He also managed a lot of tag team champions. Captain Lou Albano, who became one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the 1980s after appearing in Cyndi Laupers Girls Just Want to Have Fun music video, died Wednesday. Sadly, a second heart attack would claim his life on October 14th. However, he eventually took up wrestling. Pro Wrestling Illustrated hailed him as the Manager of the Year three times (1974, 1981, and 1986). Lou Albanos first success in wrestling would be as a tag team specialist, as he teamed with Tony Altomare as a duo called The Sicilians throughout the 1960s. In between Marios Earthbound hijinks, they would show Super Mario Bros. cartoons that seemed to be set in the universe of Super Mario Bros. 2. Albano was so convincing on the microphone that in January 1971, after his client Ivan Koloff defeated Sammartino, ending his seven-year reign as the WWWF Heavyweight Champion, a riot broke out in Madison Square Garden. Sadly, this was not the best moment, as they lost their titles to the foreign heel tag team of Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Captain Lou was a big, fat reason wrestling blew up to become the pop culture crossover phenom of the mid-80s, back when pile-driving was a fad. From there, Albano was encouraged to train as a pro wrestler. Its not like Captain Lou has constantly been on my mind for the last 25 years, but his recent passing unlocked a flood of memories of being 8 years old and him being EVERYWHERE. Why Did Captain Lou Albano Have The Rubberbands In His Face? which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, This was due to the mounting injuries to Dynamite Kid, whose back started to give out on him just as the tag team was hitting the highest of highs. Albano was arguably the best of the three. Regarded as one of the earliest superstars of the industry, he had a moderately successful career as a professional wrestler before becoming a manager. Spouse/Ex-: Geraldine Albano (m. 19532009), siblings: Carl Albano, Eleanor Albano, George Albano, Vincent Albano, place of death: Carmel Hamlet, New York, United States, See the events in life of Lou Albano in Chronological Order. Captain Lou Albano also managed the very successful Valiant Brothers in WWE. The Express consisted of Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo. Through collaborations with pop star Cyndi Lauper, he helpedbring mainstream attention towrestling during the 1980s. Albano spent the rest of his professional career with the promotion and while as a solo wrestler he was quite unimpressive, his work with tag-team partner Tony Altomare did garner him some success, including the WWF Tag Team Championship in 1967. A lot of you are too young to remember Captain Lou Albano, but to us children of the late 70s and early 80s he was a pop-culture fixture. Broadcast live on MTV, it gave WWE the opportunity to access the coveted young adult demographic. Instead, a distant relative, boxing promoter Lou Duva whod later appear at WrestleMania 2 introduced him to Willie Gilzenberg, another promoter who was active in the wrestling business. Ah.. the Mario, an often misunderstood and overlooked dance. During this period, Gilzenberg introduced him to Vince McMahon Sr, who hired him for his Capitol Wrestling Corporation in Washington, DC, a predecessor of WWF/E. Leguizamo is awesome in everything he does. Captain Lou managed no less than four singles champs, and 15 different duos to WWE World Tag Team belts. WebApter on why Albano wore the rubber band earrings on his face: He was very strong into the fight against multiple sclerosis with Cyndi Lauper. Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com. WebA unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band, facial piercings, and loud outfits, Albano was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Lou got a gold record to the head, and Wolff got body slammed so hard by Rowdy Roddy Piper, it nearly broke his back. This was one of the most popular tag teams in WWE during the '80s, and also one that was short-lived. Over the course of the decade, he would lose more than 150 pounds and by 2000 he did seem to have considerably improved his health. Wolff orchestrated a legit wrestling feud, which could only be settled by Laupers charge, Wendi Richter, wrestling Captain Lous girl, the Fabulous Moolah. Sadly, his ability to continue his career in entertainment wasgreatly limited during the 1990s. He rattles off his list of accolades, including 14 tag team champions, two intercontinental, and one world wide federation champion. WebLouis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American pro wrestler and dance choreographer best known for his appearances as "Captain" Lou With a wardrobe of colorful Hawaiian shirts, facial piercings finished with rubber bands, and unruly hair with a beard to match Captain Lou Albano was a man you couldnt help but notice. He also received the Editors Award from the magazine in 1994. Very well played, sir. Lou Albano managed Andre the Giant for a short time. Trying to figure out what to do next, Albano harboured boxing aspirations for a short while. Later, Valentine moved on to Jimmy Hart as his manager, and Albano soon became a babyface. His collaboration with Lauper extended beyond the professional wrestling circuit. Playlists containing Why Did Captain Lou Albano Have The Rubberbands In His Face? Amazingly, he received scholarship offers from 32 colleges as a senior. They are essentially the same dude except for the porn. Girls Just Want to Have Fun put Captain Lou in front of the MTV crowd, but anyone who watched professional wrestling knew that Lou was a spittin, stompin, cussin force of nature long before that. The second big-time babyface tag team that Albano managed was The British Bulldogs. Lou Albano (October 14, 1959 - June 7, 1997) Captain Lou Albano (May 22, 1972 - October 29, 1986) Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) One of his first clients was Crusher Verdu, a wrestler from Spain whose English abilities werent all that great. Love the viking beard though, Josh. My last year in college I dressed up as Lou for a 70s/80s themed party. Visionaries that they are, NRBQ saw Lous wrestling managerial skills and realized he could easily take that same kind of hustle and bravado to the record game. After spending several decades as a heel, Captain Lou Albano turned face in 1984 in a memorable segment. The rugged, old-school star was already a success in the NWA before arriving in WWE. 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The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. The most piercings on the face is 280, achieved on this day in 2012 by Axel Rosales from Villa Maria, Argentina. in 1989, holding the distinction of being the first actor for Mario to achieve widespread popularitynoteMario had been played in both live-action and voiceover roles by a number of actors in both the US and Japan since 1983, but none of them became as iconic as Captain Lou did and consequently setting a precedent for the role that would remain in place until 1996, when Super Mario 64 popularized Charles Martinet's rendition of the characternoteMartinet was cast in 1990 and had been officially voicing Mario since 1992, but had only made niche appearances in the role prior to Super Mario 64. Visit Shawn Lealos' website to learn more about his novel writing and follow him on Twitter @sslealos. But Lous mark would be made as a leader of men. Even though the Captain Lou Albano death story occurred years ago, he is still fondly remembered to this day by wrestling fans. He then joined the United States Army but due to the injuries obtained in the football field, he was honourably discharged after eight months. However, following a non-wrestling injury that left a gash on his forehead, he purposefully did not let the mark heal completely and turned heel. It didn't last long, and Patterson rejected the new manager, turning babyface due to Albano's notoriety. Albanos success in high school football led to him playing college ball for the University of Tennessee on a scholarship. Of the two, Windham later went on to become a world champion. He played her screen father in the music videos for Girls Just Want to Have Fun, The Goonies 'R' Good Enough and She Bop. Albano made his screen debut in 1952 in CBS The Jackie Gleason Show. I was just about to comment on that myself . He managed a lot of Islanders, so he would cut 100% of every promo. Third Party Advertising: We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano. you take that back! These were kayfabe brothers, not really related, but were still one of their generation's best tag teams. He had eight siblings, four of whom survived childhood. Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who received his Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma with a minor in Film Studies. He would cut most if not all of the promos for them. He has worked as a journalist for over 20 years, first in the world of print journalism before moving to online media as the world changed. The Wise Men of the East (sometimes billed as the "Triumvirate of Terror") managed the heels in Vince McMahon Sr.'s WWF. Albano led them to only one tag team title reign before Dynamite had to retire. He wrangled a multi-year storyline that found Captain Lou doing cameos in two more videos Time After Time and She Bop. It also found Lauper working in Captain Lous medium. "Captain Lou's History Of Music", by Lou Albano & George Steele, 1 WWWF United States Tag Team Championship - with Tony Altimore, WWF Hall of Fame induction (class of 1996), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum induction (class of 2009), Cauliflower Alley Club's Other honoree Winner (1995). Please download one of our supported browsers. The have the live-action, the cartoon, the commercial for the next Legend of Zelda episode in some, and of course, the credits featuring Lou doing the Mario. As Captain Lou Albano, his brash, bombastic promos earned him much recognition as well as helped his clients leave memorable impressions on the spectators. His health again took a sharp decline in 2009. 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