Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine seven times, not too shabby by any means, but it still falls shy of the great Lou Ferrigno. The former bodybuilder has lent his talent to the Hulk in some form or another nine times. Between movies, live-action TV shows, and animation, Lou Ferrigno has been channeling the Hulk for 37 years. That’s a lot of Hulk smashing things and later apologizing for it.
With today being Lou Ferrigno’s 63rd birthday, I’m marking the occasion by ranking all those moments the actor Hulked-out. Lou Ferrigno will take on the green machine once again by adding his voice to the Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, but here’s his greatest Hulk moments thus far.
10. Hulk (2003)
Alright, technically Lou Ferrigno doesn’t play the Hulk, he’s just making a cameo appearance in a Hulk movie. It was pretty much a given that he’d show up somewhere in the film as a nod to the audience saying “Hey, it’s me, the original Hulk, don’t forget it!” To preserve the legacy of the Hulk and Lou Ferrigno, though, it’s probably best to just skip this movie altogether.
9. Mom’s Night Out (2014)
I really can’t say much about Lou Ferrigno’s alleged appearance in this comedy about some moms who go out for a peaceful evening free of babies and doofus husbands that goes awry. I know he’s in it as the Hulk because IMDB tells me he is, but I can’t find a single shred of video or photographic evidence to prove it. So what happens is anyone’s guess, really. Maybe Patricia Heaton backs into Bruce Banner’s car and he Hulk’s-out on her, “You scratch Hulk’s new ride with lame Dodge Caravan. Hulk SMASH minivan!”
8. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Just like in 2003’s Hulk, Lou Ferrigno is back to milk that Hulk nostalgia as a security guard. Unlike the previous movie, this one didn’t make me want to Hulk-out after I spent two hours of my life watching it. It’s no Iron Man or Death of the Incredible Hulk, but everyone likes Edward Norton, right?
7. The Incredible Hulk animated series (1996-1998)
Nearly ever episode of this series is available on YouTube, and they were a pretty nice pairing with Fox’s other Saturday morning cartoon hits, X-Men and The Amazing Spider-Man. Most of the Hulk’s yelling and grunting lines sound like stock recordings of zoo animals, but Lou Ferrigno steps in to deliver the dramatic stuff. Which is usually no more than three words at a time “Hulk calm, Betty.”
6. The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990)
This was the third of Lou Ferrigno’s made for TV Hulk movies and sees David Banner putting himself through a risky experiment to forever rid him of the monster within. Banner does succeed in ridding himself of the Hulk, but pays the ultimate price in doing so. It’s not a bad final farewell to Lou Ferrigno’s last major role in the green makeup, but like most trilogies, it falls a little short when compared to its predecessors.
5. The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNxdE3m-Nw8
In this movie, the Hulk works his way through law school and joins one of the top legal firms in New York where he’s up against a sassy judge played by Jessica Tandy in the biggest trial of the century. Only kidding. Lou Ferrigno does find himself in trouble with the law though, after using a David Caruso look-alike as a human bowling ball. The movie might not have the court room tension of a John Grisham novel, but it does have Hulk pulverizing every bailiff who’s dumb enough to come near him — so it’s an equal trade-off.
4. The Avengers (2012)
We don’t see Lou Ferrigno in Avengers, but we do get plenty of his grunts and angry yelling. Joss Whedon’s Hulk is about 10x the size of Ferrigno’s, but sound editor Christopher Boyes wanted Ferrigno to lend his voice to the CGI Hulk. So what your hearing when Hulk goes on his rampage in New York is a mixture of Lou Ferrigno, Mark Ruffalo, and two other people. Interestingly enough, Lou Ferrigno didn’t even provide the voice of his Hulk back in the 70s; that was Ted Cassidy, aka Lurch from The Adams Family.
3. Amazing Stories (1985)
“Remote Control Man”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCEfHr84I2E
Part of Steven Speilberg’s short-lived, but very entertaining fantasy television series, the Hulk gets zapped out of a TV set and into a living room. Oh, I should also mention that Richard Simmons, Gary Coleman, and Ed McMahon are there, too. It’s basically the most amazing half hour of TV from 1985.
2. The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uRvzJXbFQk
This was the first film in the Hulk’s made for TV movie trilogy and picks up two years after the final episode in the television series “A Minor Problem.” David Banner is trying to reverse his Hulk syndrome with the use of his fancy new gamma transponder ray, but then Thor’s dumb ass has to go and ruin everything. As silly as the storyline of Hulk grudgingly teaming up with his new Viking accomplice to fight organized crime is, the movie’s actually a really enjoyable two hours of television.
1. The Incredible Hulk TV series (1977-1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFdWBC9vbHg
Obviously, Lou Ferrigno’s role in the Hulk television series is was going to be #1. If we’re counting the series two-hour premiere movie separate, that’s #1 and the series is #2, but whatever. The series had Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby playing their respective roles of David Banner and the Hulk for 82 episodes, and balanced out the action of Hulk clobbering bad guys with drama, such as when David loses Carolyn in the episode “Married.” The green body paint and slow-motion Bionic Woman sound effects definitely seem dated now, but man did the Hulk seem like the most awesome monster ever when I’d watch reruns of the show as a kid.
