Filed by KOSU News in US News.
October 14, 2009

Professional wrestler and pop culture icon Captain Lou Albano has died in New York. He was 76.

Wrestlers Rescue founder Dawn Marie says Albano died Wednesday of natural causes.

Alongside Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Albano helped bring wrestling to national prominence.

But it was a star turn as Cyndi Lauper’s father in the singer’s 1983 music video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” that catapulted him to pop icon status.

Wrestlers Rescue helped raise funds for Albano’s care after he was placed in hospice care.

An outsized personality, Albano had a taste for Hawaiian shirts and rubber bands hung from his cheek.

His sports career spanned nearly five decades. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press