The Wrestling world has lost another brother as the legendary manager, the �Guiding Light�, Captain Lou Albano passed away the morning of October 14 at the age of 76.
Albano, known as the �Guiding Light�, would lead over 15 teams to the WWF Tag Team Championship, which would earn him his nickname, and a record that will never be broken in professional wrestling, and also secure a spot for Albano in the WWE Hall of Fame. The loud-mouthed, bombastic �Captain� would instantly irritate fans and distract rival wrestlers, contributing to his success. The Captain�s appearance was equally memorable, with rubber bands hanging from his cheeks and ears, like earrings, and a floral print �Hawaiian� shirt, typically unbuttoned to show the Captain�s �physique�.
Louis Vincent Albano was born July 29, 1933 in New York, and got involved in professional wrestling shortly after his time in the army while working as a bouncer in a bar frequented by wrestlers. Contrary to what most people would guess by looking at Albano�s portly frame, he actually started out as a wrestler, starting out in Montreal and teaming with another Italian, Tony Altimore as �The Sicilians�, an Italian mobster gimmick that got over a little too well, leaving Altimore and Albano wondering if the real Mafia would come after them. Even as an active wrestler, Albano would have tag team gold come his way, winning the Midwest Tag Team Championship and also the WWWF U.S. Tag Team Championship. Albano was also a standout football player at the University of Tennessee, playing on a football scholarship.
However, it was after his retirement and his shift to managing that Albano�s star would truly shine, and his very first charge was the Russian Bear, Ivan Koloff, who, under the guidance of Albano would dethrone the longest-reigning WWWF Champion, the equally legendary Bruno Sammartino in 1971. Unfortunately, it would be the final time a charge of Albano�s would see the World Heavyweight Championship, but Albano�s resume of managerial success with tag teams would more than make up for it. Even though Albano�s men wouldn�t see the World Heavyweight Championship again, Albano wasn�t done with singles gold and also managed the first Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson and later The Magnificent Muraco and Greg �The Hammer� Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship. Although he didn�t hold a WWF/WWE title, Albano would also manage �Superfly� Jimmy Snuka, as well.
The calibre of talent in the managing pool during the 1970s was exceptionally deep with Albano; The Grand Wizard and the late �Classy� Freddie Blassie all competing to manage the best talent and Albano stood out among these talented managers by being the one to have his charge defeat the seemingly unbeatable Sammartino.
Outside of the ring, during the 1980s, Albano would star as Cyndi Lauper�s father in the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video and Albano would use the video to further the 1980s �Rock 'n' Wrestling� storyline, claiming he was responsible for all of Lauper�s success, and she would be nothing without him, which would begin a rivalry between Albano and Lauper that was continued in the ring leading up to the MTV/WWF special �The War to Settle the Score� and later the first WrestleMania, where Albano�s charge, The Fabulous Moolah would take on Wendi Richter, managed by Lauper.
Later, Albano would apologise publicly to Lauper, turning fan favourite in the process before leaving the WWF to work on other projects in television and movies. Albano appeared in several popular TV shows of the late 80s, to include Hulk Hogan�s Rock n� Wrestling and also movies such as Body Slam with Roddy Piper and his former charges, the Wild Samoans. He would also appear in the 1993 movie Stay Tuned with the late John Ritter and Mork & Mindy star, Pam Dawber.
In March 1989, on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Albano shaved his trademark beard on the air in order to star as the video game character Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Along with Danny Wells as Luigi, he co-starred in live action segments during interludes of the Mario cartoon, as well as providing Mario�s voice.
In 1996, �The Guiding Light� was recognised for his accomplishments by being inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame and two years later, he co-authored the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pro-Wrestling along with boxing historian Bert Sugar.
In 2008 he released his autobiography, "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated�, owing to his catchphrase with the foreword written by Cyndi Lauper.
Albano passed away at his home on October 14, 2009 under hospice care at his home after a 42-year career in professional wrestling. He was 76 years old.
The list of wrestlers managed by Albano is extensive, among them being:
� Don Muraco
� Professor Toru Tanaka
� Nikolai Volkoff
� George 'The Animal' Steele
� Ivan Koloff
� Bobby Duncum, Sr.
� Andr� the Giant
� Brian Blair
� Greg Valentine
� The Iron Sheik
� Larry Hennig
� "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
� "Crazy" Luke Graham
� Tarzan Tyler
� King Curtis Iaukea
� Blackjack Mulligan
� Baron Mikel Scicluna
� Pat Patterson
� Ray "The Crippler" Stevens (with Freddie Blassie)
� Dick Murdoch
� Adrian Adonis
� Ken Patera
� The Fabulous Moolah
� Hulk Hogan
His tag team charges included:
� Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito
� Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika)
� The Executioners (Masked Executioner 1 and Masked Executioner 2)
� The Mongols (Bepo and Geeto)
� The Yukon Lumberjacks (Yukon Eric and Yukon Pierre)
� The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid)
� The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu)
� The New Headshrinkers (Fatu and Sionne)
� The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy Valiant, Johnny Valiant and Jerry Valiant)
� The Machines (Super Machine, Big Machine and Giant Machine)
� The Moondogs (Moondog King, Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot)
� The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham)
Additionally, Albano received an award in 1995 from the Cauliflower Alley Club, �The Ring of Friendship� an association of boxers and wrestlers. Other awards included awards from the Pro Wrestling Illustrated family of magazines, the PWI Manager of the Year award three times, in 1974, 1981, and 1986 and the PWI Stanley Weston Award in 1994. He was also the recipient of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for �Best on Interviews� in 1981, where he was tied with another legendary �big mouth�, �Rowdy� Roddy Piper. And was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
WWE acknowledged the passing of Albano posting a mini-tribute on wwe.com the other day. WWE included a classic picture of Albano from his managerial days when he wore a rubber band around his beard.
"World Wrestling Entertainment and its fans are saddened to learn of the passing of Captain Lou Albano Wednesday morning. An in-ring competitor and legendary manager of champions, the WWE Hall of Famer was 76 years old."
ECW�s Dawn Marie�s organisation Wrestler's Rescue is taking up donations to help Albano's family pay for medical expenses related to an illness that led to his death.
Please join Shadow Fire Promotions and all of our corporate family in extending condolences to the family of The Guiding Light, �Captain� Lou Albano.
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