CineScope
Louis Albano picture

Louis Albano

Acting
Known For

76 Years Old

Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995. Throughout his 42-year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and four singles competitors to championship gold. Albano was part of the "Triumvirate of Terror," a threesome of nefarious WWF managers that also included The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and Freddie Blassie. The trio would be fixtures in the company for a decade, until the Grand Wizard's death in 1983. A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, Albano was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects. He became well-known to a new generation of fans as the actor and voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! In 1953, Albano married his high school sweetheart, Geraldine Tango. The marriage lasted 56 years, until his death. Albano has been noted by several others for his faithfulness to his wife, a rare characteristic in the on-the-road world of 1970s and 1980s professional wrestling. Albano released his autobiography, Often Imitated, Never Duplicated, on July 20, 2008 through his website. The book includes a foreword by Cyndi Lauper. The other Albano siblings are Vincent, George, Eleanor, and Carl, all of whom became teachers. Albano's brother, Carl, taught health for 32 years at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and was head of the Ridgewood High health department from 1974 until 2001. Carl's students have noted that he used his brother Lou as an example of the difference between crazy and unique. George served as the Principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon, New York and often brought Lou in to delight the school's students during their lunch hour. Vincent was an art teacher and lived part-time in a lake house in Connecticut. Eleanor was a music teacher for preschool students in Connecticut and impacts the lives of countless students through music. Albano's son, Carl Albano, has been a member of the Putnam County Legislature since 2011. During the 1990s, Albano shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered. Albano was sent home from the hospital and again began watching his health. The song "Captain Lou" by Kimya Dawson is dedicated to him. In 1983 the band NRBQ wrote a song about Albano called "Captain Lou." Albano was featured as a singer on that song as well on another called "Boardin' House Pie." Both of these songs appear on NRBQ's Tap Dancin' Bats compilation, their Lou and Q spoken-word comedy record, as well as their out-of-print, hard-to-find single which Albano used to sell at his wrestling matches. Albano died on October 14, 2009 of a heart attack while residing in hospice care.He was 76 years old.

Born

Rome, Lazio, Italy on 29th July 1933

Died

14th October 2009

All Credits

WWF Wrestling Challenge Image
WWF Wrestling Challenge
Capt. Lou Albano
Raw Image
Raw
Capt. Lou Albano (archive footage)
Raw Image
Raw
Capt. Lou Albano
Raw Image
Raw
Dark Side of the Ring Image
Dark Side of the Ring
Miami Vice Image
Miami Vice
Saturday Night's Main Event Image
Saturday Night's Main Event
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Image
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Mario
227 Image
227
Stay Tuned Image
Stay Tuned
Ring Announcer
Body Slam Image
Body Slam
Capt. Lou Murano
Wise Guys Image
Wise Guys
Frank "The Fixer" Acavano
No Image
It's a Complex World
Boris Lee
No Image
Legends Never Die
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology Image
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
Captain Lou Albano
The True Story of WrestleMania Image
The True Story of WrestleMania
Captain Lou Albano (archive footage)
WrestleMania Image
WrestleMania
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WrestleMania 2 Image
WrestleMania 2
Captain Lou Albano
WWE: The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers Image
WWE: The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers
WWE Greatest Wrestling Factions Image
WWE Greatest Wrestling Factions
Capt. Lou Albano
WrestleMania II Image
WrestleMania II
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WWE King of the Ring 1994 Image
WWE King of the Ring 1994
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WWE Survivor Series 1994 Image
WWE Survivor Series 1994
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WrestleMania Image
WrestleMania
Captain Lou Albano
Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams! Image
Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams!
Self
WWE Survivor Series 1996 Image
WWE Survivor Series 1996
Capt. Lou Albano (Appearance)
WWE SummerSlam 1994 Image
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Capt. Lou Albano
WWE Villains of The Squared Circle Image
WWE Villains of The Squared Circle
Capt. Lou Albano
Biography: 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper Image
Biography: 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper
(archive footage)
Lipstick & Dynamite Image
Lipstick & Dynamite
Himself
WWE Paul Bearer's Hits from the Crypt Image
WWE Paul Bearer's Hits from the Crypt
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story Image
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story
Self
German Fan Favorites 2 Image
German Fan Favorites 2
Capt. Lou Albano
Heroes of Wrestling Image
Heroes of Wrestling
Capt. Lou Albano
No Image
Cyndi Lauper: Japanese Singles Collection - Greatest Hits
Self (archive footage)
No Image
Man and Cat
Additional Cat Dialogue
Cyndi Lauper: 12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some Image
Cyndi Lauper: 12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some
Mafioso: The Father The Son Image
Mafioso: The Father The Son
Doc
WWE The Big Event Image
WWE The Big Event
Capt. Lou Albano
No Image
All-Star Rock 'N' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular
Self
WWE The Brawl to End it All Image
WWE The Brawl to End it All
Capt. Lou Albano
Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports Image
Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
Capt. Lou Albano
WWE Hall Of Fame 1996 Image
WWE Hall Of Fame 1996
No Image
WWE at Madison Square Garden: October 17, 1983
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
The Best of the WWF: volume 7 Image
The Best of the WWF: volume 7
Capt. Lou Albano
Best of the WWF Volume 2 Image
Best of the WWF Volume 2
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
Tag Team Champions Image
Tag Team Champions
Lou Albano
No Image
Sid & Marty Krofft's Redeye Express
The Best of the WWF: volume 4 Image
The Best of the WWF: volume 4
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest Image
WWF's Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest
Captain Lou Albano
The Best of the WWF: volume 6 Image
The Best of the WWF: volume 6
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers Image
The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers
Captain Lou Albano
The WWF's Most Unusual Matches Image
The WWF's Most Unusual Matches
Captain Lou Albano
The British Bulldogs Image
The British Bulldogs
Capt. Lou Albano
The Best of the WWF: volume 8 Image
The Best of the WWF: volume 8
Capt. Lou Albano
The Macho Man Randy Savage & Elizabeth Image
The Macho Man Randy Savage & Elizabeth
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
The Life and Times of Captain Lou Albano Image
The Life and Times of Captain Lou Albano
Self
No Image
WWE Wrestling at The Meadowlands: October '84
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
Best of the WWF Volume 1 Image
Best of the WWF Volume 1
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
WWF Countdown to The Crowning Image
WWF Countdown to The Crowning
Capt. Lou Albano
Mario's Magic Carpet Image
Mario's Magic Carpet
Mario, Pidgit #1
No Image
The Boys Behind the Desk
Ivan Koloff the Most Hated Man in America Image
Ivan Koloff the Most Hated Man in America
Himself
Internet Fear Image
Internet Fear
No Image
WWE Showdown at Shea '80
Capt. Lou Albano (Manager)
No Image
WWE at Madison Square Garden: June 30, 1973
Capt. Lou Albano
No Image
Hot Ice, No-one Is Safe
Frankie the Hat
No Image
13th Grade
Lou Albano
The Undertaker's Dozen Image
The Undertaker's Dozen
Lou Costanza