#CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO MANAGER TV#

#CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO MANAGER TV#

Jackie Gleason brought in Arnold Skaaland, Skull Murphy, Tony Altimore, and Albano to work in a TV skit. He served as Vince Sr’s gatekeeper who tested out new talent. Karl Gotch could work, but he had limited charisma and showmanship. The Moondogs would piss on Albano for a rib. Lou once handed Afa a lobster during a promo – it was still alive and Afa was pissed that he had to bite into a live creature who was “fighting” back. Albano thinks it was Bill Eadie, but I believe Lou is thinking of the Machines angle in 1986. Lou was managing Big John Studd and Killer Kowalski under hoods, and a third man showed up. When asked about Jules Strongbow, Albano thinks the interviewer meant the old promoter and not the WWF tag champ and answers vaguely.Īlbano is asked about who was the 3 rd Executioner during an angle in the late 70’s. I should note the interviewer keeps asking Albano about wrestlers and instead of talking about his time working with the guy and perhaps stories about them, Lou is instead telling us where they live and what they now do.Ĭhief Jay Strongbow was called a “wop” by Albano, since both men are Italian, which makes the casual racism ok. The only miss was when a snowstorm killed off business in Boston one night. Lou Albano worked 57 times as a manager who was forced to wrestle, and 56 were sell outs. The gimmick where he wore rubber bands came from an incident where Lou saw a bum with a rubber band in his beard. Managing appealed to Albano because he was a good talker and this allowed him to get heat and take limited bumps, thus prolonging his career. George Steele talked with a lisp and that is partially why he had a gimmick where he cut limited promos. military vet and just played up ethnic stereotypes for heat.īlackjack Mulligan was a rugged football player for the New York Titans (Jets) before coming into the wrestling world. (This was filmed at a time where sex and violence was prominent.) The WWF is doing big business now, but Albano is not a fan of the product.

Gotch had real shooting ability comparable to Dr.

Karl Gotch was under Lou’s managerial eye. The first tag team champions Albano managed ended up being handed the titles after a made up tournament. The Captain worked with Jackie Gleason in a wrestling skit on “Your shows of shows”.Īlbano avoided taking drugs and never drove after drinking. They had a mob gimmick, but had to lose some of their garb because real members of the mob were upset at being represented in a negative light. It was there he formed the “Sicilians” with Tony Altimore. suggested Albano go to Chicago for a chance to expand his career. Lou got some work in Canada during the winter – it was a good promotion but the weather was brutal. After expenses he came away with 13 bucks for the day. He cried foul and ended up blackballed by Vince Sr.

Lou told his friends he was going to work on TV and they all assumed he would get maybe as much as a thousand bucks for being a TV “star”. Lou tried to lay out some spots for himself, but Rocca’s manager made it sternly clear that Albano was to not to get any offense. His “Captain” moniker came from college sports where he was a team captain before being kicked out of school for cheating on a test.Īntonio Rocca was Albano’s first TV opponent. His first gimmick was “Leaping” Lou Albano. Bruno liked Albano’s talking and suggested he become a manager. and how many times Lou ended up fired after drinking far too much.īruno Sammartino told Albano in the early 60’s that Lou wasn’t a good wrestler. Wrestling came next and Albano jumps quickly ahead and starts talking about Vince McMahon Sr. The Captain was in the army when he was given an early release due to having a “cracked spine” from an old football game. Lou jokes that he is a legend in his own mind and goes into his rap on all his champions over the years.Īlbano started with the WWF in the late 50’s and remained working for them for nearly 50 years.

Captain lou albano manager