By Mike Roe, Torch specialist

The following blog was originally published on 89.3 KPCC by Torch specialist Mike Roe, who is an Assistant Producer for the radio station based in Southern California. Read the original blog on Southern California Public Radio.

Pro wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano died this morning. There've been some untimely deaths in the wrestling industry, but Albano lived a rather full life, dying at age 76.

Albano is one of the personalities that crossed over into mainstream pop culture in the 1980s alongside Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. I'm someone who's watched pro wrestling over the years, and while I didn't get into it until later on, I knew who Captain Lou Albano was.

Albano gained his greatest fame and perhaps most lasting legacy by appearing in a number of Cyndi Lauper's music videos, such as "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," "She Bop," "Time After Time," and "Goonies 'R' Good Enough" (below):



Those music video appearances made him a big part of the early days of MTV (back when they still played videos all day), and MTV News covered Albano's death.

My early exposure personally to Albano was as the star of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, which I watched religiously as a child. You can view the show's intro and credits here:





His fame stretched far enough beyond the wrestling world that his death has been covered by major news organizations such as CNN, and top trending topics on Twitter currently include both "Captain Lou Albano" and "RIP Captain Lou."

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