Lou Albano encyclopedia topics

Early life

Captain Lou was born Louis Albano in Mount Vernon, New York to Dr. Carmen and Eleanor Albano. 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 the WWF when he was working at a bar as a bouncer and met two WWF performers. Albano made his professional wrestling debut by defeating Bob Lazaro in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1953.

World Wide Wrestling Federation

Albano achieved moderate success as a tag team performer with partner Tony Altomare. 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 mafiosi who requested the duo tone down their act. 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 Spiros Arion.

Following the encouragement of fellow wrestler Bruno Sammartino, 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.

Albano guided singles wrestlers such as Pat Patterson, Don Muraco and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship. Furthermore, Albano carved a prolific legacy that remains unmatched by guiding over a dozen teams to the 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's premiere tag team manager. By the end of his career, Albano managed over 50 different wrestlers that won two dozen championships.

Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection

By the 1980s, Albano appeared in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", "She Bop", "Time After Time" and The Goonies 'R' Good Enough music videos. Parlaying the venture, new WWF owner Vince McMahon devised the Rock 'n' Wrestling storyline, a collaboration and cross-promotion between the newly renamed WWF and elements of the music industry. During a public appearance at Madison Square Garden, Albano made sexist comments that outraged the singer and non-wrestling fans. Furthermore, on WWF television, Albano made the audacious claims that he was Lauper's manager and that he was the architect of her success. The two settled 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 surrounding then-WWF champion Hulk Hogan and the first WrestleMania, triggered a period of unprecedented success for not only the WWF, but for the professional wrestling industry as a whole. Moreover, 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. Except for a brief return in 1994 to co-manage The Headshrinkers, Albano has since retired from the wrestling industry.

Hollywood crossover and 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 March 1989, on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Albano shaved his trademark beard to star as the iconic video game character Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Along with Danny Wells, he co-starred in live action segments during interludes of the Mario cartoon, as well as providing the voice of his animated counterpart.

From 1990 to 1991, Albano hosted a regular interview segment on UWF Fury Hour called Captain Lou's Corner.

During the 1990s, Albano became a vegetarian and shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered. In 1996, Albano was enshrined into the WWF Hall of Fame. . Two years later, he co-authored the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pro-Wrestling along with Bert Randolph Sugar.. In recent years Albano has been semi-active in the wrestling industry with appearances on reunion events, conventions, and WWE programming.