Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 23, 1993 TAG: 9311230101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Bixby, who also starred in the series "My Favorite Martian" and "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," died at home Sunday afternoon of cancer that had spread through his body during the past year.
His wife, Judith Klivan-Bixby, was with him at the time of his death.
Bixby emerged from the early days of episodic television and seldom strayed far from the small screen either as actor or director.
"I'm perfectly content to be labeled a television performer," he once told TV Guide.
From 1978 through 1982 and in several reunion reprises, Bixby played Banner, a soft-spoken scientist who had accidentally suffered an overdose of gamma rays. Because of that, Banner when angered was transformed into The Incredible Hulk, a raging green beast of a man with white eyes and an impressive array of muscles. The transformed Hulk was played by body-builder Lou Ferrigno.
"We don't make fun of the characters. That would cartoon it," Bixby once said of the show. "From the beginning, we decided to make it an adult show that kids are allowed to watch, rather than a childish show adults are forced to watch.
"It's an old-fashioned action-adventure. . . . Let's kick back and have an enjoyable evening."
Long before "Hulk," however, Bixby had become a fixture on television. He starred as the harried reporter Tim O'Hara to Ray Walston's extraterrestrial in "My Favorite Martian" in 1963 and 1964, and as the widowed father Tom Corbett in "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" from 1969 to 1972.
He did have one major stage appearance to his credit, "Under the Yum Yum Tree," and also appeared in the musical comedy's film version. His other films included "Lonely Are the Brave," "Irma La Douce," and "The Apple Dumpling Gang."
by CNB