OSPW Remembers "The Captain" and Our Thoughts and Prayers are with him and his Family

R.I.P

CAPTAIN

Lou Albano

July 29, 1933 to October 14, 2009

Cyndi Lauper says that professional wrestler "Captain" Lou Albano took her up the music charts.The singer said Thursday that she was lucky to work with Albano on her music videos in the 1980s.The rambunctious showman and wrestler died Wednesday in New York of natural causes.Albano's fame skyrocketed when he appeared in Lauper's 1983 "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, playing the singer's dad.Lauper says that Albano took her up the charts "from 10, to 5, to 4 to 1, to minus 5 and back up to 1 again."She says it was "great fun, too."Albano was one of the most recognized figures in the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s, alongside such ring pros as Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Albano was an excellent athlete as a youth, attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship. After a stint in the United States Army, he began his sports-entertainment career in Canada in 1953. Albano soon began teaming with Tony Altimore; together they were known as “The Sicilians.” After coming to the WWWF in the 1960s, they defeated the legendary Bruno Sammartino & Spiros Arion to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship in 1967. After the breakup of The Sicilians, Albano transformed himself into a manager, making it his sole mission to end the lengthy WWE Championship reign of Bruno Sammartino. This made him perhaps the most hated man in the promotion, but in 1971, he accomplished his goal; protégé Ivan Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden to end the Italian champion’s seven-plus year reign. Koloff’s reign lasted only three weeks, and despite managing several other Hall of Famers, Koloff was the only World Champion Albano ever managed. He would lead Don Muraco, Greg Valentine and Pat Patterson to the Intercontinental Championship, but never again tasted a World Title.

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. ____________ Article Courtesy of  Larry Mcshane DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Albano was born on July 29, 1933 in Rome, Italy. His family moved to the United States and settled in Mount Vernon, New York. He played football at and graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. After briefly attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship, Albano left school to join the Army. During his tour, Albano became interested in professional wrestling when he was working at a bar as a bouncer and met two wrestlers.[4] Albano made his professional wrestling debut by beating Bob Lazaro in Montreal, Canada in 1953 Albano guided singles wrestlers Pat Patterson, Don Muraco and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship.Furthermore, Albano guided fifteen teams to the WWF World Tag Team Championships, including The Valiant Brothers, The Wild Samoans, The Blackjacks, The Moondogs and The Executioners. By the end of his career, Albano managed over 50 different wrestlers who won two dozen championships. Albano could also help elevate wrestlers by splitting from them. In 1982, despite being managed by the villainous Albano, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka was becoming a fan favorite due to his high-flying ring style. An interview segment revealed that Snuka had no legal contract with Albano, and thus was able to leave his manager. Shortly thereafter, a bloody beatdown by Albano, Fred Blassie and Ray Stevens, helped transform Snuka into a sympathetic figure, and triggered the most successful period of his career.

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