By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
June 3, 2003
Lou Ferrigno is a champion body builder and a former pro football player for the Toronto Argonauts. But let’s face it–we all know and love the strapping 6-foot-5 lug for his role in the 1978 TV show “The Incredible Hulk.” Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ferrigno lost 65 percent of his hearing when he was 3. Thanks to a hearing aid, his hearing has been restored to 100 percent.
“I just changed the negative into a positive,” he says. “I actually met some of [the kids who bullied me] at conventions and they came up to me with their kids to say they’re big fans of mine. They talk about the good times, not the bad. I don’t hold anything against them.”
Ferrigno is getting a career jolt, thanks to the DVD release today of “The Incredible Hulk: Original Television Series Premiere” (Universal Home
Video). He also has a cameo as the head of security in the feature film “Hulk,” which will open in theaters on June 20.
Just how does his Hulk stack up against the 2003 version? We took a look:
The Hulk factor: Lou Ferrigno played the strapping Hulk.
The babe: Mariette Hartley played psychiatrist Carolyn Fields, who tried to help Banner control his transformations into the Hulk. She won an Emmy for her doomed character.
Difference between this and the film: The series tweaked the comic book’s concept and made the good doctor the Hulk. In the film, they hark back to the original idea of Banner’s son, Bruce, becoming the Hulk.
Best cameo: Susan Sullivan of “Dharma and Greg” fame as Bixby’s wife (in the pilot) who, sadly, dies.
Most memorable line: “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
The Hulk factor: Is there no mortal man who can fill Ferrigno’s green-tinted flesh? This Hulk is computer generated. Ferrigno concedes, “Well, it is hard to be the Hulk.”
The babe: Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly plays Betty Ross, Bruce’s love interest and the daughter of a general on the Hulk’s trail.
Difference between this and the TV series: The “Incredible” is gone.
Best cameo: Sure, you’ll recognize Ferrigno as the head of security. But look for the other guy with him–it’s Stan Lee, who created the Hulk comic
book series along with Jack Kirby.
Most memorable line: “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
