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Lou Albano

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'Captain' Lou Albano
File:Loualbano.jpg
BornJuly 29 1933
Carmel, NY
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Lou Albano
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight350 lb (159 kg)
Retired1995

Louis Albano (born July 29 1933), 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 pop culture icon Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, Albano ventured into Hollywood through various television, film, and music projects. Often duplicated, never imitated, Albano was inducted in 1996 into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Early Life

Louis Albano in Carmel, New York to Dr. Carmen and Eleanor Albano. A University of Tennessee scholarship student, Albano left school to join the Army. 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.

WWWF

Albano achieved moderate success as a tag team performer with partner Tony Altimore. Dubbed The Sicilian, 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 . Over the next few years, The Sicilian 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.

During the 1970s Albano transformed himself into the vile, bombastic manager Captain Lou Albano. With a quick wit and a grating personality, Albano delivered memorable promos that made him wrestling's most villianous manager. He earned the scorn of the wrestling audience as he attempted to dethrone WWWF superstar and 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 a WWWF 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 Masa Saito, The Valiant Brothers, The 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.

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. Albano was the catalyst that launched professional wrestling into the stratosphere with mainstream America. During an public appearance at Madison Square Garden, the treacherous manager made sexist comments that outraged the singer and non-wrestling fans. Furthermore, on WWF television, Albano, made the audacious claims that he was Lauper 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. The crossover storyline, coupled with the Hulkamania phenomenon and the first Wrestlemania, trigged a period of unprecendented success for not only the WWF, but professional wrestling industry. Moreso, 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.

Hollywood Crossover

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, Nickelodeon's 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.

Wrestlers Managed

Championships and accomplishments

Championship succession

WWWF United States Tag Team Championship
Preceded by:
Spiros Arion & Arnold Skaaland 		First w/ Tony Altimore Succeeded by:
Bruno Sammartino & Spiros Arion
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