticed a doorman with a very unique look. The doorman stood only 5 feet 8 inches tall, but was a solid 276 pounds. What really caught Pojello’s eye was the doorman’s head which was a rather robust 7.13 inches from ear to ear. Pojello immediately thought that this man had the look to be a villain in the world of professional wrestling. In reality, the doorman suffered from acromegaly, a disorder in which the pituitary gland releases excess growth hormone. This was the very same disease Andre the Giant had.

Pojello introduced himself to the doorman and was amazed that this individual spoke fluent Russian. His name was Maurice Tillet, and had hopes of one day becoming a movie star. Tillet was working as a doorman to a French movie studio in hopes of one day getting discovered. Tillet had a few small roles in movies, with his most notable sharing the screen with Miss Josephine Baker. He was usually used as a background actor and wasn’t taken seriously by any movie producers.

That was not Tillet’s original plan in life. He possessed a law degree, but found it very hard to get cases and not be feared by clients and juries for his looks. Tillet spoke 10 different languages fluently and was extremely bright. He loved to read and write poetry. Not exactly fitting the look of Tillet on his outside appearance. Pojello was absolutely amazed speaking with Tillet for the brief time that he did. Pojello asked Tillet if he ever wrestled and to his surprise, Tillet wrestled as an amateur in high school. Pojello offered to train him as a professional wrestler and Tillet who had no other prospects accepted.

The next day, Tillet and Pojello were in a Paris gym training intensely. Pojello not only trained him in the catch wrestling style, but also taught him the small nuances of becoming a successful pro wrestler. Pojello not only was his trainer, but also became Tillet’s business manager. He initially dubbed Tillet as “The Ugliest Man in Wrestling.”It wasn’t long before Tillet became a sensation in Europe. He was ultimately billed as ‘The French Angel’ taking that nickname that his mother gave him as a small child.

Before long, the French Angel was selling out arena after arena with some attendance as high as 30,000 fans. When World War II broke out, Pojello and Tillet fled to the United States. They successfully toured the U.S. from coast to coast. The friends decided to make Chicago, Illinois their home base of operations. The money and fame were tremendous for the pair as they were highly sought after by every promoter across the country. Tillet had won the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight title and was undefeated as a wrestle for two years. He was easily making $1,000 per match. Despite that, Maurice led a very lonely life outside the squared circle. People feared him, despite being a real life gentle, warm hearted man.

Pojello decided to purchase a mansion in Illinois and took Tillet as his roommate. The rest of the house was rented out to boarders. Pojello and Tillet not only were business partners, but the very best of friends. As Tillet’s fame grew, he decided to give acting another shot. He did a couple of photo sessions, but the producers here in the States were just as cold and uninterested as they were in Europe. Tillet focused all of his attention to pro wrestling.

As the years wore on, so did Tillet’s body.. He couldn’t wrestle as much as he used to. His final match was a loss against Bert Assarati in February of 1953. With promoters no longer seeing value in the French Angel character, Tillet was finding it difficult to find work. Pojello was able to get him booked working at carnivals pulling cars and other heavy machinery as a special attraction. Pojello would get married and move away from Tillet, but continued to visit with each other every single morning for a jog or just having coffee. Then one day, Pojello stopped visiting Tillet.

It wasn’t because of anything personal, but because Pojello fell ill with lung cancer. Tillet went to visit his friend everyday and sat at his bedside and the two would talk and laugh for hours reminiscing about the earlier days gone by. On the morning of September 4, 1954, Karl Pojello died from his cancer. When the news reached Tillet, he was said to be devastated. His best friend was gone. Just 12 hours later, Tillet suffered a heart attack and died. Many said he died of broken heart dealing with the grief of losing Pojello.

As they were inseparable in life, both Karl Pojello and Maurice Tillet were buried together in a Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Their gravestone reads….“Friends whom even death couldn’t part.”

Years later, the animated movie Shrek premiered and the longstanding rumor is that the main character was based on Maurice Tillet’s likeness. The movie studio never officially confirmed or denied that rumor. In either case, Tillet is still closely associated with Shrek. In some ways, Maurice Tillet finally became the movie star he always sought out to be.