R.I.P., Captain Lou

We lost one of the greats yesterday, Captain Lou Albano.

If you followed wrestling in the 1970s or 80s, you'll remember his outrageous ringside antics. "The Guiding Light' managed no less than 15 WWF tag team champions including The Valiant Bros. ("Handsome" Jimmy and "Luscious" John), the Moondogs (Spot and Rex) and the Wild Samoans (Afa and Seka). He also managed Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and George "The Animal" Steele among many others.

He may be best know for playing Cyndi Lauper's father in the video for Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

These were among his more famous insults:
"If you put his brain inside a parakeet it would fly backwards!"
"He's often constipated, rarely imitated."

In retrospect, Albano and his contemporary wrestling managers The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and "Classy" Freddie Blassie were performance artists by another name. This was something Andy Kaufman picked up on as he enjoyed antagonizing audiences in the mid-South back in the early '80s. The Captain could make you laugh more than 100 comedians.

Thanks for the laughs, Captain Lou.

Here's NRBQ's tribute to Albano featuring the vocal stylings of the man himself:

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