The Legend of Body Building – Lou Ferrigno
Sunday, June 15th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
If there ever was a true legend in body building, then it would certainly be the legendary Lou Ferrigno. In the 1970’s, Ferrigno was a real rags to riches story since he came from humble origins to worldwide fame as a bodybuilder and then to much greater fame in his endearing portrayal of the titular green monster in the classic television program “The Incredible Hulk”.
While some of you might be familiar with Lou and his work, you may not be all that familiar with his background which might prove to be pretty interesting even to those of you who do not follow the sport.
Let’s Go In Early Years
Lou Ferrigno was born in Brooklyn New York in the 1950’s and had the handicap of being deaf. Since attitudes towards the impaired hearing weren’t exactly progressive during this time period, Lou became somewhat withdrawn and isolated. While in his teens he would discover a new hobby in the form of weightlifting. Lou loved so much this new hobby to the point of obsession.
He would work out each day and keep an eye on his diet religiously. Eventually, he would set his sights on competing in amateur body building competitions. He participated and did well enough that he caught the eye of body building mogul Joe Weider who brought Lou into the fold of professional body building competition.
Lou did extremely well in this new profession although he alternated his time between competing and working in construction since construction paid far more than professional body building. Lou would then get featured in the classic documentary “Pumping Iron”, a documentary that would bring him to the attention of a number of Hollywood producers.
The Hulk
When former James Bond villain Richard “Jaws” Kiel bombed as the Hulk during the first few days of shooting the pilot for the TV series, Ferrigno was called to play the green goliath. While some thought that these series would be a hit, it turned out to be a colossal hit lasting many years on network TV and decades in syndication. Ferrigno was now a bona fide worldwide star!
Since he is well into his retirement years, Lou Ferrigno no longer competes in body building these days. He does, however, appear at a few competitions as a special guest and as a judge. He signs autographs at comic conventions and meets with all his fans who have followed his career through the years. In terms of pop culture history, Lou Ferrigno is a true icon and definitely one of a kind.
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