Now that we have brought up buying pictures, let’s talk about this whole stigma attached to Lou about charging little kids $20 to take their picture with them.
“Lou, if a little kid comes up to you at a convention or a show and wants to take his picture with you, why do
you charge them $20?” “That’s a bad rap that came from Valentino. He obviously doesn’t understand what’s going on.” “Well, here’s your chance, Lou. Let’s straighten this thing out once and for all.”
“John, you’ve known me for many, many years. You used to come and work with Shelley when we would do
appearances and sell pictures— you know what goes on. We’re there to sell pictures. That’s how we make a living. That’s what I do for a living. I’m not representing any company. Lou Ferrigno works for Lou Ferrigno. Selling pictures and memorabilia is what I do. It’s a business. I can’t have people coming up to me at a convention or a show where I’m selling photos and take a picture with them. You know what happens, it happened all the time with Shelley until you put your foot down.”
“Yeah, I know— they take their picture with you and then they don’t buy one.”
“That’s right! They don’t. If they buy one of my pictures, then they can take a picture with me. But I’m there to sell
pictures. If I take a picture with everyone for free, no one will buy a picture. Since I’m in the business of selling pictures, that’s not very good.”
“Yeah,” I said, “but I think it was the stigma of the little kid coming up to you and you denying him the picture that created the bad image that Gregg talked about.”
“I know John, but you have to draw the line. The little kid came up because his parents sent him up. You think he came to the show by himself?” You guys just see me at two bodybuilding shows a year. I go to 20 conventions a year all over the world and sell photos with other celebrities and I have to tell you, everybody slams me for charging $20 for a photo. But I have news for you— I’m very reasonable. Some celebrities charge $150 for a photo and they won’t take a picture with you after you buy it! A lot of guys charge $50-$60 at a convention for a photo. Adam West [the original Batman from the TV show] charges $50 for a black and white, and $60 for color. Mark Hamill [Luke Skywalker] charges $185. Val Kilmer [Batman] charges $85-$100. Do you think those guys give photos away? If I gave a free picture or took a picture for free with every kid that ever came up to me, I’d never make a living!”
“What about outside the convention?” I asked. “What if a kid came up to you while you weren’t sitting at the
table signing and selling photos? What if you were in a hotel lobby and a little kid asked to take his picture with you, would you do it without charging $20?”
“Of course!” Louie boomed. “I’ve taken tons of pictures for free. I’ve visited kids in hospitals and schools and
given away autographed photos. I’ve had my picture taken a million times for free. It’s just when I’m working and trying to sell photos that I have to draw the line.”
“What about when people accuse you of being rude to them?” I asked.
“You should know all about this too from being with Shelley. My hearing is a problem and people don’t understand.
I use the best hearing aids and I can read lips, but you know what it’s like. It’s hard to hear in a big space with lots of noise. People think I can hear and they lean in to talk into my ear, when what I need them to do is step back so I can see their mouth moving. It’s natural to lean in, not step back. This happens constantly. I can’t hear and people think I’m being rude.”
I remember that being a great source of frustration for Shelley,” I said. “You’re right, the natural tendency is to lean in so people talk into your ear— but that was useless! She used to get so frustrated after 20 people would do that to her that she would just shove them in the chest and yell ‘Get back! I have to see your lips or I can’t hear you!’”
Okay, so my verdict on this whole $20 business is that photo sales are an occupation and if Lou is selling photos you need to respect that. If you made toys and sold them for $20 apiece, would you give one away to every little kid who asked you for one? If you did, you wouldn’t be in the toy business very long! The hearing thing is something most people just don’t understand. Lou breaks the mold of the traditional deaf guy. He’s managed his hearing loss very, very well, and to most people, he doesn’t look like he is challenged at all. I lived this frustration with someone for six years. I know how irritating it can be. If you ever get lucky enough to meet Lou Ferrigno in person, make sure
you speak clearly and look at him when you talk. I guarantee you will have a very positive experience. Lou is a very cool guy.
All right, now we’ve got that cleared up!
Just came across Lou's interview so I thought I'd post the $20 question since Lou gets a lot of flak here for his photo sales. I remember reading someone's post where he mentioned that Lou glares at people who photograph him on the street. Any truth to that?
