Lou Ferigno - Legacy Of Body Building

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


There are very few true legends in body building and Lou Ferigno is certainly one of them. In the 70s, he was a real rags to riches tale as he escalated from a humble background to worldwide fame in body building and to even more fame in his acting in the classic TV series THE INCREDIBLE HULK as the green monster. Most people may be aware of Fergino and his work. But not many know his background and this may prove very interesting even to the people who don't follow body building.

Early Years

Lou was born deaf in Brooklyn, a suburb of New York, United States in the 1950’s. Lou became a little withdrawn and isolated because the attitude towards deaf people weren't really progressive at that time. He started weightlifting as a hobby in his teens and became obsessed with it. He worked out everyday and watched his diet religiously. He set his sight on competing in many amateur competitions for body building. He entered and performed so well in them that he caught the eye of Joe Weider, the body building mogul. Joe brought Lou to professional body building competitions. Though Lou did really well his new profession, he divided his time between it and working in a construction company as it paid him far more than what professional body building did! Lou became featured in PUMPING IRON, a classic documentary, a documentary which brought him the attention of many a Hollywood producer.

The Hulk

During the initial days of shooting for HULK, former James Bond movie villain Richard "Jaws" Kiel bombed and Ferigno was called to play the leading role of the green goliath. Very few believed that the series would turn into a really suberb hit. But it became a colossal hit and lasted lots of years on network and cable TV and decades together in syndication. Ferigno was a bona-fide star worldwide!

Ferigno is well into retirement and doesn't compete in body building competitions these days. He however, appears at numerous body building competitions as a judge and as a special guest. He also signs many autographs at various comic conventions and keeps in touch with almost all of his fans who have eagerly followed his career throughout the years. Speaking in terms of history of pop culture, Lou Ferigno is surely one of a kind and a true icon!