Mycroft
"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
That's the line that most people of a certain age associate with this late great actor, and it is of course taken from 'The Incredible Hulk' (1978) in which he portrayed the gamma-radiation soaked scientist David Banner, whilst Lou Ferrigno was the Hulk, and Jack Colvin starred as the reporter Jack McGee who could never quite catch Banner in the act.
What does this have to do with Tarot? Well, bear with me, all will be revealed. It was five years before 'Hulk' in 1973 that Bixby had landed his 'breakthrough' role starring as Anthony Dorian/Tony Blake in 'The Magician' (they changed the name from the pilot movie when the series began.) Now, 'The Magician' does have a Tarot connection, and every episode of this series features a Tarot card! Before you get too excited, it's the same card, and it doesn't feature in the episodes themselves, it's used as the visual that the end-credits are displayed over. Can you guess which card it is? Okay, take a peek, and see if you can spot how liberal they've been with tradition;
Unusually, and I don't recall seeing this anywhere else, Bixby's head has been placed on a 'Marseille Bateleur' who's been dressed in the syle of an 'RWS Magician' - complete with title change as well - had his hat replaced with a bandana and a lemniscate stuck in the air above him. Actually, I think it looks quite good, a pity they didn't go all the way and do the rest of the deck, in 1973 they could have marketed it as 'Pixie Smith's Groovetastic Tarot de Marseille (with divinatory meanings by the Funkadelic Arthur Edward)'.
Bet you're still wondering where 'The Hulk' fits into all this aren't you? Okay, reach for Crowley's Thoth Tarot and select '0 The Fool'. One of the most obvious pieces of symbolism about the card is the representation of the pagan 'Green Man' of spring, and 'The Hulk' is of course (and I bet some of you are there already) ...... a 'Green Man'.
That Bill Bixby eh? He was just obsessed with Tarot.
That's the line that most people of a certain age associate with this late great actor, and it is of course taken from 'The Incredible Hulk' (1978) in which he portrayed the gamma-radiation soaked scientist David Banner, whilst Lou Ferrigno was the Hulk, and Jack Colvin starred as the reporter Jack McGee who could never quite catch Banner in the act.
What does this have to do with Tarot? Well, bear with me, all will be revealed. It was five years before 'Hulk' in 1973 that Bixby had landed his 'breakthrough' role starring as Anthony Dorian/Tony Blake in 'The Magician' (they changed the name from the pilot movie when the series began.) Now, 'The Magician' does have a Tarot connection, and every episode of this series features a Tarot card! Before you get too excited, it's the same card, and it doesn't feature in the episodes themselves, it's used as the visual that the end-credits are displayed over. Can you guess which card it is? Okay, take a peek, and see if you can spot how liberal they've been with tradition;
Unusually, and I don't recall seeing this anywhere else, Bixby's head has been placed on a 'Marseille Bateleur' who's been dressed in the syle of an 'RWS Magician' - complete with title change as well - had his hat replaced with a bandana and a lemniscate stuck in the air above him. Actually, I think it looks quite good, a pity they didn't go all the way and do the rest of the deck, in 1973 they could have marketed it as 'Pixie Smith's Groovetastic Tarot de Marseille (with divinatory meanings by the Funkadelic Arthur Edward)'.
Bet you're still wondering where 'The Hulk' fits into all this aren't you? Okay, reach for Crowley's Thoth Tarot and select '0 The Fool'. One of the most obvious pieces of symbolism about the card is the representation of the pagan 'Green Man' of spring, and 'The Hulk' is of course (and I bet some of you are there already) ...... a 'Green Man'.
That Bill Bixby eh? He was just obsessed with Tarot.
