"..a lot of the classics are pure fantasy. As soon as I read the script I knew it was good theatre. You go along listening and watching, thinking about the fantasy of it, when, all of a sudden, you realize we’ve made a believable thing together—the cast and the viewer."

"I didn’t even like the title. I wanted to make fun of it because of its name. I told my agent, "You’ve got to be kidding!’ when he suggested I might be interested in it. He said, "Read it!" and so I took it home and thanks to his intelligence, I did read it. Right away I knew this could be done in the style of the monster pictures or the creature films of the 1940s. But one advantage we enjoy over the previous monster pictures is that the Hulk is not evil."

"This show will allow us to study anger and anxiety by giving it a face and a body and letting us look at it. It is not a violent show really. It deals with anger and not violence. The Hulk’s anger is directed at the object that has changed me. After he has solved the reason for the anger, he’s like a fish out of water and has no awareness that he is David Banner, the role I play in the show. And when the change back occurs and I’m on the screen again, I know that I’ve been the Hulk but nothing of what I might have done.’

NEW YORK POST …….March 9, 1978 …………………………

"It deals with an interesting problem, and that is, anger, which manifests itself in the creature. Karl Gustav Jung would have adored this. It deals with the various forms of one’s personality, exposing it for all the things it can be. I think he would think that’s very healthy."

 "We’re approaching this very seriously. I knew when I took it that the title would be misleading. But it’s a quality show. I feel if people would watch one episode it would take away any doubts. Anyone who knows my work, I ask them to trust me in this venture. I really believe in it."

"…I’ve always enjoyed the unusual or unique—the ‘Favorite Martian’, the ‘Magician’. They were forerunners of this sort of entertainment."

"The Hulk is the personification of the enemy which lurks under the surface of us all. We have to control that enemy within ourselves, or we can’t control the conduct of the world."

"There’s the undercurrent of a person misunderstood by the world. There’s also an element of torment. The hulk is an abused person who must wear his abuse as a symbol, not a badge."

"I never worked in this area before, so I took it on as a change of pace. I never try to do anything twice, but I did not want to play a cartoon character. I changed my mind after I read the script and was assured that it would be approached very seriously, realistically and honestly. It was not to be camp; it was to make a statement."

"Maybe, it’s the fantasy image. It’s a form of catharsis. I’m not saying that is a fact—I’m speculating. Maybe, as the quote from Candide says, ‘It gives a harmless outlet for emotions which could lead to war or social agitation.’ When you take a look at the economy of this country…when you take a look at what is happening elsewhere…certainly men are threatened in more ways than they have ever been threatened before, and this causes a tremendous amount of frustration. And women, too, are experiencing this…"

 . © Universal Studios (added 12/21/03)

"I wish the people who dismiss us with a wave of the hand would read the mail we get from parents. We’re frequently dealing with responsible themes, such as child abuse and retarded children."

"My task is to make my character so believable that the audience readily accepts the Hulk when he appears."

"The show is extremely tough to do, requiring eight days to shoot an episode. Last season, I often put in 80 hour work weeks and as a result I lost 22 pounds. Toward the end of the season the writers figured out a way to give me an extra day off and I’m hoping that will continue when we resume next season."

NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE July 3, 1978……………………...©NBC-TV

"Everyone fantasizes. We all want to be something we’re not."

"The Hulk is today’s fantasy. There’s a bit of the Hulk in everybody. That’s why the show’s become popular so quickly."

HOST: …All of us can bulk up forty-five pounds, Bill…

HOST: ..Going the other way…Now since the contrast is supposed to be greater between you and Lou Ferrigno, when he changes into the Hulk, what did you do to train for this-?

BILL BIXBY: I just sorta sat around and tried to stay as small as possible….

…HOST: What about doing the Hulk?. Did you like coming back to that role after having left it six years ago?

BILL BIXBY: It was interesting, Boyd. I didn’t know how I was going to feel about it—so much time had passed. But the idea of exploring what had become of David Banner…where has his life gone, was interesting to me. And it’s a pure entertainment form of television that I don’t see very much of anymore. {1988} And I went, yeah, I think it’s time for this to come back. New World has…owns the Marvel Comics Group, so the idea was to do a series of movies of the week, with The Incredible Hulk but introducing a new super-hero each time but treating it as "seriously" as the Hulk was always portrayed. But we did this with a lot of humor this time.

"I always enjoyed doing the Hulk. It’s a very difficult show to do, in that it’s physically very demanding, but it’s something I’m identified (with)—I’ve been with for a long time."

"The fantasy, I felt, was healthy for children because when you’re a child, and you’re small, one of the rages of your life is the fact that you cannot compete in that adult world. You are growing…you are learning. And I know that when I was on the street, when the show was on the air—just being on the street—and if a child would recognize me, right away—one of the greatest complements I ever got was a very quick review: It was this—they’d see me and they’d go: ‘- Arrhh!’ But they meant, ‘—All powerful! I am all powerful! I understand!’ and we’d have this wonderful rapport."

Go to: Behind-the Scenes Photos from "The Incredible Hulk" (added 1/19/08)

 

 

/My Favorite Martian/ /The Courtship of Eddie’s Father//PBS’s "Steambath"//The Magician/

//Goodnight Beantown//On Acting//On Directing// /On Television//On Public Recognition//Some Personal Thoughts/  

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