Deaf actor Lou Ferrigno is more than just a reality television show contestant on the 2012 Celebrity Apprentice series. The one-time Mr. Universe title holder was actually the original actor that played the angry version of Dr. David Banner — The Incredible Hulk. The comic book based television series was featured on TV during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Hulk was the original green celebrity every little boy or tomboy girl from Gen X fancied themselves being when they got scared or mad. Sun spots our butts… that guy got mad and turned green whenever he should have and wreaked havoc on everybody who needed to have a can of whoop-ass opened on them for acting jerky!
Lou Ferrigno, a former Mr. Universe and the actor who played the super hero monster the Incredible Hulk is a contestant on season 5 of Celebrity Apprentice. As a star celeb suffering from hearing impairment, he is a big supporter of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But before you go thinking he is all fluffy and sweet like actress Marlee Matlin (another deaf celebrity who appeared on an earlier season), keep in mind his background and personal history.
In 1975, his attempt to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger in body building competitions became the subject of much interest internationally, and Lou was the man most boys wanted to be.
Testosterone this guy had (and still has from the looks of him), abundantly.
In spite of Ferrigno’s unwavering celebrity support of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, he’s made a unexpected choice with regard to which charity he will be playing for as a humanitarian. Ferrigno is competing for the $250,000 prize money Donald Trump‘s Celebrity Apprentice game awards to help another one of his favorite charitable causes raise some dough: the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
As a green celebrity and famous humanitarian, Lou Ferrigno also has given his celebrity endorsement to non-profit organizations like The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in addition to Starkey and the MDA.
As for his more recent appearances in Hollywood, Lou Ferrigno was on hand as a presenter for a lifetime achievement award for comic book legend Stan Lee, who was the co-creator of such characters as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, said The Hollywood Reporter.
And while Ferrigno may no longer be a Mr. Universe (or a Hulk contender on film), there is little doubt that he’s lost any of his Incredible Hulk physique. The dude is big and intimidating… regularly defending himself as someone who might not know everything but loves to learn as he goes, is a hard worker, and (as he says), “always gives 110%”.
Seeing Lou end up in the board room so early on in the season made it obvious to viewers that he’s having problems with other members of his team. Adam Corolla does not have the patience to deal with Lou’s need to read lips while they are working and acted like he wanted Ferrigno off the show as a special needs player on the episode that aired March 4th, 2012. Project manager for the night George Takei — the actor from Star Trek — pulled Lou into the boardroom when the men’s team lost the challenge but fell on his sword after receiving constructive criticism from both he and Arsenio Hall (the second head on the chopping block).
Whether he has the economic know-how to compete in the business world remains to be seen, but this reporter wouldn’t want to be the one to tangle with that star celeb should he not make it and go into Hulk rage mode.
In other interesting celebrity news, Lou Ferrigno was a personal trainer for the recently deceased King of Pop, Michael Jackson. And Ferrigno had nothing but positive remarks to make about the star celeb, regarding the controversy surrounding his death. He contested reports from Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, and shocked personal choreographer Michael Ortega, contesting the health of the star celeb.
Website ContactMusic.com reported:
Around the same time Ortega reported Jackson’s deteriorating health, Ferrigno worked out with him for the last time – and he admits his final chat with the pop star left him with concerns about his friend’s state of mind.
Ferrigno recalls, “He said, ‘Take care of yourself,’ and when his fitness trainer said, ‘I’m going to see you next week?’ Michael just repeated, ‘Take care of yourself.'”
So, whatever Ferrigno’s ties to any number of star celebrities, he may not be well-known in the television and movie circles currently, but he’s far from inactive, and he’s hoping to win Celebrity Apprentice to prove that he still has what it takes to make an impact in Hollywood and in business. Now, fans of the show are all left wondering if when his face twists up and starts to twitch if he’ll eventually make that impact with his big green fist in someone’s forehead.
Please let it be Adam Corolla if that happens — and let those cameras be rolling. While we normally don’t advocate for random acts of violence here at GCN, you can’t help but root for the show’s bullies to get beat up by the special ed kid.
What do you think? Will Lou Ferrigno get bounced off the men’s team before the sexes even have a chance to mix? What were his strongest qualities as a competitor? What are his weaknesses he should have tried to fix? Let readers know your thoughts.