I really am genuinely shocked, following the death of Capt. Lou Albano, that he was such a household name. I knew him as an obscure pro wrestling figure from the '70s and early '80s, I guess I sort of remembered his involvement in the Cyndi Lauper/Rock 'n' wrestling stuff, and being on the "Super Mario Bros" TV show... but it really appears that everyone I know knew who he was.
I agree with Jonathan Last:
It's striking looking at the contrast between some wrestlers, such as Albano or Andre the Giant or Ted Dibiase--who really do use the sport to live big, wonderful, only-in-America kind of lives--and others, like Jake Roberts or the Von Erichs, who just get used up by it. What's sad is how much the latter category outnumbers the former.What about Jesse Ventura? That might be the most only-in-America life of all. Posted by Stephen Silver at October 15, 2009 04:15 PM