History Wrestling / CaptainLouAlbano

* HeelFaceTurn: Thanks to Wrestling/RoddyPiper during an in-ring ceremony where Albano was being congratulated for his charity work. That charity work, by the way, was becoming publicized in the mainstream media, and because Wrestling/VinceMcMahon wanted only the faces to be recognized for their work, he – along with Piper and Cyndi Lauper – devised a storyline that sparked not only a legendary face turn, but Piper's legendary feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan and the coming of WrestleMania. Albano kept his MotorMouth persona, and at times Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon still called him a "Fountain Of Misinformation," but it was clear that Albano was a good guy to stay.

** A buccaneer before he changed his gimmick, Albano wasn't a great wrestler, but had a couple of high visibility runs in the northeast. In [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs the psychedelic era]], he switched gears to became a fast-talking huckster, which is what he's most known for.

* {{Irony}}: Although raised in the U.S., he was born in Italy[[note]]He soon moved with his parents back to the U.S.[[/note]] and was of Italian descent...just like [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]].

->''"Hey, Paisanos!"''

* BeardOfEvil -> BadassBeard: He initially declined the offer to star in the ''Super Mario Super Show'', citing a reluctance to shave his famous beard, but was eventually convinced.

The Wise Men of the East (sometimes billed as the "Triumvirate of Terror") managed the {{heel}}s in Vince [=McMahon=] Sr.'s [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]]. Wrestling/TheGrandWizard would manage up-and-comers, guys who could talk and finish the promo after he set it up. [[Wrestling/FreddieBlassie "Classy" Freddie Blassie]] got more heat than the Wizard because he managed turncoats and categorically-evil [[ForeignWrestlingHeel foreigners]], like the [[Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff Bolsheviks]] and [[Wrestling/TheIronSheik Iron Sheik]]. He would cut most if not all of the promos for them. Albano was arguably the best of the three. He managed a lot of [[WildSamoan Islanders]], so he would cut 100% of every promo. He also managed a lot of tag team champions. Hell, [[Wrestling/TheWildSamoans Afa and Sika]] got Title matches in Madison Square Garden against Wrestling/BobBacklund because Albano was ''that'' over as a heel.

* TheRival: Wrestling/BrunoSammartino, the one who suggested the Heel manager gimmick.

Outside of the wrestling world, he is best-known for playing [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] (both in live-action and animated segments) on ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' in 1989, holding the distinction of being the first actor for Mario to achieve widespread popularity[[note]]Mario had been played in both live-action and voiceover roles by a number of actors in both the US and Japan throughout the 80's, but none of them became as iconic as Captain Lou did[[/note]] and consequently setting a precedent for the role that would remain in place until 1996, when ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' popularized Creator/CharlesMartinet's rendition of the character[[note]]Martinet was cast in 1990 and had been officially voicing Mario since 1992, but had only made niche appearances in the role prior to ''Super Mario 64''[[/note]]. He also appeared as Lauper's fictional father in the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video.

Outside of the wrestling world, he is best-known for playing [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] (both in live-action and animated segments) on ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' in 1989, holding the distinction of being the first English-language actor and voice actor for Mario in officially sanctioned media and consequently setting a precedent for the role that would remain in place until Creator/CharlesMartinet was cast and started performing as Mario in 1992 (and even then, holdovers of the Captain Lou imitator era remained in place until ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' popularized Martinet's rendition in 1996). He also appeared as Lauper's fictional father in the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video.

Outside of the wrestling world, he is best-known for playing [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] (both in live-action and animated segments) on ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' in 1989. He also appeared as Lauper's fictional father in the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video.

The Wise Men of the East (sometimes billed as the "Triumvirate of Terror") managed the {{heel}}s in Vince [=McMahon=] Sr.'s [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]]. Wrestling/TheGrandWizard would manage up-and-comers, guys who could talk and finish the promo after he set it up. [[Wrestling/FreddieBlassie "Classy" Freddie Blassie]] got more heat than the Wizard because he managed turncoats and categorically-evil [[ForeignWrestlingHeel foreigners]], like the [[Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff Bolsheviks]] and [[Wrestling/TheIronSheik Iron Sheik]]. He would cut most if not all of the promos for them. Albano was the one with the biggest bulk of work. He managed a lot of [[WildSamoan Islanders]], so he would cut 100% of every promo. He also managed a lot of tag team champions. Hell, [[Wrestling/TheWildSamoans Afa and Sika]] got Title matches in Madison Square Garden against Wrestling/BobBacklund because Albano was ''that'' over as a heel.

* BadassGrandpa

* TalkShowWithFists: "Captain Lou's Corner," in Herb Abrams' UWF.

* BigFun: As a face. Averted when, after he left the WWF in 1986, came back in 1994 to co-manage the face-turned Headshrinkers with Afa in 1994, and had dropped a lot of weight during those 8 years.