Lou Ferrigno

After divorcing his first wife, Susan Groff, Lou Ferrigno married psychotherapist Carla Green, who became his manager. The couple has three children, Shanna, Louis, Jr. and Brent.

Lou Ferrigno was born on November 9, 1959 at Brroklyn, New York to Victoria and Matt Ferrigno, a police lieutenant. At three, he was diagnosed with hearing loss as a result of recurring ear infections as a baby.

He graduated from St. Athanasius Grammar School and Brooklyn Technical High School, where he trained in metal working, in 1969. A fan of bodybuilder and actor, Steve Reeves, he began weight training at 13.

Lou Ferrigno won the IFBB ‘Mr. America’ title, a bodybuilding contest organized by the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) in 1973. The following year, he won the IFBB ‘Mr. Universe’ held in Verona Italy.

His attempt at the ‘Mr. Olympia’ title, awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest, was thwarted by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1974 - he stood second that year and third the following year.

Despite his successes in the competitions, he had to work in a Brooklyn factory as sheet metal worker. The job was fraught with dangers, so he eventually resigned from the job.

He became a defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts, a professional team of the Canadian Football League. But he was dropped after just two games, because of his inexperience.

In 1977, by his own high standards, he fared badly in the first World’s Strongest Man competition, taking the fourth place which saw eight competitors. The weightlifter, Bruce Wilhelm, won the competition that year.

Ferrigno’s rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the ‘Mr. Olympia’ title inspired a book, Pumping Iron, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed docudrama, and made the two rivals( playing themselves) very famous.

In 1978, standing 6' 5" and weighing 285 lb, he was cast as Hulk in the CBS hit serial,’ The Incredible Hulk’, which ran for 5 seasons. He reprised his role many more times.