Thursday, January 5, 2017

Nice Guy Lou Ferrigno

Any even semi-regular fan of comic cons has heard horror stories of celebrities in foul moods.  Some are notorious.  Fortunately, I have had only a few unpleasant encounters.  None of the bad times has involved Lou Ferrigno though.
I have heard several stories about bad experiences with Ferrigno, but I have never witnessed anything even close.  I have met Ferrigno many times over the last ten years or so and have never had anything less than a pleasant time and had a few very good experiences with him.
Back in 2014, I had the privilege of interviewing Ferrigno prior to Wizard World Chicago.  We were in a loud restaurant and Ferrigno does have hearing issues.  Additionally, there was a liong media line waiting to ask him questions.  He probably talked to the press for over two hours, sometimes answering the same question over and over, yet he showed no signs of annoyance.  He was gracius, friendly and even joking at times.
Even when we pushed our luck and asked him to do a promo for Johngy's Beat, he was agreeable.  Bel;ieve me, it wasn't easy trying to explain the pronunciation of Johngy in a loud room to a man with hearing challenges, yet Ferrigno hung tough and came through for us.  I will forever appreciate that effort.(His promo is in the left column on this page.)
Now before anyone says that he is a professionala nd he was getting paid, so he should be nice, I can relate a few not nice experiences of some others in similar positions.  The fact is that he was awesome that night and he has never been bad to me in our many meetings.
I think it is important to note this.  Many people ask about bad experiences.  Many know of the legendary "good guys" like Henry Winkler, Roddy Piper and more.  Those people are legit good guys and you could probably not find any argument to that anywhere.  However Ferrigno does have a bit of a reputation as being difficult.  I have just never seen it.  You'd think over 10 or so times seeing him, he would have been unpleasant sometime, but he has not.
I'm putting this out there, hoping it stays in cyberspace.  Maybe it will offset some of the negativity.  Maybe some others will see it and not hesitate to approach Ferrigno.  Surely I cannot be the only one who had nothing but good things to say about Ferrigno.
Either way, I stand by my opinion.  Lou Ferrigno is a good guy.
Lou Ferrigno and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2014.

1 comment:

Jean Parker said...

Nice to hear that about Lou!!!