RIP Captain Lou

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Captain Lou Albano today, the legendary wrestling manager, at the age of 76. Another icon of my early youth is gone.

I remember many years ago when the WWWF was on Channel 9 locally here in New York, on Saturday nights at midnight. I was a fan, and watched it pretty faithfully. I always thought wrestling was a bit of a hoot back then, when it was "underground" and hadn't gone mainstream and before Vince McMahon took it to a level of "respectability."

Albano was one of a trio of "bad guy" managers, with Freddie Blassie and The Grand Wizard in the mid-to-late 1970s. Albano was loud and boisterous, and I'll never forget the trademark rubber bands in his goatee. His speciality was managing tag team champions, and he managed more than 50 wrestlers to more than two dozen titles. He was terrific in doing interviews, generating tons of heat and the wrath of the wrestling fans.

Lou will forever be remembered for the music videos he did with Cyndi Lauper in 1984 when she hit the big time with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." I remember the wrestling angle they did in regard to it, that Albano was really her manager. Here's more on Lou.

Thanks for the memories, Captain.