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Bill Bixby Biography

Actor / TV Director

Bill Bixby was a handsome, halfway-to-hip TV leading man of the 1960s and 1970s. His best-known role was probably that of Dr. David Banner in the series The Incredible Hulk from 1978-82; when angered, Banner would turn into the raging green muscleman The Hulk (played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno). Bixby's early breakthrough series was the hit My Favorite Martian (1963-66), in which he played an amiable bachelor secretly hosting a Martian (Ray Walston) in his home. Later he starred as a widower dad in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-72) and then in the short-lived series The Magician (1973-74) as a Houdini-like figure who used prestidigitation to help out people in need. After the run of The Incredible Hulk, Bixby spent less time acting and more time behind the camera, directing a variety of series episodes and TV movies.

Extra credit: A 2003 feature film, The Hulk, starred Eric Bana as both Dr. Banner and The Hulk.

Other TV stars of Bixby's era: William Shatner, Robert Conrad, Dick Van Dyke and Scooby Doo.