Background

Lou Ferrigno was born as Louis Jude Ferrigno on November 9, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York to Matthew and Victoria Ferrigno. His father was an Italian-American police lieutenant. Lou suffered a series of ear infections and lost 75% of his hearing, though his condition was not diagnosed until he was three years old. Lou took up athletics, predominantly weightlifting and bodybuilding, as a teenager to discourage his classmates from teasing him about his disability and to improve his self-esteem.

Education

Lou Ferrigno attended St. Athanasius Grammar School and Brooklyn Technical High School, where he learned mechanical engineering. Ferrigno studied acting with Milton Katselas and Howard Fine. Ferrigno also graduated from the Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff's Reserve Academy at the urging of Los Angeles County Sheriff, Lee Baca.

Career

Lou Ferrigno started weight training as a teen. It did not take long for Ferrigno to find success as a bodybuilder: he was named Teenage Mr. America in 1971, and in 1973 he won the IFBB Mr. America and IFBB Mr. Universe titles - during which, he lived in Columbus, Ohio. Lou was only 21 when he won his first Mr. Universe title, a Guinness Book world record that stands to this day. 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. The same year, in 1974, he came in second on his first attempt at the Mr. Olympia competition. He came in third the following year (in 1975), which was documented in 1975's documentary, Pumping Iron (Pumping Iron also launched the Hollywood career of another bodybuilder-turned-actor, Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger). Ferrigno then retired from competition for seventeen years, only to make a comeback at the Mr. Olympia competition in his forties. In the early 1990s, Lou returned to bodybuilding, competing for the 1992 and 1993 Mr. Olympia titles. Finishing 12th and 10th, respectively, he then turned to the 1994 Masters Olympia, where his attempt to beat Robbie Robinson and Boyer Coe was the subject of the 1996 documentary, Stand Tall. After this, Ferrigno retired from competition.

Lou worked throughout his early bodybuilding career as a sheet metal worker in a Brooklyn factory. He did not enjoy the dangerous work and left after a friend and co-worker accidentally cut off his hand. Following this, Lou left the competition circuit for many years, a period that included a brief stint as a defensive tackle for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (1976). He had never played football and was cut after two games.

1977 brought the release of the now-iconic bodybuilding documentary, Pumping Iron, and the attention of television producer Kenneth Johnson, who was seeking the right person to portray the larger-than-life comic book superhero, The Incredible Hulk. 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. With his 6' 5", 285 lb. frame, Lou was the biggest professional bodybuilder at the time. He auditioned for the part of the green-skinned Goliath, winning the part over fellow bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lou Ferrigno was also a personal trainer for Michael Jackson. Jackson invited him to be his personal trainer to prepare for the This is It concerts. Ferrigno had appeared in Jackson's "Liberian Girl" short film in 1989 and they remained friends until Jackson's death in 2009.

Lou was cast in the title role opposite Bill Bixby, who played his meek scientist/alter ego. Lou continued playing the Hulk role until 1981, although the last two episodes were not broadcast until May 1982. The Incredible Hulk was a huge rating success and spawned several TV movies after the initial TV series completed its run. Ferrigno continued to remain busy after the end of The Incredible Hulk. He has additionally guest-starred on several TV shows including The Fall Guy (1981) and Mike Hammer (1984). His subsequent films included Frogtown II (1992), Hercules (1983), Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989), and Cage (1989).

Lou's most recent credits include guest appearances on the CBS sitcom, The King of Queens, beginning in 2000 and continuing until the program's conclusion in 2007, where he and his wife Carla were depicted as the main characters, next-door neighbors. He has appeared in other films, including The Misery Brothers (1995), Ping! (2000), From Heaven to Hell (2002), a cameo as a security guard in the big-budget remake Hulk (2003), The Incredible Hulk (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), The Avengers (2012), and Celebrity Apprentice: Season 5 (2012). Ferrigno has appeared in four different adaptations of The Incredible Hulk and was nominated Superest Super Hero TV Land Awards in 2003 and 2004. The first was the live-action television series of the late 1970s and early 1980s, in which he played the Hulk and does not speak. In the 1990s he played the role again in an animated series for the UPN network, The Incredible Hulk (1996) - this time providing the creature's voice. In Ang Lee's 2003 film Hulk, where the Hulk is computer-generated, so Lou plays a completely different part - that of a security guard (along with Stan Lee) at the lab where Bruce Banner works. In the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, he plays a security guard again, this time one who allows Bruce Banner to enter with a pizza, and also, once again, voices the Hulk. In 2010, Ferrigno appeared in Sonny with a Chance (episode "My Two Chads"), as himself in an episode of the fictional series MacKenzie Falls, and as Zaminhon in Star Trek Continues (episode "Lolani"). Lou voiced the character Billy the Hero in the animated series Adventure Time. His voice was used for the Hulk in The Avengers (2012) and its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and in the video game Lego Marvel's Avengers (2016), where he appeared as a playable Lego version of himself.

In February 2006, Lou was sworn in as a Los Angeles County, California reserve sheriff's deputy and in November 2010, Lou was sworn in as a member of a Maricopa County, Arizona volunteer sheriff posse, which also includes actors Steven Seagal and Peter Lupus, in order to help control illegal immigration in the Phoenix Valley area. In June 2012, Ferrigno was sworn in as a reserve deputy to the San Luis Obispo County, California, Sheriff's Department. In September 2013 he was sworn in as a special deputy to the Sheriff's Department, Delaware County, Ohio. In May 2018, President Donald Trump appointed Lou Ferrigno as a member of The President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (PCSFN).

Lou and his family started Ferrigno FIT - a community focused on positive habits, lifestyles, and ideas. Ferrigno has his own line of fitness equipment called Ferrigno Fitness. In January 2009, he provided equipment to The Price Is Right for use as a One Bid prize, and demonstrated the equipment himself. Big Lou is also a successful author with two 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 detailing his bodybuilding knowledge, and his life behind the scenes playing the Incredible Hulk on TV in the 1970s, plus he has a popular website frequented by his many fans worldwide.

Achievements

• Lou Ferrigno is a professional bodybuilder and a fitness trainer. He has won the bodybuilding title, Teenage Mr. America, Mr. America, Mr. International, the youngest bodybuilder ever to hold the Mr. Universe (at the age of 21), and the only person to win back-to-back Mr. Universe titles the following year. Ferrigno was also the 2nd on Pro Mr. America - WBBG, 2nd on Mr. Olympia, Heavyweight, and took the 3rd place, Tall class on the Mr. Olympia competitions, as well as the 2nd on Olympia Masters, the 10th and 12th on Mr. Olympia.
  
  Lou is also the author of two books about his favorite sport, bodybuilding: 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 where he 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 has appeared in numerous films and television series including Sinbad of the Seven Seas, Cage, Cage II, Hercules, Hercules 2, Frogtown II, and The King of Queens series, but best known for his role as the Hulk from The Incredible Hulk.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Lou Ferrigno's Guide to Personal Power, Bodybuilding, and Fitness

    (The bodybuilder shares his struggle to adapt to hearing l...)

    1996
  • The Incredible Lou Ferrigno: His Story With His Step-by-Step Training Program and Special Techniques for Building a Superb Body 1982

• movie

  • Cross 3: Rise of the Villains

    (Armed with an explosive powerful ancient Cross amulet, Ca...)

    2019
  • Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel

    (Surge leaves his home town, Big City, to pursue his arch ...)

    2016
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron

    (When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dorm...)

    2015
  • With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

    (Sean Astin, Tobey Maguire, Roger Corman, Frank Miller, an...)

    2010
  • Frogtown II: Return to Frogtown

    (In the sequel to Hell Comes to Frogtown, the Mutant-Frog ...)

    1992
  • Purge of Kingdoms: A Game of Thrones Parody

    (In a parody of "Game of Thrones," nobles from the Eight K...)

    2019
  • Frank Mcklusky, C.I.

    (After his work partner is murdered, gung-ho insurance cla...)

    2002
  • The Next Big Thing

    (When Julian allows his deranged best friend Chuck to foll...)

    2016
  • Heroes Manufactured

    (A documentary following Canadian artists and their abilit...)

    2016
  • The Avengers

    (Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to ...)

    2012
  • The Trial of the Incredible Hulk

    (When Banner is held as a witness to a violent crime linke...)

    1989
  • Ring Ring

    (After a group of telemarketers get fired by their penny-p...)

    2019
  • Pumping Iron

    (In 1977, an independent documentary movie shone a light o...)

    1977
  • The Bandit Hound

    (A lovable dog named Bandit starts stealing cash to help h...)

    2016
  • Hulk

    (Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, s...)

    2003
  • The Incredible Hulk

    (Bruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the United Stat...)

    2008
  • The Incredible Hulk Returns

    (Hopefully on the verge of curing his Hulk condition, Bann...)

    1988
  • Cage II: The Arena Of Death

    (After surviving Vietnam and the illegal fighting circuit,...)

    1994
  • The Godson

    (After the death of his older brother, Giuseppe "The Guppy...)

    1998
  • Liberator

    (Lou Ferrigno is back in action as a washed-up superhero t...)

    2012
  • Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

    (A monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washin...)

    2015
  • Sinbad of the Seven Seas

    (Sinbad and his shipmate's aid a young prince, who must ba...)

    1989
  • The Death of the Incredible Hulk

    (Desperately attempting to purge himself of his monster-li...)

    1990
  • Mom's Night Out Mom's Night Out

    (Hardworking mom Allyson has a crazy night out with her fr...)

    2014
  • All's Fair

    (To relax, a group of stressed-out executives go to the co...)

    1989
  • Ping!

    (Ping is a chihuahua rescued from the pound by nearsighted...)

    2000
  • Avengers Grimm

    (The princess heroines from the classic tales must unite t...)

    2015
  • Liberty & Bash

    (Liberty, Bash, and their friend Jesse served together in ...)

    1989
  • Cage

    (A GI in Vietnam saves his buddy's life, but in the proces...)

    1989
  • Naked Truth

    (Two friends, both named Frank, accidentally obtain a suit...)

    1992
  • Hercules II: The Adventures Of Hercules

    (The story of the Greek mythological figure, updated in th...)

    1985
  • Desert Warrior

    (In the post-nuclear wastes of Earth two civilizations fig...)

    1988
  • Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

    (The history of the independent film company, The Cannon F...)

    2014
  • Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages

    (Interviews with the creators and fans of American superhe...)

    2016
  • Enter The Fire

    (On the run from the mob, Jake Bolt visits his estranged f...)

    2018
  • Michael Jackson: Gone Too Soon

    (A behind the scenes look into the life and death of Micha...)

    2010
  • The Making of "...And God Spoke"

    (A documentary on the making of a big-budget Bible picture...)

    1993
  • De Superman à Spider-Man : L'Aventure des Super-héros

    (A documentary about the history of Marvel comics.)

    2001
  • Extralarge: Yo Yo

    (Burt meets Jack Costello after many years. Burt is a boxe...)

    1992
  • Hangfire

    (A town has been taken, hostage. Who will win the battle? ...)

    1991
  • The Seven Magnificent Gladiators 1982
  • Hercules 1983
  • Misery Brothers 1995
  • Michael Jackson: History on Film: Volume II 1997
  • Stand Tall 1997
  • Bedazzled 2000
  • Surge of Power 2004
  • Why We Train 2008
  • Michael Jackson's This Is It 2009
  • I Love You, Man 2009
  • The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power (The Scorpion King: The Lost Throne) 2014
  • Instant Death 2016
  • Thor: Ragnarok 2017

• TV series

  • Marvel Action Hour: Iron Man

    (When Stark's counter plan against Justin Hammer, which in...)

    1996
  • American Gladiators

    (The ultimate David and Goliath battle returns! Everyday A...)

    2008
  • Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

    (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is more than a television pro...)

    1980
  • Matt Houston

    (Matt Houston is a wealthy Texan who moves to California t...)

    1984
  • Adventure Time

    (A 12-year-old boy and his best friend, a wise 28-year-old...)

    2010
  • The King of Queens

    (Delivery man Doug Heffernan has a good life: He has a pre...)

    2000
  • Super Force

    (In the year 2020, an astronaut becomes a vigilante when h...)

    1990
  • Con Man

    (Wray Nerely is a struggling actor who starred as a spaces...)

    2017
  • Chuck

    (When a twenty-something computer geek inadvertently downl...)

    2010
  • Living Single

    (Follows the lives of several single male and female roomm...)

    1996
  • The Incredible Hulk

    (A nuclear scientist is afflicted with the tendency to cha...)

    1996
  • The Incredible Hulk

    (A fugitive scientist has the curse of becoming a powerful...)

    1977
  • Night Court

    (An eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban nigh...)

    1985
  • The Fall Guy

    (The adventures of a film stuntman who moonlights as a bou...)

    1982
  • Reno 911!

    (An irreverent look at what goes on behind-the-scenes in R...)

    2004
  • We Bare Bears

    (Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear are still working on that whol...)

    2016
  • Black Scorpion

    (The City of Angels is falling apart, and crime pervades t...)

    2001
  • My Wife and Kids

    (Now that Jr. and Vanessa, have announced the impending bi...)

    2004
  • Amazing Stories 1985
  • Double Dare 1987
  • The Marvel Action Hour: The Fantastic Four 1995
  • Conan: The Adventurer 1997
  • The Man Show 2003
  • WWE: Summerslam 2010
  • Sonny with a Chance 2010

Views

Lou Ferrigno takes part in numerous charity events. He visits schools, hospitals, and many other institutions. Ferrigno was a contestant on the NBC reality television series The Celebrity Apprentice: Season Five (2012). Lou appeared on this program to raise money for the charity organization, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Ferrigno was Team Unanimous' project manager for the task depicted in the fifth episode, "I'm Going to Mop the Floor With You," which was to create a viral video to promote O-Cedar's ProMist Spray Mop, placing him in competition with actress Tia Carrere, the project manager of the women's team, Forte. In addition to the $20,000 awarded to the charity of the project manager of the winning team, O-Cedar pledged an additional $30,000 for that task. Team Unanimous' video, in which Ferrigno appeared dancing while mopping, won the task, and $50,000 in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Quotations: "Everyone has his own "little Hulk" inside him."

"If I hadn't lost my hearing, I wouldn't be where I am now. It forced me to maximize my potential. I had to be better than the average person to succeed. That's why I chose bodybuilding. If I became a world champion, if I could win admiration from my peers, I could do anything."

"It always fascinates me how I can connect with the people, teach people about leadership."

"Take care of your body, exercise, feel good about yourself. Be disciplined like me as a bodybuilder so that effects other things you do in your life."

Membership

• 

  Lou Ferrigno has been a Chairman and a member of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN).

  President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition , United States

  2018

• 

  Muscular Dystrophy Association , United States

Personality

Lou started weight training at age 13, citing bodybuilder and Hercules-star Steve Reeves as one of his role models. He was also a fan of the Hercules films that starred Reeves. Ferrigno suffered a series of ear infections and lost 75% of his hearing. Undeterred by what some may have perceived as a disadvantage, Lou threw himself into athletics, predominantly weightlifting and bodybuilding.

Physical Characteristics: Lou Ferrigno has a height of 6 ft 5 in or almost 196 cm. Ferrigno weighs 285 pounds - with 59" chest, 34" waist, 22. 5" biceps, 29" thighs, and 19" neck. Ferrigno Bench-pressed 560 lbs in his prime (age 25). Now, he benches 400 lbs.

Connections

Lou Ferrigno married Susan Groff on May 27, 1978, but divorced in 1979. Then on May 3, 1980, Lou married psychotherapist Carla Green, who then also began serving as his manager and later became a personal trainer herself. They have three children: Shanna, Louis Jr., and Brent.

Father:

Matthew Ferrigno

Mother:

Victoria Ferrigno

Daughter:

Shanna Ferrigno

Son:

Louis Jr. Ferrigno

Son:

Brent Ferrigno

ex-wife:

Susan Groff

Wife:

Carla (Green) Ferrigno

Brother:

Andy Ferrigno

Friend:

Bill Bixby

Although Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby did not share lines on camera, except for one episode "King of the Beach," the two were friends, with Lou describing Bixby as "a mentor and a father figure" who took Lou under his wing.

colleague:

Steve Reeves

colleague:

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Friend:

Michael Jackson

Friend:

Joseph Weider

Friend:

Stan Lee

References

• Lou Ferrigno's (@LouFerrigno) Twitter