Lou Albano

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'Captain' Lou Albano
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Lou Albano
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight	350 lb (159 kg)
Born	July 29 1933 Carmel, New York
Resides	Carmel, New York
Debut	1953
Retired	1995

Louis Albano (born July 29, 1933 in Carmel, New York), better known as Captain Lou, is an American professional wrestler and manager. With an over-the-top personality and a penchant for making boisterous declarations, Albano was the epitome of the antagonistic manager that raised the ire of wrestlers and incited the anger of spectators. Throughout his forty year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and 4 singles competitors to championship gold. A unique showman, Albano's elongated beard, rubberband facial piercings, and loud outfits, he was the forefather of the Rock 'n' Wrestling explosion in the 1980s. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, Albano ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects. Albano was inducted in 1996 into the WWF Hall of Fame.

1 Early life
2 World Wide Wrestling Federation
3 Rock n Wrestling Connection
4 Hollywood crossover and semi-retirement
5 In wrestling
6 Championships and accomplishments
7 Notes
8 References

[edit] Early life

Captain Lou was born Louis Albano in Carmel, New York to Dr. Carmen and Eleanor Albano. After briefly attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship as a pre-med student^{[citation needed]}, Albano left school to join the Army.^[1] During his tour, Albano met WWWF wrestler and agent Arnold Skaaland. Following intensive training in New York, Albano made his by professional wrestling debut by defeating Bob Lazaro in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1953. ^[2]

[edit] World Wide Wrestling Federation

Albano achieved moderate success as a tag team performer with partner Tony Altimore. Dubbed The Sicilians, Altimore and Albano drew considerable heat competing as a stereotypical Italian gangster combo. Their realistic depiction of their characters caught the attention of actual mafioso. The two were approached by local mafia members who requested that the duo tone down their act. ^[3] Over the next few years, The Sicilians continued their success by winning the Midwest tag team titles and later the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship from Arnold Skaaland and Spiro Arion.

Following the encouragement of fellow wrestler Bruno Sammartino,^[4] Albano transformed himself into the brash, bombastic manager Captain Lou Albano. With a quick wit and a grating personality, Albano delivered memorable promos that made him wrestling's most villainous manager. He earned the scorn of the wrestling audience as he attempted to dethrone World Wide Wrestling Federation superstar and WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino. In 1971, Albano achieved his objective when "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff ended Sammartino's seven year reign as champion. Koloff's reign marked the only time that Albano would manage a World Heavyweight champion. For the remainder of the seventies Albano's cadre of loyal henchmen were unable to resecure the championship.

Notwithstanding, Albano guided singles wrestlers such as Pat Patterson, Don Muraco, and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to the Intercontinetal Championship. Furthermore, Albano carved a proflic legacy that remains unmatched by guiding over a dozen teams to WWWF World Tag Team Championships. Under his tutelage, Mr. Fuji and Mr Saito, The Valiant Brothers, Wild Samoans, The Moondogs, and The British Bulldogs were a few of many that solidified Albano as wrestling premiere tag team manager. By the end of his career, Albano managed over 50 different wrestlers and won two dozen championships.

[edit] Rock n Wrestling Connection

By the 1980s, Albano appeared in pop sensation Cyndi Lauper's wildly popular Girls Just Want To Have Fun music video. Parlaying the venture, new WWWF owner Vince McMahon devised the Rock n Wrestling storyline, a collaboration and cross-promotion between the newly renamed WWF and elements of music industry^[5]. Albano was the catalyst that launched professional wrestling into the stratosphere with mainstream America.^[6] During a public appearance at Madison Square Garden, the treacherous manager made sexist comments that outraged the singer and non-wrestling fans^[7]. Furthermore, on WWF television, Albano, made the audacious claims that he was Lauper's manager and he was the architect for her success. The two settle their differences on the MTV/WWF special, The War To Settle The Score. Following Lauper's victory at the event, Albano apologized to Lauper and instantly became a fan favorite and the voice of Rock n Wrestling. The crossover storyline, coupled with the Hulkamania phenomenon and the first Wrestlemania, triggered a period of unprecendented success for not only the WWF, but professional wrestling industry.^[8] More so, Albano helped cement wrestling's place within pop culture. Following the colossal success of the Rock N Wrestling Connection, Albano left the WWF in 1986 to focus on various projects. Despite a brief return in 1994 to manage The Headshrinkers, Albano has since retired from the wrestling industry.

[edit] Hollywood crossover and semi-retirement

Capitalizing on his new found celebrity, Albano began appearing in a vast array of television and film projects. Throughout the late eighties, Albano appeared in 227, Miami Vice, Hey Dude, Brian De Palma's Wiseguys and the 1987 wrestling movie Body Slam. Expanding into music, Albano managed and performed with rockers NRBQ. He was immortalized in the song Captain Lou on their Lou and the Q album.

In 1989, on Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, Albano shaved his trademark beard to star as the iconic video game character Super Mario. The Super Mario Brothers Super Show. The one-time villain hosted live action segments during interludes of the Mario cartoon.

During the 1990s, Albano became a vegetarian and shed 150 lbs. following a health scare. ^[9] ^[10] In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered. ^[11] Despite health issues and a foray into mainstream entertainment, Albano continues to make wrestling appearances on various independent and reunion shows. In 1996, Albano was enshrined into the WWF Hall of Fame.