Back in the '80s, Captain Lou Albano was something of a staple on MTV. Obviously, he starred in four videos for superstar Cyndi Lauper, including the iconic "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." But he was also on the network as a wrestling personality. In 1984 and '85 — the era leading up to the very first Wrestlemania — Albano appeared regularly on wrestling programming hosted by MTV. In fact, the network even aired two live wrestling events (one called "The Brawl to End it All," the other dubbed "The War to Settle the Score") that did record numbers for the still-young cable channel.
Like the greatest pro wrestling personalities — Hulk Hogan, the Rock, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin among them — Albano understood that promotion was king, and that television was the most powerful tool available. He saw the rise of music videos as a form and got involved, knowing full well that any sort of exposure to a young audience was positive.
In an MTV News special taped prior to "The Brawl to End it All" (which saw Albano and Lauper send two female wrestlers to represent them in a head-to-head battle of the sexes), Albano and Piper turned a debate into a throwdown. In between throwing fake punches and cutting promos on Lauper, manager Dave Wolff and MTV News host Alan Hunter, he was directed the crew on how to best capture the fight for maximum television effect. Even during down time (but while the cameras were still rolling), he was always plotting out new angles or trying out new lines. For Albano, the show never ended, and it was that philosophy that made him a legend not only in wrestling but also in music and on TV.
The entertainment world is mourning the loss of Captain Lou Albano, one of the most charismatic people ever to step into a wrestling ring. Albano became a household name during the rise of the WWF in the early 1980s, as his professional relationship with Cyndi Lauper put him on television outside of wrestling events. But he not only brought wrestling to the people, but he also brought people to wrestling. Case in point: The WWF (now WWE) used to have a pretty regular working relationship with MTV. The network hosted a number of original shows (including "WWE Tough Enough" and "Sunday Night Heat"), and back in the original Wrestlemania era, MTV actually aired live wrestling events, both of which involved Albano and Lauper.
The first event, "The Brawl to End It All," aired in 1984 and featured a Women's Championship match between Wendi Richter and the Fabulous Moolah. The show was broadcast live from Madison Square Garden in New York and, at the time, was the highest-rated show in MTV's young history. The following year, the network aired "The War to Settle the Score," which featured a high-profile main event between Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. In the main event, Piper attacked Lauper and was saved by Mr. T. The incident set up the main event of Wrestlemania, which saw Hogan and Mr. T square off against Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. After the match, Mr. T, Hogan, Lauper, Albano and Andy Warhol (who had an MTV show called "15 Minutes" at the time) all retired to the locker room for the aftermath. Check out the video of said aftermath, and observe Albano's incredible promotional skills: During his rant, he manages to praise Hogan, defend Lauper, attack Piper and set up the main event for what became one of the biggest events in history.
Sad news today, as Louis Vincent Albano — known to the entertainment world as Captain Lou Albano — passed away this morning at the age of 76 according to WWE's official Web site. Albano is best known to people in the professional wrestling world, where he was an integral part of the rise of the WWF in the early 1980s. As both a wrestler and a manager, Albano was a profoundly charismatic man who cut a great promo and had an incredible presence, which allowed him to cross over into other areas of the entertainment world and was one of the reasons that the very first Wrestlemania in 1985 was so successful.
One of the most important entertainment alliances Albano made was with Cyndi Lauper, who was at her commercial peak when she teamed up with Captain Lou. She appeared on WWF programming leading up to Wrestlemania, and in turn Albano played Lauper's father in a handful of her most famous music videos. In "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," Albano plays the fatherly foil to Lauper's carefree spirit, and she even puts him in a hammer lock in the video. (According to the "Pop-Up Video" version of the clip, the original plan was to dress George "The Animal" Steele up in drag and cast him as Lauper's mother, a role that ended up going to Lauper's actual mother.)
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is delightfully wacky, but it's nothing compared to the mind-blowing three minutes that is the video for "Goonies 'R' Good Enough." Read more...
We always sort of figured that David Boreanaz had some sort of hidden talent. Considering his performance of Barry Manilow's "Mandy" on "Angel," we figured there was an untapped well of musical talent lurking somewhere below the exterior. We just didn't realize he was a rapper. That is until he started sharing how Cyndi Lauper is guest-starring on the "Bones" season premiere tonight, that's when we stumbled on his other secret skill.
"We have Cyndi Lauper in our first episode," he explained to MTV News, adding that she was chosen after co-star Emily Deschanel sang one of her songs during a previous episode of "Bones." "How cool is that? She plays a tarot-card reader. She was fantastic. Are you kidding me?"
And although Boreanaz has never crooned on "Bones," he did tell us he sang with Lauper while on set. "I sang with her, like in between takes. Just stuff. A little Sinatra, nothing too heavy," he said. "I rapped for her, but she didn't like my rap."
We tried to get Boreanaz to rap for little old us, but all he would say is that "it's disturbing" and that we wouldn't want to see it. Doesn't he realize that disturbing really works on a Thursday? Why else would we always watch the one-two punch of "Bones" and "Fringe"?
On Saturday (July 18), Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder and Queen Latifah helped celebrate Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The superstars paid tribute to Mandela's life and work with a combination of their own songs and collaborations with African musicians. Though Mandela was not present, he sent a video message thanking everybody for their support and encouraging everybody to continue to fight for justice. President Obama sent a video message to similar effect.
The evening's accidental highlight came when Cyndi Lauper stepped on stage to duet with Lil' Kim on Lauper's "Time After Time." It was a groovy version of the song, featuring a little Lauper freestyle at the end.
Since we posted about 50 Cent skipping out on Wrestlemania down below, it got one of our producers, Andrew Millard, thinking about one of the more bizarre segments in the MTV News vaults.
Andrew writes:
Any wrestling story is an excuse to dust off some of the classic WWF footage we have in our library. Witness the post match interview from 1985's "The War To Settle The Score" - the precursor to Wrestlemania I. It features Mean Gene Okerlund interviewing an extremely agitated Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Capt. Lou Albano and Cyndi Lauper. Oh, and also pro-wrestling's least likely fan, Andy Warhol.
Seriously? Yeah, Seriously. It's like someone made the whole thing up.
