NEW YORK (WPIX) -
Larger-than-life figure and pop culture icon Captain Lou Albano has died in New York. He was 76.
The man responsible for helping define the 80's as well as transform the gritty sport of pro-wrestling into a cult sensation, died Wednesday morning of natural causes, officials with WWE and Wrestler's Rescue confirmed.
It wasn't made clear what the exact cause of death was, but an official with Wrestler's Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for retired wrestler's health care, said Albano was placed under hospice care earlier this week.
Although many wrestling fans knew Albano from the ring, others knew him as the man who played Cyndi Lauper's father in the smash 1983 music video "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." The short cameo - single-handedly - catapulted him to pop icon status.
Albano, whose wrestling career spanned over 40 years, was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996. The seasoned veteran eventually found his true calling in the corner of the ring, managing other wrestlers for several years.
A native to Mount Vernon, New York, Albano reportedly spent his final days in his Mahopac home surrounded by loved ones.
The man responsible for helping define the 80's as well as transform the gritty sport of pro-wrestling into a cult sensation, died Wednesday morning of natural causes, officials with WWE and Wrestler's Rescue confirmed.
It wasn't made clear what the exact cause of death was, but an official with Wrestler's Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for retired wrestler's health care, said Albano was placed under hospice care earlier this week.
Although many wrestling fans knew Albano from the ring, others knew him as the man who played Cyndi Lauper's father in the smash 1983 music video "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." The short cameo - single-handedly - catapulted him to pop icon status.
Albano, whose wrestling career spanned over 40 years, was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996. The seasoned veteran eventually found his true calling in the corner of the ring, managing other wrestlers for several years.
A native to Mount Vernon, New York, Albano reportedly spent his final days in his Mahopac home surrounded by loved ones.
