WW PHILLY ’08: INCREDIBLE HULK RETROSPECTIVE WITH LOU FERRIGNO

[MichaelDoran]

Report by Tara Bennett

As Marvel prepares to debut a brand new Hulk to the world via the big screen in June, fans of the old school version from the classic television series The Incredible Hulk got to bask in some nostalgia Friday at Wizard World: Philadelphia. Actor/bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, who embodied the cranky, green guy for five seasons on the series, hit the stage with Wizard’s Kevin Mahadeo to take a Gamma Ray-inspired walk down memory lane.

Right off the bat, Mahadeo introduced Ferrigno and asked his thoughts on the new The Incredible Hulk film which opens June 13th. “For the new movie, I do the voice. I’ve saw about 15 – 20 minutes of it. It’s much faster paced than the first film [Ang Lee’s Hulk]…I think this one will do very well because it’s more like the TV series. The other movie was the comic’s version but this film the Hulk is very sympathetic. I’m very excited about doing the voice of the Hulk too.”

Mahadeo put together a video and slideshow program for the panel and he started with a clip from the television series where actor Bill Bixby’s David Banner is grilled on the witness stand during a trial. Banner hulks out to the shock of the judge and jury.

At clip’s end, Ferrigno quipped “That’s why you should never have Hulk go to trial.”

Ferrigno commented that episode was directed by Bixby in 1988 and really expressed David Banner’s frustrations well.

“That shows why the last movie didn’t do well,” Ferrigno remembered. “The new film is like the TV series and has the same kind of chemistry as the series. Once you start changing that formula that causes problems.

Mahadeo asked Ferrigno about the makeup and he lamented: “The makeup was hell and took about three or four hours. Sometimes I would have to be made up at four or five in the morning and I would have to mentally prepare to go back to makeup. When you are sitting in a chair for three hours, first with spirit gum and then the grease makeup…I had to keep thinking of my paycheck – that kept me motivated. I loved becoming the character and it was so much fun but those three hours were the tough part.”

The actor related how he would have to be in the makeup anywhere from 13 – 14 hours a day. Wearing a bathrobe, he would have to lay down gingerly on his back in attempt to take naps in between scenes without messing up the application.

“The hardest thing for me was sitting in the motor home,” he recalled. “I couldn’t hang out with the crew because of the makeup. And if weather conditions were bad, they would send me home. It was frustrating…I’d have to just come back the next day. After 86 episodes, you are talking about me getting made up over 400 times!”

Mahadeo then broke down the rest of the panel into subsections revolving around certain aspects of the series: special effects, fight scenes, and working with Bill Bixby. Each section featured a clip from the series and then Ferrigno gave some anecdotes about the material.

Ferrigno said his favorite fight in the series was when he got to duke it out with the other Hulk – not only because of the cool factor but also because the clone Hulk was played by a stuntman “and with a professional stuntman you can do anything!”

In a more somber remembrance, the actor said that his human counterpart on the show, actor Bill Bixby was never the same again after the tragic death of his nine year old son. “His son died and he came back on set two days later. I was mortified seeing him cover his pain…but Bill would never talk much about it. Professionally he was very smart and witty and a talented director and producer – but he isolated himself [after the death].”

Rounding out the panel, Mahadeo showed Ferrigno’s cameo appearance in Ang Lee’s Hulk, where he and Stan Lee walk by actor Eric Bana.

Ferrigno said he told Lee on the set of the Hulk TV series that Lee’s comics inspired him to get into bodybuilding.

“I was a fan of the Hulk comics. I lost 75% of my hearing as a child so I was very introverted. I fantasized about fighting evil…and I was so frustrated about getting beat up as a kid that I started bodybuilding so I could be so strong I would never get picked on again.”

In The Incredible Hulk, Ferrigno will appear again in a new cameo and his voice will play an important part of the performance. He takes over vocally from Edward Norton when Banner transitions into the Hulk.

“I didn’t get to do the Hulk’s voice on the TV series, but I did voice the animated Hulk series. For the new film, they wanted me to speak deep from my chest and project outwards…so I got to scream and yell in a room for three hours!”

Lastly, he gave the modest audience a taste with a dramatic explosion of: “Puny human – HULK SMASH!”

[panicbxmb]

i tried talking to him like 2 years ago at WW Philly, and the guy with him - his translator? his agent? - was a total d-bag. Lou went to shake my hand, and the other guy stopped him and said "do you want to shake his hand? do you want an autograph? you'll have to buy this poster first. and he can only sign the poster!"

so i said, sure i'll take it, and the guy told me that would be $35. needless to say, i didn't buy the poster, and i'll never try talking to Lou Ferrigno again.

i'm sure he's a nice guy, but i'll never know.

[rochvail]

Wow, the exact opposite happened to me a few years ago at Megacon. Lou was by himself and would shake your hand and exchange pleasantries even if you weren't buying anything. I got an autographed pic for my wife but because of his hearing problem, he signed it "To Matti" instead of "To Patti".

Sounds like it was a cool panel, I love hearing anecdotes about movie/TV making.

[I-Ching]

Great memories of The Incredible Hulk tv show. Not a direct translation but adapted very well for the decade and budget and Bill Bixby...outstanding, just simply outstanding.

It always makes me smile when someone like Lou Ferrigno embraces their past when others might not show as much involvement or pride since it can be looked back at now as hokey or campy. The show wasn't groundbreaking but it's fondly remembered by many many fans and it's great to read about the actors doing the same.

Those Banner eyes before he changes into the Hulk...idellible classic imagery!!

[Question86]

If I hear "Hulk Smash puny human" or any variation of it in the Norton film, my fanboy in me will go nuts.

I think the Ang Lee film had him say it in a dream sequence or something.

[Clark_1986]

YES YES

The hulk speaks

[Spidey616]

He was actually really good doing the voice on the UPN animated series, so I look forward to see what his vocal performance will be like this time for the live action film.

[Daiyongo]

ROCK!

That is full of awesome and total WIN!

[Jeremy Williams]

I really hope he does speak!

[Kahn]

Lou Ferrigno was the man even before that show. Maybe I'll meet him someday.

[MrToady12]

Met Lou at Supanova in Brisbane earlier this year. He was cordial, but a little stand-off-ish with most people. I forked out $30 for a photo with him and my son - the only time I have ever done so (but he's a childhood favourite of mine). I regretted it a little afterwards because he was quite abrupt and hardly acknowledged our presence outside of taking the photo - purely in it for the money (and their wasn't exactly a huge line of people waiting for him at the time). Even so, it was good to hear some Hulk stories from him - but he was much more interested in talking Bodybuilding and his Hercules films at the time.

The last few Supanova conferences I got photos with Ray Park, Summer Gleason, John Rhys Davies, John Schneider and Aaron Douglas for free!! Unfortunately Supanova was quite mercenary in their tactics this year and you couldn't even get near them without some PR knob jumping in front of you demanding $30!!

Cheers

[AbacusComics]

Lou anecdote.

Few years back my wife, father-in-law, and two of my kids were in the elevator at SDCC Hilton hotel. My wife was saying how she's gotten all this new upper body strength she never had before from lugging the kids around in her arms.
She goes to show her dad her biceps, in the traditional manner, just as the elevator door opens, and who is standing there like the jolly green giant himself?
The Hulk. Lou in the flesh.
He points at my wife's tiny arm and says 'What's that?'
She replies, 'my muscle'.
Lou: 'That's not a muscle...', flexes his massive biceps, which are like the diameter of her ribcage and says, 'THAT'S a muscle'.

Classic moment, I'll never forget it.

[weaselwelch]

Been watching Season 1 on DVD this past week(need to get the other seasons that are out as well). And it amazingly(thought I was going say Incredibly, didn't you?) holds up. Putting aside the special effects for which considering the time and the budget they had, the cast and crew put together a well crafted series.

I will say they kinda dropped the ball with Thor and Daredevil(which was the better of the two).

[sreed]

One of the most surreal pop culture moments in my life was sitting on the bus waiting to be transported back to my hotel from the Chicago convention center last summer. It seemed like the entire forward section of the bus sagged for a moment when Lou Ferrigno stepped on board. For a moment, I had the same vague fear I used to have when watching The Incredible Hulk as a kid (I was probably 6 or 7), and here he was, THE HULK actually getting on the bus. I had a second of that same irrational fear as I watched him approach. That show scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, but I couldn't resist watching it.

Lou Ferrigno is huge. When we were all standing outside waiting for the driver to unload our bags, Ferrigno was milling about with everyone else waiting, and I kept backing further away from him because I didn't want TO GET STEPPED ON. I'm 6' 3" and 245 lb. and he completely dwarfed me. It's one of those things where you know the guy played the Hulk, and you see him at the cons signing autographs, but it never really registered that much with me until he was mingling with us common folk. Anyway, he is The Hulk in the same way that Christopher Reeve was born to portray Superman. It's great to see him finally get involved again with the character.

[elgato]

I remember watching this show as a kid and in my mind getting sad on how they treated the Hulk. Then I think to myself why weren't his pants purple! Ah the thoughts of a young mind.

[Templar1305]

Back in the winter, I picked up that "best of" DVD collection from all the seasons and like one of the poster's says, it really does hold up pretty well. Especially compared to other late 70s, early 80s shows.

I can't figure out though why they did both of the Rick Springfield 2 parters and never included the episode where Ferrigno did double duty playing both the Hulk and a competitive bodybuilder.

Few years ago my boss had a run in with Hank Williams Jr.'s "handler." I think sometimes these characters are the real pain in the @$$es more than the people they supposedly represent.

I have had some freinds who met Ferrigno and reported that he was very polite and a genuine nice guy. But then again there was no "handler" around.

Never forget that convention appearances and the likes where they can sell memorabellia is an active form of income for many celebrities. I have seen big time pro-wrestlers who were television stars back in the 80s who probably got more money off selling photos and t-shirts and posters to fans at indy wrestling shows than they got for working in the ring there.