Source: WWE.com
For most of the WWE Universe, Captain Lou Albano remains a frantic and shrewd character with bombast pouring from behind that wiry, salt-and-pepper beard and trademark rubberbands. For those who knew the jovial figure beyond the flickering television screen, however, an overriding theme emerges: Captain Lou was a man with a buoyant sense of humor, a man who savored a hearty laugh and who enjoyed making others laugh with him. Herewith, a few of those who knew Captain Lou share memories of their friend:
WWE HALL OF FAMER PEDRO MORALES
“I think Lou was a heck of a guy. He kept us laughing all the time and had us on our toes with his quick wit. I liked him very much, and he will be missed.”
ECW SUPERSTAR TOMMY DREAMER
“Captain Lou was very instrumental in my career. In 1979, the first wrestling match that I ever saw on television was Bob Backlund vs. Bulldog Brower, and managing Brower was Captain Lou. I’ve been hooked ever since. Now as a part of the business, Captain Lou did his job, because as a little kid I hated him. Then, meeting him later on in my career, I was in awe of him. He was just a regular dude and was also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. He was certainly one of the greatest managers of all time and transcended many forms of entertainment in his career.”
WWE HALL OF FAMER CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW
“There was only one Captain Lou. I think that, bar none, he was one of the best managers that WWE has ever had. He had a special knack in getting his charges over; he knew how to do it.”
WWE HALL OF FAMER HANDSOME JIMMY VALIANT
“Lou’s passing is a loss not only for wrestling fans, but also for the people that knew him personally and worked with him inside the squared circle. The Captain, Luscious Johnny Valiant and myself got together in 1974 and won the World Wide Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship soon thereafter. The Captain had a whistle around his neck when we all came to the ring, and he drove the fans crazy with the constant blowing of it, which was meant to be signals for Johnny and myself to take it up a notch. Lou actually drove us crazy with it as well, yet it was for all the right reasons.”
WWE HALL OF FAMER PAT PATTERSON
“Lou was quite the character. He knew how to manage his men, although sometimes you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth when he talked about them. He made all of us laugh and was a fun person to be around.”
WWE HALL OF FAMER AFA of THE WILD SAMOANS
“There aren’t enough minutes in the day to talk about one of the greatest managers and greatest men that I’ve ever known — as a friend, as a father, however you want to put it.
One of the things I remember well is when he managed my brother and I in a match in Oakland, Cal. He was the special referee and he did a fast count on us — he was turning on us. In the back, my sister jumped all over him, beat him up and really worked him over because he turned his back on us. That’s something that stuck in my mind for a long time. Often he and I would sit there and talk about it and laugh for a long time.
He also tried to make everyone happy. That’s just the kind of guy he was – just a great human being, always making people laugh. It was very bad for me because his family called me right away when he passed. It was hard. He’ll be very, very missed.”
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