"Hulk" Family Feud

Fri., Mar. 10, 2006 4:00 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Lou Ferrigno is seeing green over his younger brother's muscles.

TV's former Hulk has sued sibling Andy Ferrigno for using the family name for a store specializing in sweat-inducing gym equipment. The federal lawsuit, alleging trademark infringement, was filed Jan. 6 in New Jersey, online records show. It was made public Friday in an Associated Press report.

The lawsuit alleges Andy Ferrigno's Ferrigno Fitness of Stewartsville, New Jersey, treads on Lou Ferrigno's Incredible Hulk fame with everything from its Ferrigno-boasting name to its Hulk-green awning to its Website URL, FerrignoFitness.com, the A.P. said.

"On numerous occasions, Lou Ferrigno and members of his family have been contacted or approached by strangers or acquaintances who believe that Ferrigno Fitness is 'Lou's store,'" the lawsuit says, per the wire service.

Lou Ferrigno is not, as FerrignoFitness.com points out on most pages, affiliated with the New Jersey business.

Andy Ferrigno's wife, Janie, is named in the lawsuit as a codefendant, as is their store.

While records show the offending URL was registered as recently as 2004, Andy Ferrigno, in an open letter on his Website, says the offending store has been known as Ferrigno Fitness for more than a quarter of a century.

Until 2001, Andy Ferrigno ran two Ferrigno Fitnesses in New York and New Jersey, he writes. He closed the New York location after his father and business partner, Matthew, fell ill, and later died. The New Jersey store remains open.

In the letter, Andy Ferrigno, 52, describes his relationship with Lou, 53, as being "estranged" for many years. He writes that he hoped their father's death would bring them together. "[Lou], however, used my friendship as a chance to attack me and my family," Andy Ferrigno writes.

A call Friday to an attorney for Lou Ferrigno was not immediately returned.

Lou Ferrigno rose to prominence on the bodybuilding scene in 1973 with his first Mr. Universe title. In 1978, he became a prime-time star as David Bruce Banner's enraged alter-ego on The Incredible Hulk. The series ran until 1982.

Ferrigno Fitness opened in 1980, according to Andy Ferrigno.

Last month, Lou Ferrigno told E! Online he was living a dream after being sworn in as a Los Angeles County reserve sheriff deputy. For Ferrigno, the job's pay--$1 a year--was right on the money.

"The money's not the issue," Ferrigno said. "It's mainly to be part of a great organization."