Before Charles Martinet made Mario sound like an eccentric Italian ESL student from the land stereotypical accents, our 8-bit hero had another voice: Captain Lou Albano.

Captain Lou Albano, a former professional wrestler and actor (though never a sea captain), recently passed away at the age of 76 of natural causes. In the wake of his death, searches surged on the man and his unique body of work.

Lou Albano was a professional wrestling, a manager, an actor and more, but in 1989 most young gamers knew him only for his role as Mario on the Super Mario Bros Super Show. In contrast with Martinet's performance, Albano's Mario was a little more.. "Brooklyn" in accent. The show only lasted in syndication for one season, and although it was followed by a "Super Mario Bros. 3" show and a "New Super Mario World" cartoon, neither of these shows featured Mr. Albano.

Those of us who grew up with the show know it was cheesy and full of bad puns - but many still stick by Captain Lou Albano as the first, best, and true voice of Mario.

Wrestling fans know him as the WWE Hall of Famer who managed more than 50 wrestlers in his day, with more than two dozen championships won by athletes taken under his wing. 80's music fans might remember him from his appearances in many Cyndi Lauper music videos, including "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", "She Bop", "Time After Time" and "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough." As gamers, we of course remember him as the best live-action Mario of all time. That's not saying much when your chief competition is Bob Hoskins, but at least he was Italian. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! might have only run a grand total of 52 episodes, but that was more than enough to cement Captain Lou's place in gaming history.

Louis Vincent Albano was an American professional wrestler, manager and actor. With an over-the-top personality and a penchant for boisterous declarations, "Captain" Lou Albano was the epitome of the antagonistic manager that raised the ire of wrestlers and incited the anger of spectators. Throughout his 42-year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and four singles competitors to championship gold.A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, he was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects.

Albano's personal life :

During the 1990s, Albano shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005,Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered.

In 2008 he released his autobiography, "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated"with the foreword written by Cyndi Lauper.

Albano was one of five children born to Dr. Carmen Louis and Eleanor Albano, both deceased. The other Albano siblings are Vincent, George, Eleanor, and Carl.

Albano's brother, Carl, taught health for 32 years at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, NJ, and was head of the Ridgewood High health department from 1974 until 2001.Carl Albano's students have noted that he used his brother Lou as an example of the difference between crazy and unique.

Albano began his wrestling career in 1953 and rose to international fame, mostly as a manager, with the then-World Wrestling Federation, now called World Wrestling Entertainment.

He appeared in the first Wrestlemania at Madison Square Garden in 1985 and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996.

"World Wrestling Entertainment was saddened to learn of the passing of one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," a statement on the WWE Web site read.

Some nostalgic Fact:

There's a scene in the film "The Wrestler" where Mickey Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram" Robinson, cuts his forehead during a wrestling match to ramp up the gory effects.

George Albano drew parallels to the film Wednesday, recalling how his iconic older brother, Louis Albano, cut his head with a razor hundreds of times to earn a "few extra bucks" as a professional wrestler.

In memories :

"He loved wrestling, but it was the most abusive profession you could imagine," said George Albano, principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon. "It's a hard way to make a living."

"I remember the kinder and gentler side of him," he said. "My dad died when I was 13, so Lou became my second father. He was someone who would never, never not help someone."

Albano died at 3:30 a.m on Wednesday of "natural causes" under hospice care in his Carmel home surrounded by his wife of 56 years, Geraldine, and his family. He was 76.

He suffered a series of health ailments over the years, including heart valve replacement and more recently a stroke following hip replacement surgery, his son, Louis Albano said."A lot of his complications were from wrestling," his son said.

He is survived by his wife Geri, 4 children, and 14 grandchildren.

The team of 13above.com would like to send our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Captain Lou.

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The following are lists of some notable personalities who intentionally terminated their own lives. Suicides committed under duress are included. Individuals who might have died by their own hand, or whose intention to die is in dispute, but who are widely believed to have deliberately killed themselves are listed under Possible suicides.

1.Ahn Jae-hwan (April 25, 1972 – September 8, 2008) :

Ahn Jae-hwan (April 25, 1972 – September 8, 2008) was a South Korean actor.

His wife was comedienne Jung Sun-hee.

Ahn was found dead in his car on September 8, but the exact time of his death has not been
revealed. It is considered to be a case of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.He was 36 years old.

2.Timothy Douglas "Tim" Carter (5 October 1967 – 19 June 2008) :

Timothy Douglas "Tim" Carter (5 October 1967 – 19 June 2008) was a retired football goalkeeper. He was a goalkeeping coach at the time of his death.

Carter's body was found by a passerby on 19 June 2008, in bushes in the Highfield Close area of
Stretford, Greater Manchester. Emergency services were called, and he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at midday. His death is not being treated as suspicious.Sources stated that Carter's body was found with a rope around the neck and it is believed he had committed suicide.

3. Choi Jin-sil (December 24, 1968 – October 2, 2008) :

Choi Jin-sil (December 24, 1968 – October 2, 2008) was a South Korean actress and model. She was considered as one of the best actresses in South Korea, nicknamed "The Nation's Actress".On October 2, 2008, Choi was found dead at her home, and the police chief stated that it was "a clear case of suicide".It has been speculated that negative comments by Korean netizens and rumors regarding her lending money to Ahn Jae-hwan contributed to Choi's depressed state.

4.Edward "Eddie" Davidson (1973 – July 24, 2008) :

Edward "Eddie" Davidson (1973 – July 24, 2008), also known as "the Spam King," was an American e-mail marketer who from July 5, 2002 through April 15, 2007 conducted a Colorado business using the name Power Promoters. The primary nature of Davidson's business consisted of providing promotional services for companies by sending large volumes of unsolicited commercial electronic messages ("spamming"). The spamming was designed to promote the visibility and sale of products offered by various companies. Davidson utilized the services and assistance of other individuals whom he hired as "sub-contractors" to provide spamming at his direction on behalf of his client companies.
Davidson walked away from a federal prison camp in Florence on July 20, 2008. He was subsequently found dead in Arapahoe County, Colorado on the morning of July 24, 2008, after reportedly killing his wife and three-year-old daughter who was strapped to a car seat, in an apparent murder-suicide.His 16-year-old daughter was also shot, but has survived, while his 7 month old son remained unharmed.

5.Clifford Davies (c.1948 – April 13, 2008) :

Clifford Davies (c.1948 – April 13, 2008) was a British drummer, songwriter and producer.

After receiving tuition from pipe band drummer Jock Cree, and playing local gigs in the Aldershot area, in the early 70s he went on to join the second incarnation of British jazz-rock band If from 1972 and 1975, playing on four albums by the band and contributing many of their songs. Following If's break-up, Davies joined US hard rock guitarist Ted Nugent from 1975 to 1982 as drummer, producer and/or co-producer of all Nugent's recordings over those years, in collaboration with Lew Futterman, who had also produced If.
Clifford Davies was found dead in his home in Atlanta on April 13, 2008. He died from a self
inflicted gun shot wound.Reed Beaver, the owner of Equametric Studio where Davies was employed as chief engineer, reported that Davies called him the night before his body was found and was "extremely distraught" over medical bills.

6.Johnny Jackson (August 28, 1969 - October 3, 2008) :

Johnny Jackson (August 28, 1969 - October 3, 2008),commonly known in the music industry as Johnny "J", was a multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper who was perhaps best remembered for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, as well as many of Shakur's subsequent posthumous albums.He was born in Juárez, Mexico, in 1969 and raised in South Central Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment.

According to his own MySpace page, Johnny J died on October 3, 2008 at the age of 39.While serving a sentence for DWI in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility located in Los Angeles, California, he allegedly jumped off an upper tier of the prison in an apparent suicide.

7.Anders Göthberg (born October 9, 1975 - died March 30, 2008) :

Anders Göthberg (born October 9, 1975 - died March 30, 2008) was a Swedish guitarist.
Göthberg played guitar for Broder Daniel and Honey Is Cool. He lived his latter life in Stockholm
with his girlfriend, artist Paola Bruna. Göthberg committed suicide by jumping from Västerbron in Stockholm.

8.Brandi Hawbaker (1982 - April 13, 2008) :

Brandi Hawbaker (1982 - April 13, 2008) was an American professional poker player. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hawbaker started her career in the late 1990's and relocated to Los Angeles, California. During her career, she had four cashes for a total of $40,389, with her biggest being at the World Poker Tour's Festa Al Lago V in October, 2006. She was known for her controversial nature and attractiveness.

Hawbaker committed suicide in April 2008.According to friend and former boyfriend Brandon Gerson, she suffered from a "very serious untreatable mental illness" and had visited doctors in several states seeking help within the last year-and-a half.

9.Jeff Fehring (21 April 1955 – 25 July 2008) :

Jeff Fehring (21 April 1955 – 25 July 2008) was an Australian rules footballer who played for
Geelong and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (as the AFL was then known) from 1977 to
1981.Fehring's VFL career was over at the end of the 1981 season. He became a cattle farmer after marrying in 1984, but with water prices affected by drought, he was forced to sell his farm and livestock and move to Alexandra where it was hoped there would be more rain. Despite working several jobs, Fehring lost his emu and cattle farm, and his marriage. Taking custody of his two children, he moved to Darwin briefly, before buying a pub and hotel in Deniliquin in southern New South Wales. That business also failed, and beset by health problems including Type 2 diabetes and recurring heart problems, Fehring committed suicide on 25 July 2008.

10.Youssef Sjoerd Idilbi (Drachten, May 7, 1976 – Amsterdam, May 15, 2008) :

Idilbi studied theater in Groningen and Amsterdam. His television debut came in 1999, with the role of Abdullah Yildirem in the series Westenwind. He also played in Russen (2001–2002) and Onderweg naar morgen (2002–2003), and in the West Frisian language series Dankert en Dankert.Idilbi committed suicide on May 15, 2008, by jumping off the roof of the Theater School in Amsterdam.

There is a common resemblance among all of them...can you tell me that ?

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