Ferrigno, Lou 1952-

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FERRIGNO, Lou 1952-

PERSONAL: Born November 9, 1952, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Matthew (a police lieutenant) and Victoria Ferrigno; married Susan Groff, 1978 (divorced, 1979); married Carla Green (a psychotherapist, personal trainer, and television talk show host), 1980; children (second marriage): Shanna, Lou Jr., Brent.

ADDRESSES: Home—Santa Monica, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Contemporary Books/National Book Network, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706.

CAREER: Actor, writer, and bodybuilder. Performed role as the Incredible Hulk in television show The Incredible Hulk, 1977-82; made-for-television movies The Return of the Incredible Hulk (also known as Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family), CBS, 1977, Bride of the Incredible Hulk (also known as The Incredible Hulk: Married), 1978, The Incredible Hulk Returns, 1988, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, 1989, and The Death of the Incredible Hulk, 1990, all on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). Provided voice of the Incredible Hulk in animated series The Incredible Hulk (also known as The Incredible Hulk & Friends), United Paramount Network (UPN), 1996.

Actor in films, including Pumping Iron (documentary), Cinema V, 1977, re-released, Cinemax, 2002; The Seven Magnificent Gladiators, Cannon, 1982; (as Hercules) Hercules, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists/Cannon, 1983; (as Hercules) Hercules II (also known as The Adventures of Hercules), Cannon, 1983; (as Sinbad) Sinbad of the Seven Seas (also known as Sinbad), Pathe International, 1989; Desert Warriors (also known as Sand Wars), Silver Star/Prism, 1989; All's Fair (also known as Skirmish), Moviestore Entertainment, 1989; Cage, United Artists, 1989; (as Bash) Liberty & Bash (also known as Crime Task Force), 1990; Hangfire, 1991; The Making of . . . And God Spoke (also known as God Spoke), 1992; Frogtown II (also known as Hell Comes to Frogtown II and Return to Frogtown), 1993; Cage II (also known as Cage II: The Arena of Death), 1994; The Misery Brothers, 1995; The Godson, Sterling Home Entertainment, 1998; Ping! Initial Entertainment Group, 2000; Bedazzled, 2000; Frank McClusky, C.I., 2002; From Heaven to Hell, 2002; and (cameo) The Hulk, Universal Pictures, 2003.

Actor in made-for-television movies, including Extralarge: Jo-Jo, 1991, and The Naked Truth, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), 1993. Actor in television series Trauma Center, ABC, 1983. Played Jonathan Brewster in touring stage production of Arsenic and Old Lace, c. 1985. Recorded nonfiction videos Body Perfection and Stand Tall. Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League team), defensive tackle, 1976; former sheet metal worker.

AWARDS, HONORS: Teenage Mr. America, 1970; Mr. America, 1972; Mr. Universe, 1973 and 1974; Mr. International, 1974.

WRITINGS:

(With Douglas Hall) The Incredible Lou Ferrigno: HisStory: With His Step-by-Step Training Program and Special Techniques for Building a Superb Body, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1982.

Lou Ferrigno's Guide to Personal Power, Bodybuilding, and Fitness, Contemporary Books (Chicago,
IL), 1996.

Also author of numerous booklets about bodybuilding, including Basic Principles; Intermediate and Advanced Principles; Abdominals, Serratus and Intercostals; Muscular Size and Power; Hulking Shoulders; Hulking Back; Hulking Arms; Contest Training; The Mind; and Photo Album.

SIDELIGHTS: Lou Ferrigno is best known for playing the Incredible Hulk on television for over a decade, but he is also the author of two books about his favorite sport, bodybuilding. In both of Ferrigno's books, The Incredible Lou Ferrigno: His Story: With His Step-by-Step Training Program and Special Techniques for Building a Superb Body and Lou Ferrigno's Guide to Personal Power, Bodybuilding, and Fitness, Ferrigno tells readers his life story, how bodybuilding took him from his childhood home in Brooklyn to starring roles on film and television, and shows readers how they can get started in weight lifting.

Ferrigno lost much of his hearing to an ear infection when he was a toddler, and he took up weightlifting as a teenager to discourage his classmates from teasing him about his disability and to improve his self-esteem. It did not take long for Ferrigno to find success as a bodybuilder: he was named Teenage Mr. America in 1970, and in 1973, at the age of twenty-one, Ferrigno became the youngest Mr. Universe ever. He set another record by becoming the only person to win back-to-back Mr. Universe titles the next year. Ferrigno then retired from competition for seventeen years, only to make a comeback at the Mr. Olympia competition in his forties.

Ferrigno's first film experience came from appearing in a documentary about bodybuilding, titled Pumping Iron. (Pumping Iron also launched the Hollywood career of another bodybuilder-turned-actor, Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger.) Shortly after that film was released, Ferrigno was asked to audition for the role of the Hulk in the new television series based on the Marvel comic books. Another actor, Richard Kiel (best known for playing the villain "Jaws" in two James Bond movies), had already been selected for the role of the Hulk, but the director's son, a fan of the Incredible Hulk comic books, insisted that the seven-foot-tall but lean Kiel was not big in the right way to be the Hulk. Ferrigno got the role. Although the Hulk did not have any lines and was not intended to be the main attraction of the television show, the character became popular with the fans and launched Ferrigno's acting career. Ferrigno has continued to act up to the present, often in roles like Hercules or Sinbad that make the most of his muscular physique, and he has a cameo in the 2003 feature film release The Incredible Hulk.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Volume 33, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

periodicals

Boston Herald, May 21, 1988, Erik Knutzen, "The Hulk Still Has It: Ferrigno Flexes for Reunion."

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), September 22, 1999, Gerry Gittelson, "High School Football Extra: Incredible Hulk II," p. S3.

Hulk (Marvel Comics Group), issue 12, December, 1978, "Green Muscles! Lou Ferrigno Tells All about His Strength, His Career, His New Identity."

Kansas City Star, May 22, 1988, B. Mills, "He Thinks, He Feels: Has the Hulk Turned Into a Green Hunk?"

Los Angeles Times, September 25, 3001, Eric Sondheimer, "Son of Hulk Flexes Muscles on Football Field," p. D10.

Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), January 31, 2003, Julie Washington, "Actor Ferrigno Puts His Muscle behind Local Writer's Project," p. E5.

Starlog, November, 1979, Samuel J. Maronie, "The Incredible Lou Ferrigno: The Hulk Speaks"; January, 1984, Brian Lowry, "Lou Ferrigno: Muscling into Acting."

Sun (London, England), August 19, 2000, Bill Coles, "Incredible Green Hulk Is Yellow," p. 13.

Washington Post, February 18, 1990, Michael E. Hill, "Where Does the Hulk Buy Clothes?: Anywhere He Wants, of Course."