Albano Remembered as Tough Wrestler With a Gentle Heart

“Often imitated, never duplicated.” That was Captain Lou Albano’s catch phrase about himself. Although he used it primarily during his career as a wrestler and manager in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), friends and family have spent the last few days proving that the saying is still true, following the wrestling legend’s death last week in his Carmel home at the age of 76.

Despite his fame, Captain Lou came across as an average Joe when his fans and other members of the local community ran into him.

“He liked being able to talk to everyday guys,” said Tom Feighery, the owner of Fiddler’s on the Green, a bar in Carmel Captain Lou used to frequent. Two days after Albano’s death he sat down to talk about his late friend at his establishment. Mr. Albano was also known for being a very charitable person. He served as the chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and helped raise more than $8 million for that cause.

It was through these fundraising efforts that Mr. Feighery really got to know Mr. Albano. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and the WWE joined forces to start the U.G.L.Y. (Understanding, Generous, Loving, You) Bartender Contest. Many nightclubs and bars took part, each holding contests to raise money for the battle against Multiple Sclerosis. Captain Lou would visit the participating establishments along with fellow wrestlers such as George “The Animal” Steele, the Wild Samoans, and Andre the Giant. Fiddler’s was one of the places they stopped at occasionally. After that, Captain Lou visited the bar more frequently.

Captain Lou’s charitable ways started long before he made it famous, though. His brother George said at his funeral on Saturday that the Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate often gave his lunch and candy to children who lived in a home for wayward boys that was located next to the school. When asked why he did that, Captain Lou replied, “They are just kids who could not catch a break.”

Captain Lou almost ended up going down another path when he was younger. He played football at Archbishop Stepinac and was highly successful, receiving numerous football scholarship offers. He settled on the University of Tennessee and was a starting offensive lineman there as a freshman. When he was 19, the New York Giants wanted to draft him, but Captain Lou’s parents had different ideas.

“They wanted him to finish college,” George said.

Captain Lou eventually entered the Army and started his wrestling career when his time there was up.

Like many people from the Carmel community, this reporter had the good fortune of meeting Captain Lou many times over the years. One of the things that always impressed me about him was the fact that he was always happy to talk with his fans or give an autograph, no matter where you saw him or what time it was.

The first time I met him was outside of Rite Aid in the Putnam Plaza. I was a tremendous wrestling fan and I remember waiting outside the store that day with my younger brother while our father went inside to get a few things. When he came out, he told me to look into the store window. As I peered through, I saw Captain Lou at the checkout counter. My father allowed us to continue waiting so we could meet Captain Lou when he came out. About a minute later, the wrestling legend came through the automatic doors and into the cool fall air wearing one of his signature Hawaiian short-sleeve shirts with shorts and flip flops. Captain Lou was kind of intimidating in those days, but I felt completely at ease when he began to talk with us. Even as an adult, I still got that feeling of child-like excitement whenever I saw him. I never could resist the urge to come up to him and say, “Hi Captain Lou! How are you doing?”

One of the places that I saw him was at Saint James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church. Captain Lou always stood in the back and it almost seemed as if the attention of about half the congregation shifted from the altar to the back of the building when he walked in. This was when I learned a very important thing: Captain Lou could compete for attention with even the biggest celebrities.

Captain Lou was also popular for appearing in commercials for local businesses on cable television. Two of those businesses were Stillwater Autobody and Tireman’s Tire Shop, both in Mahopac.

Aaron Kass, the owner of Stillwater Auto Body, said that he first became familiar with Captain Lou when he watched wrestling as a youngster. “When he (Captain Lou) was making the commercials he knew how to do it,” Mr. Kass said. “No script. He owned the camera.”

He credits Captain Lou with playing a large part in his company’s success. “When anyone came in, they would know the business from those commercials,” Mr. Kass noted. “He made my business what it is.”

Glenn Lefurgy of Tireman’s Tire Shop remembered that Captain Lou was willing to do whatever it took in order to make a successful commercial. “He did not have a problem acting funny for commercials or looking stupid. He was different than anyone else,” Mr. Lefurgy said. “He made shooting commercials fun. I looked forward to it. Everything he did and said was funny.”

During his career in the ring, Captain Lou was a tag team champion. He also managed 15 other teams to the gold during his managerial career, but, his ability to help careers extended beyond the wrestling ring.

He and Cyndi Lauper joined forces to form the Rock and Wrestling Connection in the 1980s, and he starred in some of her music videos. Ms. Lauper also appeared in some wrestling events. She attributed much of her success to Captain Lou.

“Captain Lou and I became famous together,” she said in a statement on her website. “He always made me laugh. … He graced me with a lot of video performances that I will always treasure. … I was lucky to work by his side.”

Long-time WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel was at Captain Lou’s funeral on Saturday. He credited Captain Lou with giving him some great advice when he first joined the company in 1977. Finkel said that Captain Lou told him that the amount of success he would get from working in the company will be determined by how much hard work and energy he was willing to put in. He added that Captain Lou enjoyed entertaining the fans, whether he was playing the role of the good guy or the bad guy. “He was a master showman,” Mr. Finkel noted.

The one thing that he admired most about Captain Lou was his quick wit. “He made me smile no matter what,” he said.

Legendary wrestlers such as former champion Bob Backlund and Jimmy “Super Fly” Snuka also attended Captain Lou’s funeral.

One current wrestler who attended was John Rechart, whose wrestling name is Balls Mahoney. He was released from the WWE last year. Mr. Rechart came to honor the man who taught him a lot about the wrestling business when he was just starting out.

“He (Captain Lou) was a mentor,” Mr. Rechart said.

Captain Lou’s son Carl said on Saturday that fame was something that was low on his father’s list of priorities.

“He put the most important things first,” he noted, adding that the two most important things to Captain Lou were God and family.

Although the wrestling business can be tough on families because it requires a lot of travel, Carl said that they supported his father.

“We were behind him all the way,” he said.

Carl recalled the time when Captain Lou asked him if he wanted to hear him play a song on the piano. Carl didn’t know that his father, with hands that had been damaged from his time in the ring, could play the piano. “He surprised me every day of his life,” said Carl.

The mix of well-known wrestlers, family, and local friends at Captain Lou’s funeral was evidence of the fact that he touched people in all walks of life during his 76 years on earth.

Captain Lou was not only big physically, but he was also a giant in terms of character. Although he was considered to be among the stars, he kept his feet firmly planted on earth. “We stand assured that God has another great wrestler in Heaven,” said Father Anthony Sorgie, the pastor at St. James.