|
Louis "Lou" Jude Ferrigno (born November 9,
1951) is an American bodybuilder and actor. Ferrigno has appeared in
such television series and movies as Bill Bixby's bulky alter ego,
The Hulk, in The Incredible Hulk,
Pumping Iron, Sinbad of the Seven Seas, Hercules, and most
recently in the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man. He is best known for
playing the Hulk. He has more recently played a recurring role, as
himself, in the sitcom
The
King of Queens. For more stuff about
the Hulk visit
Hulkangry.com a fan site dedicated to the Green Goliath.
More about the
Incredible Hulk TV series and the
Hulk Store
Information on the
Hulk
show at TVcrazy.net.
Ferrigno was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Italian American
family, the son of Matthew, a New York City Police Department
Lieutenant who, according to Lou, was also a weightlifter and was
often very critical and negative towards him and mother Victoria. At
the age of three, he suffered an ear infection and lost some of his
hearing. Ferrigno started weight training at age 13, citing body
builder and Hercules star
Steve Reeves as one of his role models.
After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1969,
Ferrigno won his first major titles, IFBB Mr. America and IFBB Mr.
Universe, four years later. In 1974, he came in second on his first
attempt at the Mr. Olympia competition. He then came third the
following year, and his attempt to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger was
the subject of the 1975 documentary Pumping Iron. Following this,
Ferrigno left the competition circuit for many years, a period that
included a stint as a defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts in
the Canadian Football League.
Ferrigno competed in the first World's Strongest Man contest in
1977, where he finished fourth in a field of eight competitors.
While competing, Ferrigno regularly went to see a physician who
checked up on whether he was doing damage to his body.
Ferrigno signed up with Universal Studios in 1977, and beat out both
Arnold Schwarzenegger (although both Ferrigno and Schwarzenegger
himself have gone on record saying Arnold was not in the
running[citation needed]) and Richard Kiel for the title role
opposite Bill Bixby as the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk. Richard Kiel
was hired for the series first, and scenes were filmed. It was
quickly determined he was not muscular enough, and Ferrigno was
signed. One quick shot of Kiel remains in the pilot movie. Although
he did not share a line with Bixby on the set (except for one
episode, "King of the Beach"), the two were friends. Ferrigno
continued playing the Hulk role until 1981, although the last two
episodes were not broadcast until May 1982. Later, he and Bixby
co-starred in three The Incredible Hulk TV movies. There were major
talks of another movie, The Rebirth of The Incredible Hulk, but due
to Bixby's death, the project never went beyond the earliest stages
of development. Ferrigno continued to keep in touch with Bixby until
his death on November 21, 1993. Ferrigno attended Bixby's funeral in
California.
During competition, the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Ferrigno's contest weight
was 285 lb (130 kg) in 1975, and 316 lb (143 kg) in 1992; he was one
of the tallest professional bodybuilders at that time.
In the early 1990s, Ferrigno returned to
bodybuilding,
competing for the 1992 and 1993 Mr. Olympia titles. Finishing 12th
and 10th, respectively, he then turned to the Masters Olympia,
coming second in 1994 to Robby Robinson. After this, he retired from
competition.
He made a cameo in the 2003 film Hulk as a
security guard and was in one deleted scene. He has also done guest
appearances and advertisements. He again appeared as a security
guard in 2008's feature film The Incredible Hulk as well as voicing
the Hulk. Furthermore, Ferrigno has been the favorite choice to play
the voice of the Hulk in several animated adaptations as well as in
the most recent film after being publicly offered at the 2008 New
York Comic Con by The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier.
Carla Ferrigno told Reuters that her husband had been helping
Michael Jackson train in advance of his 2009-2010 concerts at the
time of his death. Jackson and Ferrigno have worked together in the
past. |
