Lou Albano

From Freepedia

"Captain" Lou Albano (born July 29, 1933 in Carmel, New York) was a professional wrestler and one-time voice of the video game character Mario.

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For most of his career, he was a notorious heel both as a wrestler and as a manager, working for the WWF (now the WWE). He wore Hawaiian print shirts and rubber bands in his beard, and frequently interfered in his charges' matches physically. In 1982, he and Ray "The Crippler" Stevens turned on Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, causing Snuka to become a fan favorite. Stevens piledrove Snuka on the cement floor (kayfabe) back before there were mats on the arena floor outside the ring.

Lou also managed the Wild Samoans when they were WWF Tag Team Champions. He had a memorable feud with rock star Cyndi Lauper in the mid-1980s during the "Rock n Wrestling" era around the time of WrestleMania I. Lou was later seen playing the father character in Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video.

For a brief time, Albano managed the acclaimed rock band NRBQ, and was celebrated in their song "Captain Lou" on the 1986 Lou and the Q album. He performed vocals on the album, and made a memorable "Crazy Eddie" style television commercial for it.

In a departure from his primarily villainous roles in the WWF, Albano played Mario in the live action segments of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show from 1989 to 1991, and voiced the character in the animated segments (in subsequent series, the character's voice was provided by Walker Boone). He also played the part of a "fixer" in the Brian De Palma movie Wise Guys.