It’s a sad day in the entertainment world as one of it’s most colourful characters has passed away.  ‘Captain’ Lou Albano was 76.  

While some know him from his starring role opposite John Ritter in the 1992 hit film Stay Tuned and his many appearances as Mario in the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, others may know him from his portrayal of Cyndi Lauper’s Dad in the videos for ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’, ‘She Bop’ and ‘The Goonies R Good Enough’.  I, for one, will always remember him as one of the greatest wrestling personalities of all time.

Over his 42-year career “Captain” Lou managed 34 men to championship gold which is an accomplishment that not even Jimmy ‘Mouth of the South’ Hart or Bobby “The Brain” Heenan can match.  With his trademark rubber bands attached to his face he managed the likes of the U.S Express, George ‘the Animal’ Steele, ’Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka, the Magnificent Muraco and of course one of the greatest tag teams of all time, the British Bulldogs whom he guided to the WWF tag team championship  at Wrestlemania 2.

In 1998 he co-wrote a book called the ‘Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pro Wrestling’ and he even performed a cover of the song ‘Captain Lou’s History of Music/Captain Lou’ by NRBQ on the original Wrestling Album back in 1985.  The man did it all.

Albano was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame last year.  He passed away in his sleep and is survived by his wife.

Clearly, I was a fan.  Do you have any favourite memories of ‘Captain’ Lou?

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