HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Captain Lou Albano, one of the most colorful personalities in professional wrestling history, was pronounced dead Wednesday. He was 76.
According to the Miami Herald, Albano died while he was under hospice care. An official cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Albano began his wrestling career in 1953 in Canada after attending the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship. He soon teamed up with Tony Altimore and the duo became known as "The Sicilians."
Albano went on to become a successful manager of champion wrestlers in the 1970s and is widely credited with creating the first "Wrestlemania" in 1985.
The New York native was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
"He was often imitated but never duplicated, and he certainly will never be forgotten either," the WWE said in a statement. "One of the company's most popular and charismatic legends, he will be greatly missed."
Albano was also widely recognized for playing Cyndi Lauper's dad in the popular 1980s video "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
Photo credit: © WWE
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