“Captain” Lou Albano, who became one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the 1980s after appearing in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video, died Wednesday. He was 76.
Albano, whose real name was Louis Vincent Albano, died in Westchester County in suburban New York, said Dawn Marie, founder of Wrestlers Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for the health care of retired wrestlers. He died of natural causes, Marie said.
With his trademark Hawaiian shirts, wiry goatee and rubber bands hung like piercings from his cheek, Albano was an outsize personality. World Wrestling Entertainment called him one of the company’s “most popular and charismatic legends.”
Singer Al Martino, who played the Frank Sinatra-type role of Johnny Fontane in “The Godfather,” died Tuesday afternoon at his childhood home. He was 82.
Publicist Sandy Friedman, of the Rogers &Cowan public relations firm, confirmed Martino’s death in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, in Delaware County, but didn’t cite a cause.
Starting in 1952, Martino was known for hit songs including “Here in My Heart,” “Spanish Eyes,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Volare.”
Besides acting in the Marlon Brando classic “The Godfather,” Martino sang “I Have But One Heart (O Marenariello)” in the 1972 film.
Martino was born in South Philadelphia as Alfred Cini and was a longtime resident of Beverly Hills, Calif.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
