Editing Lou Ferrigno (section)

==Early life==
Ferrigno was born in [[Brooklyn]], New York, to Victoria and Matt Ferrigno, a police [[lieutenant]].<ref>Jim Schmaltz (February 2004). [https://archive.today/20120708114015/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_12_21/ai_112350859 Matt Ferrigno: 1925-2003]. ''Flex''. Accessed August 1, 2008.</ref> He is of Italian descent. Soon after he was born, Ferrigno says he believes he had a series of ear infections and lost 75% to 80% of his hearing, though his condition was not diagnosed until he was three years old.<ref name=Disaboom>Mabe, Catherine [http://www.disaboom.com/deaf-and-hearing-loss/lou-ferrigno-living-acting-and-bodybuilding-with-hearing-loss "Lou Ferrigno: Living, Acting, and Bodybuilding with Hearing Loss"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126061259/http://www.disaboom.com/deaf-and-hearing-loss/lou-ferrigno-living-acting-and-bodybuilding-with-hearing-loss|date=January 26, 2012}}. [[Disaboom]]. Retrieved February 8, 2012.</ref><ref>Doughterty, Margot (May 16, 1988). [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098954,00.html "Green with Indignation, Lou Ferrigno Is Back in Bulk as the Incredible Hulk"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310112708/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098954,00.html |date=March 10, 2011}}. ''[[People (American magazine)|People]]''. Vol. 29, No. 19.</ref> Hearing loss and his [[speech impediment]] caused Ferrigno to be bullied by peers during his childhood who called him "deaf" and "[[Muteness|mute]]". He began reading comic books such as ''[[Hulk]]'' and ''[[Spider-Man]]'' at this time, later saying "I was obsessed with power", and "I wanted to be strong enough so that I could be able to defend myself",<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Mazziotta|first=Julie|date=May 20, 2021|title=Incredible Hulk's Lou Ferrigno Is Fixing His Lifelong Hearing Problem: 'A Dream Come True'|work=People|url=https://people.com/health/incredible-hulk-lou-ferrigno-is-fixing-his-lifelong-hearing-problem-a-dream-come-true/|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531100425/https://people.com/health/incredible-hulk-lou-ferrigno-is-fixing-his-lifelong-hearing-problem-a-dream-come-true/|url-status=live}}</ref> which eventually made him take up bodybuilding: "My father rejected me because I was not the perfect son, so I fantasized about being like The Hulk and that’s what led to bodybuilding".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/30/beautiful-how-we-made-the-incredible-hulk-lou-ferrigno-green-paint ‘I thought I looked beautiful’ – how we made The Incredible Hulk]</ref>

Ferrigno started weight training at the age of 13, citing bodybuilder and ''[[Hercules (1958 film)|Hercules]]'' star [[Steve Reeves]] as one of his role models.<ref name=RetFan1>{{cite journal|last=Eury|first=Michael|date=Summer 2018|title=The Hulk Speaks!: An Interview with Lou Ferrigno|journal=RetroFan|issue=1|pages=3–8|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]}}</ref> Because he could not afford to buy weights, he made his own using a broomstick and pails which he partially filled with cement.<ref name=RetFan1/> Ferrigno attended St. Athanasius Grammar School<ref name=BrooklynEagle>Parker, Vernon. [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=23&id=47290 "On This Day in History: November 9That Incredible Hulk"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210083300/http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=23&id=47290 |date=December 10, 2011}}. ''[[Brooklyn Eagle]]''. November 9, 2011</ref> and [[Brooklyn Technical High School]], where he learned metal working.<ref name=BrooklynEagle/>