Showbits

"Captain" Lou Albano — best known as a professional wrestler in the World Wide Wrestling Foundation, appearing as Cyndi Lauper's father in her "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, and for playing the title role in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! — passed away yesterday at the age of 76.

As noted when Showbits observed the passing of Bam Bam Bigelow, wrestlers rarely live a long and mellow life; the rigorous demands their profession places on their bodies leaves too little opportunity for such convalescence. For Mr. Albano to have lived to 76 is quite an achievement, and a well-deserved one. No matter his role on-screen or off, he always seemed like a genuinely nice guy — often imitated, never duplicated — as evidenced in this personable interview:

Best wishes, Captain Lou. May many angels join you in doing the Mario.

I recently confused someone when I used the word "clothesline" as a verb. I had to explain its wrestling etymology and how my knowledge of such came from a youth spent watching Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Junkyard Dog, and more.

I was surprised today to come across another name I hadn't thought of in a long time: Bam Bam Bigelow, who died yesterday at the age of 45. [Read his obituary]

His cause of death is yet undetermined, but I imagine the stress athletes' bodies endure — both from the nature of their profession, and from less scrupulous means of achieving an advantage — causes many such performers to be old before their time.

I've only ever attended one live wrestling event, and I found the commentary and close-ups provided by at-home television viewing to offer a superior experience. In that medium, wrestling can be very entertaining and dramatic, more so than daily soap operas, though still less refined and more predictable than some dramas.  I enjoyed the alliances, rivalries, and betrayals that wrestling portrayed in a physical, non-metaphorical fashion even my developing mind could grasp (even if some of them now constitute the annals of wrestling shame). Thanks, Bam Bam, for being a part of it.