Author Topic: Ya gotta know there's gonna be a Lou Ferrigno story from the Arnold.... (Read 14305 times)

Blockhead · « **Reply #25 on:** March 06, 2006, 04:51:15 PM »

I have a Ferrigno story for all of you. This was 3 years ago. A buddy of mine who manages a comic book store in downtown Chicago calls me up to tell me Lou Ferrigno is booked to come to the store for a pic/autograph demo. This is when 'The Hulk' movie was out in theaters and I think he was promoting it or riding it's coat tails somehow. So I like to collect autographs from BB's, local Chicago personalities or sports stars, fitness or figure girls, wrestlers signed to the gym I run on Chicago's southside(Pumps Gym). Looks neat hanging above the mirrors or on the walls...so anyway... I go there to get a Ferrigno 8x10 autograph. He's sitting behind this table with a bunch of Hulk comics and old pictures. I was there at least half an hour chatting with my buddy who was telling me how he won't talk to anyone at the store and how he doesnt look at anybody. He kind of sits there looking towards the floor all morose. Not 1 person came in while I was there in particular to see him. So I go to his table take one of his 8x10's and say to him...'Hey, Lou good to meet you. Can you sign this to my gym...it's called Pumps Gym'. He goes...'Jim? Your name is Jim?" I say..."No, sir...Pumps Gym. Can you sign it to Pumps Gym?" he says "Jim? Pump it up, Jim?" I know he reads lips and is hard of hearing so I tried to be as articulate as I can speak slowly I go "No, PUMPS..P-U-.." he cuts me off slams a sharpie marker on the table and goes..."WRITE IT!". I did he signs it and he tell me..."$20". I was thrown off-guard so I didnt want to embarass my buddy who is the manager of the shop so I give him the money. Then I ask if he will take a picture with me...I motion over my buddy to snap the picture. Then right afterwards he told me again $20. I was stunned. I didnt know what to say...I thought he was kidding. I asked him if he meant to take a picture with him. Then my buddy confirmed it...$20 to take a picture with him even with your own little disposable fun-saver camera. I said I didnt have it and asked if I should go to an ATM. My buddy just interrupted and assured Lou and myself not to worry about it " we'll take care of it..." I walked out really disturbed. Who the fk does he think he is? He's a momo greaseball from NY. $20 to take a picture with him...with YOUR own camera. My buddy who runs the shop told me he didnt ask about the money later and nobody ever paid him. I still have that autograph hanging in the gym. It's the only picture hanging in the bathroom right above the toilet.

rocket · « **Reply #26 on:** March 06, 2006, 04:56:43 PM »

Hah what a champion. Lou loves life and he loves his fans!

240 is Back · « **Reply #27 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:00:33 PM »

Sounds like Lee Priest's been attending the Big Louie school of etiquette!!

CC3 · « **Reply #28 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:05:16 PM »

Quote from: TheBlockHead on March 06, 2006, 04:51:15 PM

I still have that autograph hanging in the gym. It's the only picture hanging in the bathroom right above the toilet.

Ouch!

pumpster · « **Reply #29 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:11:20 PM »

Lou going off over competing hulks, Lou slamming markers, $40 for autograph & pic?

Lou & Arnold must've gone to the same charm school.

Here's an interview with Roger Walker discussing amongst other things, Schwarzenegger. I was backstage at the Universe the year Roger won, and what he says about Arnold's persona's true. Lou was there too, the size of a large fridge and very much the strong silent type, sending out vibes not to be talked to. I thought of talking to him but after reading this I'd say I made the right decision.
http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/james48.htm

After seeing Pumping Iron I thought to myself, if Lou had his dad's persona, he would've gone further in competitions or TV/films.

A little trivia. In the mid-70s, someone talked Lou into trying out for pro football. Might've even been Ken Waller, since he played in the CFL.

He ended up at the Toronto Argonauts training camp. Problem was, he had no experience or skills whatsoever, and no aggressiveness, so he wasn't able to protect himself as various guys took runs at him during drills-a sitting duck despite the size, which he didn't know how to use.

He left during training camp, went back to Venice and eventually graduated to Hulkdom. Come to think of it, he'd have made a good Hulk in wrestling but seemed to lack aggressiveness.

Slick Vic · « **Reply #30 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:41:45 PM »

The previous stories of Lou are unbelievable!

Nevermind, I take it back. They're believable.

Jr. Yates · « **Reply #31 on:** March 06, 2006, 08:29:36 PM »

Quote from: Slick Vic on March 06, 2006, 05:41:45 PM

The previous stories of Lou are unbelievable! Nevermind, I take it back. They're believable.

lol! yeah I had no idea until I started here at Getbig! if its true...I totally changed my attitude towards him.

seanashbrook · « **Reply #32 on:** March 06, 2006, 08:50:15 PM »

every word of it is true. he's a prick. fucking guy will get buried in a "hulk" edition caskett. he's beat the shit out of that horse.

Jr. Yates · « **Reply #33 on:** March 06, 2006, 08:51:55 PM »

Quote from: seanashbrook on March 06, 2006, 08:50:15 PM

every word of it is true. he's a prick. fucking guy will get buried in a "hulk" edition caskett. he's beat the shit out of that horse.

hahaha wow.

ToxicAvenger · « **Reply #34 on:** March 06, 2006, 09:04:34 PM »

Quote from: Slick Vic on March 05, 2006, 08:33:17 PM

So my friend is willing to pay the $20 for a pic of Lou. So I wait in line with him. It was apparent to me that the guy in front of us knew nothing about Lou's charging so when it came to be his turn he asked Lou's daughter (who was playing the middle-man) how much for a picture. Needless to say, he looked a little surprised and hollered at his friend nearby, "It's 20 dollars!" and summoned him with his hand to leave. So we were up next. Lou, for whatever reason doesn't seem to acknowledge my friend or anyone else for that matter. You would think you were paying for a picture of his daughter.... anyway, my friend gets the poster along with the free black and white photo. And he thought Lou signed both (yeah right) and his daughter says, "One or the other." So my friend goes with the poster. And on the bottom of the poster Louie signs it VERY small. Almost to where it wasn't noticeable. I'm shaking my head and say nothing to my friend to avoid "shattering" the image of his hero. Anyway, it made my friend's day.

at the end of that i woulda said out loud "and now to find the closest shitter"....

Wombat · « **Reply #35 on:** March 06, 2006, 11:29:56 PM »

Quote from: TheBlockHead on March 06, 2006, 04:51:15 PM

I still have that autograph hanging in the gym. It's the only picture hanging in the bathroom right above the toilet.

shit thats funny

Arnold Schnazzleberger · « **Reply #36 on:** March 07, 2006, 12:05:12 AM »

Assuming the stories are true, I wonder if he acts this way because people have always been treating him the way you treat him on here. He's deaf, not retarded. He's probably heard this kind of shit for years and the comments like "Arnold rules, you suck" probably drove him to say "Screw all of you". Pumping Iron made him look like a boob and that might just be what he thinks we all think of him.

gtbro1 · « **Reply #37 on:** March 07, 2006, 04:10:03 AM »

Quote from: Arnold Schnazzleberger on March 07, 2006, 12:05:12 AM

Assuming the stories are true, I wonder if he acts this way because people have always been treating him the way you treat him on here. He's deaf, not retarded. He's probably heard this kind of shit for years and the comments like "Arnold rules, you suck" probably drove him to say "Screw all of you". Pumping Iron made him look like a boob and that might just be what he thinks we all think of him.

Well I never met the man...but..errr..uhhh... that is what most of em here think of him..lol

bmacsys · « **Reply #38 on:** March 07, 2006, 05:59:29 AM »

Quote from: pumpster on March 06, 2006, 05:11:20 PM

After seeing Pumping Iron I thought to myself, if Lou had his dad's persona, he would've gone further in competitions or TV/films.

Didn't it come out years later that Matt Ferrigno used to abuse Louie physically and verbally as a kid? Lou probably has deep-seated unresloved issues. He should see a shrink and maybe get on Prozac.

Slick Vic · « **Reply #39 on:** March 07, 2006, 06:26:00 AM »

My story is very true. I'm sure the others are as well. My proof was at the Arnold Expo.

Old School Trainer · « **Reply #40 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:02:06 AM »

My "louie" story pre-dates them all! Imagine being about 10 years old back around 1977 or 1978. What is a comic book fan's favorite TV show at that time? Daaaaa. The Hulk, of course. My Pop entered my name in a local contest to win some free tickets to a local custom van and RV show at the Civic Center in Philly. Well, we won some tickets (the only thing that I've ever won to date). The kicker here was that since the Hulk TV show was in it's absoute prime, thus "Big Lou" was the feature attraction.
On the radio spots I think they were playing the gamma music from the show, and on the posters they showjthey had pictures of the hulk all done up in green and with the ripped pants. It was a couple of weeks away and I was so excited, I'm sure I bugged the shit out of my parents. Well, we get up there and there are all of these cool customized vans and other sorts of neat stuff for the adults to look at. My attention was focused on one thing, and one thing only. I wanted to be first in line to meet the hulk. They had this tunnel of fenced in metal cages from one of the back rooms to a completely enclosed bigger cage. I pictured this monster running out of this tunel into the bigger cage and grabbing the fencing and shaking the shit out of it while growling and grunting.
The announcer totaly played out the whole dramatic entrance thing. There must of been hundreds and hundreds of curious onlookers waiting to see this event. Next thing that I saw was this big white dude with bell bottom jeans and a western disco shirt with big ass ungroomed sideburns come walking out. He walks out in the safety of the caged tunnel, raises his hand in the air and spends about two minutes walking around waving, then he leaves. No one got with in 10ft. of him. I was dead silent. I Pop just craked up and said "you get what you pay for."
If Bart Simpson were there I could picture him saying "this sucks, what a rip!"
If I was just a few years older back then I would have realized that he would not have been in costume. But this was so lame for a boy of ten years of age. Lou did get me for $40 bucks at the 96 Arnold. I wanted him to sign a collectors comic/movie book from the Hulk TV show that my girlfriend got for me off of Ebay. I felt bad just asking for a free signature, so I bought a 8 x 10 first. Then I asked him to sign my movie book. "That will be another $20" he said. As soon as I put my autograph on that book it triples in collector value, that is what he said. It does make sense. If I knew that first, I would not have bought the studpid 8 x 10 with the fake calf implants.

Mars · « **Reply #41 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:27:06 AM »

What a pathetic human being.

Farcry · « **Reply #42 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:35:10 AM »

Big Lou sounds like a complte asshole. I think the calf implants broke apart and went to his brain. I never liked him as bodybuilder either he did real shitty when he did is comeback

tommywishbone · « **Reply #43 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:53:12 AM »

In closing... Ferrigno is a creep.

funk51 · « **Reply #44 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:30:14 AM »

i heard that when lou was a boy his parents used to rub him with gravy to get the dog to play with him. when he started lifting his father took him to weider's warehouse in jersey where he proceeded to steal plates while his father was paying for what he originally bought. most telling however is i believe his brother doesn't want any association with him . he owns an equipment store in jersey and posts signs all over the store that the store has nothing to do with lou ferrigno, it's proudly owned by andrew ferrigno, who seemed to me like a regular guy. he also has the best bodybuilding equipment prices around. vist him at ferrignofitness.com.

funk51 · « **Reply #45 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:37:13 AM »

after posting the above i went to the website and read why he uses the disclaimer. apparently lou is sewing his own brother over rights to the ferrigno name. class will tell.

pumpster · « **Reply #46 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:39:42 AM »

This gets better & better - this is from the site.

Apparently he didn't have to act, in the role of the Hulk.

In answer to the questions that have been raised concerning the disclaimer put on our website concerning Lou Ferrigno, I would like to explain in the following paragraph. I Andy Ferrigno have been in the Fitness business since 1980 doing business as Ferrigno Fitness . For the first fifteen years of business I had the pleasure of working side by side with my father Matt Ferrigno . We built a great business by manufacturing quality fitness equipment at a price that people can afford. We treated every person as an individual and built a solid reputation on honesty and integrity. In 2001 after my father developed stomach cancer which later turned fatal, I moved my family out to Bethlehem Pennsylvania and closed our New York store. I now have only one location which is located in Stewartsville New Jersey which has been open since 1980 and use the same ideas that made us so successful in the past. Unfortunately we are currently being sued by Lou Ferrigno my brother for the rights to the Ferrigno name.

After my fathers death my brother Lou befriended me and my wife and I thought we could rekindle a relationship that was estranged many years earlier, He however used my friendship as a chance to attack me and my family. He levied a Law suit against us knowing full well all the facts that I outlined above. He did this knowing full well that my wife was battling stage two breast cancer. I worry about her everyday and thank the lord for every precious moment that we spend together. Currently my wife is under a great deal of anxiety and stress because of this ridiculous law suit , but I know that God will guide our path. Please read the attached article and realize that life sometimes can be a rocky road however if you stay on course you will eventually reach your goals. Thank you all for reading my story and may God bless you as he has done for me and my family.

Arnold Schnazzleberger · « **Reply #47 on:** March 07, 2006, 11:24:12 AM »

Hmm, first Ferrigno is acting strange and now Eddie Van Halen seems to be losing it. Great, just great.

Slick Vic · « **Reply #48 on:** March 07, 2006, 11:31:53 AM »

Quote from: pumpster on March 07, 2006, 10:39:42 AM

This gets better & better - this is from the site.
Apparently he didn't have to act, in the role of the Hulk.
In answer to the questions that have been raised concerning the disclaimer put on our website concerning Lou Ferrigno, I would like to explain in the following paragraph. I Andy Ferrigno have been in the Fitness business since 1980 doing business as Ferrigno Fitness . For the first fifteen years of business I had the pleasure of working side by side with my father Matt Ferrigno . We built a great business by manufacturing quality fitness equipment at a price that people can afford. We treated every person as an individual and built a solid reputation on honesty and integrity. In 2001 after my father developed stomach cancer which later turned fatal, I moved my family out to Bethlehem Pennsylvania and closed our New York store. I now have only one location which is located in Stewartsville New Jersey which has been open since 1980 and use the same ideas that made us so successful in the past. Unfortunately we are currently being sued by Lou Ferrigno my brother for the rights to the Ferrigno name.
After my fathers death my brother Lou befriended me and my wife and I thought we could rekindle a relationship that was estranged many years earlier, He however used my friendship as a chance to attack me and my family. He levied a Law suit against us knowing full well all the facts that I outlined above. He did this knowing full well that my wife was battling stage two breast cancer. I worry about her everyday and thank the lord for every precious moment that we spend together. Currently my wife is under a great deal of anxiety and stress because of this ridiculous law suit , but I know that God will guide our path. Please read the attached article and realize that life sometimes can be a rocky road however if you stay on course you will eventually reach your goals. Thank you all for reading my story and may God bless you as he has done for me and my family.

Geezus! You have GOT to be kidding me!

pumpster · « **Reply #49 on:** March 07, 2006, 11:32:04 AM »

Lou really blew it by not going for the starring role in the Munsters remake. Think of all the $20 autographs he could've avoided.