ELLERBE, NORTH CAROLINA — Officials plan to unveil a roadside marker honoring Andre The Giant on Thursday in Ellerbe, North Carolina, the small town where the professional wrestler and actor spent much of his life outside the ring. The Richmond County marker, to be placed at NC Highway 72 and Old NC Highway 220, commemorates Andre Rene Roussimoff, who lived on a ranch just outside the town of roughly 1,000 people.

The marker reads: "Andre The Giant. 1946-1993. Actor and professional wrestler. Was born Andre Roussimoff. Known for role in The Princess Bride in 1987. Lived nearby."

Roussimoff, born in France, wrestled around the U.S. South before buying a ranch in North Carolina about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Charlotte, where he raised cattle. During his time wrestling for the WWE in the 1970s and 1980s, he was billed at 7-foot-4 (2.24 meters) and 520 pounds (236 kilograms).

His 1987 match against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III helped launch the WWE from a regional organization into a nationwide entertainment company. That same year, he appeared on film as the giant Fezzik in "The Princess Bride."

Roussimoff also took part in local affairs in Ellerbe. In 1990, he taped television and radio spots opposing a proposed low-level radioactive landfill near the town. A museum holds a pair of his size-26 cowboy boots.

Roussimoff died in 1993 at age 46 in France, where he had traveled for his father's funeral. A funeral service was held in France and his body was cremated. His ashes were spread at his ranch in North Carolina.