Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Born	(1951-11-09) November 9, 1951
Birthplace	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Bodybuilder, TV personality, author
Years active	1969-present
Spouse	Susan Groff, 1978-79 Carla Green, 1980-present
Children	3
Character on King of Queens	as himself in 7 episodes, 2002-07

Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr (born November 9, 1951)plays himself on CBS-TV's The King of Queens, in a storyline where he and his wife became the Heffernan's next door neighbors in season 3's episode "Better Camera". Just as in real-life Lou is known to be the actor who portrayed "The Hulk" and people often make jokes about him "getting mad" and/or "turning green" because of it.

In the neighborhood Lou has been known to be a friendly person, but also as somewhat gossipy. His wife, Carla Ferrigno also plays herself as Lou's wife in the show. Lou often plays the part of a morally superior character. The most prominent example of this quality is in the episode "Lush Life" (#4.20) where Lou informs Carrie of Doug's after-work scheme to get her tipsy in order to bring out her nicer qualities.

Early life

Lou Ferrigno was born in Brooklyn, New York to Victoria and Matt Ferrigno, a NYPD police lieutenant. He is of Italian descent. Soon after he was born, Ferrigno says he believes he suffered a series of ear infections and lost 75 to 80% of his hearing, though his condition was not diagnosed until he was three years old. Ferrigno started weight training at age 13, citing body builder and Hercules star Steve Reeves as one of his role models. He was also a fan of the Hercules films that starred Reeves—and would later play Hercules as well. Ferrigno's other personal heroes as a child were Spider-Man and the Hulk. Ferrigno attended St. Athanasius Grammar School and Brooklyn Technical High School, where he learned metal working.

Bodybuilding career

After graduating from high school in 1969, Ferrigno won his first major titles, IFBB Mr. America and IFBB Mr. Universe, four years later. Early in his career he lived in Columbus, Ohio and trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger. 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.

These victories, however, did not provide enough for him to earn a living. His first paying job was as a $10-an-hour sheet metal worker in a Brooklyn factory, where he worked for three years. He did not enjoy the dangerous work, and left after a friend and co-worker accidentally cut off his own hand one day.

Following this, Ferrigno left the competition circuit for many years, a period that included a brief stint as a defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts in the [[Canadian Football League. He had never played football, and was cut after two games.

During competition, Ferrigno at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) weighed 285 lb (130 kg) in 1975, and 316 lb (143 kg) in 1992.

Ferrigno competed in the first World's Strongest Man competition in 1977, where he finished fourth in a field of eight competitors.

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 1994 Masters Olympia, where his attempt to beat Robbie Robinson and Boyer Coe was the subject of the 1996 documentary Stand Tall. After this, he retired from competition.

Acting career

1977–2008

In 1977, Ferrigno was cast in the title role opposite Bill Bixby as the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk. Although Ferrigno and Bixby did not share lines on camera (except for one episode, "King of the Beach"), the two were friends, with Ferrigno describing Bixby as a "mentor" and "father figure" who took Ferrigno under his wing. Ferrigno also singles out the instances in which Bixby directed Ferrigno in some episodes as particularly memorable. 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 made-for-TV movies.

In November 1978 and again in May 1979 Ferrigno appeared in ABC-TV's Battle of the Network Stars program.

In 1983, Lou appeared as John Six on the short lived medical drama Trauma Center.

Ferrigno played himself during intermittent guest appearances on the CBS-TV sitcom, The King of Queens, beginning in 2000 and continuing until the program's conclusion in 2007. He and his wife Carla were depicted as the main characters' next-door neighbors. Because of his role as the title character on The Incredible Hulk, he is often the target of Hulk jokes by Doug and his friends. Lou also made cameo appearances as a security guard in both the 2003 film Hulk and the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, in which he also voiced the Hulk.

2009–present

Lou appeared as himself in the 2009 feature film comedy I Love You, Man. He also trained Michael Jackson on and off since the early 1990s, and in 2009, he helped Jackson get into shape for a planned series of Michael Jackson concerts in London.