A Look Back On Some Iconic Old-School Photos Of Lou Ferigno

Lou Ferrigno will always be one of our favorites. He first rose to prominence as the underdog bodybuilder vying to face Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 1975 Mr. Olympia in the film Pumping Iron. For some, there would be enough celebrity to go around, but Lou wasn't done with his pop-cultural moment just yet.
He earned the part that would define his career in 1977, when he was recruited as the Incredible Hulk, replacing Richard Kiel to don the green body paint. Ferrigno was not just a suitable replacement for the fired Kiel; he also contributed to The Incredible Hulk being one of the most popular dramas of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Lou is now considered an older gentleman of the bodybuilding world, serving as a link to a time when the discipline was perhaps at its pinnacle. So, in honor of Ferrigno's 67th birthday, we explored Getty Images for some of our fave old school Lou looks.

Source: Getty Images

Look at that big ol' goofy smiley face.

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Lou just hanging out in his house.

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Working that cappuccino macchine. Surprisingly he has a lot of those photos.

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Sinbad of the Seven Seas isn't quite the résumé highlight it could have been, but it does have the distinction of being listed in The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of "the Best of Hollywood's Worst." (Though Lou appears to be content with his co-stars in this photo.)

Source: Getty Images

Decades of bodybuilding expertise in one image. (By the way, wearing short sleeves with a necktie is a daring move.)

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Lou looks positively Hulkish at the Pumping Iron premiere. Arnold was photographed in a suit at the premiere, but Lou remained in his posing trunks. What a dedication, eh?

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The Hulk's career as a mime never really got off.

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If you weren't alive in the 1980s and are curious about what it was like, this pretty well covers it up.

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He's so strong he probably could hold Billy Crystal up with one hand.

Source: Getty Images

No one was probably making fun of those spectacles with arms that huge.