R.I.P "Captain" Lou Albano

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Revvy

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Geez, another one;


Captain Lou Albano, legendary WWF-era wrestling manager and Cyndi Lauper video star, dies at 76

p1_albano.jpg


Captain Lou Albano, the crazed and charismatic wrestling icon who played Cyndi Lauper's dad in her "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video, has died. He was 76.

Albano - known for his wild goatee, usually tamed by a rubber band, and his half-open Hawaiian shirts - was a wrestling world fixture for more than a half-century.

He was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996, paying tribute to Albano's management of 15 WWE tag team champions and WWE title holder Ivan Koloff.

The colorful and kooky Albano was dubbed "The Guiding Light" for his "management" work.

"One of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the WWE said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed."

But Albano's success transcended the ring and catapulted the Captain into pop culture.

The band NRBQ paid homage with their song "Captain Lou," and he appeared in a number of "Miami Vice" episodes along with several films.

His biggest moment came when he teamed with Lauper for a string of videos in 1985, playing her father. The "Rock N Wrestling Connection" helped boost both Lauper's record sales and the WWE's ratings.

Albano also played Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, a hybrid live-action/animated show.

No one was faster to sing the captain's praises than Albano himself.

"Often imitated, never duplicated," was his repeated self-assessment.

He was once a wrestler himself, launching his career in Canada in 1953.

He moved to the WWWF - a WWE precursor - in the early '60s, and won a tag-team title in 1967 by defeating a two-man pairing that included Bruno Sammartino.

Albano found his true calling in the corner, managing other wrestlers with antics that rivaled anything going on in the ring.

Albano's 75th birthday party last year at a Yonkers restaurant turned into a drunken battle royal, with the arrest of one wrestler.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2...a_wrestling_manager_and_ci.html#ixzz0TwX0WWOo

Cheers Lou! :mug:

 
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Man, am I the only 80's coming of ager that knows who he is?
I guess 'cause I was working in radio and cable television production when mtv first came out and music videos were sort of a part of my life, so he's sort of a cultural icon to me. I guess.
 
I remember him and he was quite the character. I am not much of a pro wrestling fan, but the Cyndi Lauper video played almost every hour for a while and early MTV was always on in my apartment.
 
Man, am I the only 80's coming of ager that knows who he is?
I guess 'cause I was working in radio and cable television production when mtv first came out and music videos were sort of a part of my life, so he's sort of a cultural icon to me. I guess.

I gradumacated HS in '83... the whole wrestling craze was a few years behind me...

I know who Cyndi Lauper is, but no clue on who Lou.
 
I met Capt Lou at a SciFi convention in Atlanta 2 years ago. He was lost in one of the three hotels hosting the event. My wife and I ended up giving him directions to the room he was presenting in. Really nice guy and incredibly down to earth. We chatted about wrestling and his career for about 10 minutes before he had to go to his panel. I thought it was cool that he would take the time to just stop and talk with a fan for so long. Most of the "stars" are happy to spend 20 seconds signing a $20 autograph, taking a picture and then on to the next guy.

I'll raise one in his honor! :mug:

Terje
 
I am not a wrastling fan, but I do remember him from that video. I enjoy Lauper's music and remember him from that scene where she twists his arm behind his back. (IIRC) I always kind of thought he was her real dad.
 
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