KEN RESNICK & BILL APTER REMEMBER LOU ALBANO, WHY HE WORE RUBBER BANDS AND MORE

Apter and Resnick on Albano's Rubber Band Face Rings, His Legendary Drinking, and More On the latest edition of Wrestling with History, Bill Apter and Ken Resnick talked about their time with WWE Hall of Famer ‘Captain’ Lou Albano.  They touched on his early career, his love of drinking, the reason for his rubber bands, and much more.  Here are some highlights: Resnick on King Curtis’ run in the WWF managing Kamala:  “He would kind of come in and do his interviews.  He was kind of a wild and crazy guy.  It got to the point where in the interview room, they would bring him in, (have him) do his interviews, and then take him back to the dressing room because he would distract the other guys.  Sometimes we would be doing an interview and he would be trying to tell someone a story and you could hear him laughing and we’d have to do it over again." Resnick on Albano drinking and dropping his pants during TV Tapings:  “(He was) gregarious, welcoming, fun loving… Lou was a great storyteller; (he) was great on the interviews (with) whoever he was managing.  For anybody that knew and spent any time around Lou, you generally had to do his interviews early before he was able to get time with whatever flask he had in his bag.  Lou pretty much wore his Hawaiian shirt and sweatpants; that was Lou’s attire 99% of the time.  As the day progressed and Lou would pop in and out of the interview room, Lou would have a habit of somehow losing those sweatpants in front of somebody in the middle of an interview… There were so many times when those sweatpants were down around his ankles and he was basically (naked).” Apter on Albano’s career aspirations:  “He wanted to be like Bruno (early in his career) but he wound up being one of Bruno’s most hated rivals… Albano, the (Grand) Wizard, and Fred Blassie were constantly feeding guys to try and beat either Bruno or Pedro Morales back then, and Albano was involved in one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history – the night that Ivan Koloff beat Bruno Sammartino in front of 21,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.  Albano was the manager (of Ivan Koloff).” Apter on Albano being part of the WWWF office:  “He was actually not an official part of Vince Sr’s office, but he was an unofficial part (of the office).  He used to hang out with Vince, Gorilla, and Arnold Skaaland at the old Holland Hotel wrestling office; they would all smoke and play cards and everything, and he was part of that group.” Apter on why Albano wore the rubber band earrings on his face:  “He was very strong into the fight against multiple sclerosis with Cyndi Lauper.  He said that he would wear these things in his cheeks until (MS) was cured.” Wrestling with History drops every Wednesday afternoon on the VOC Nation Wrestling Network Podcast Feed. Link to the episode: https://vocnation.com VOC Nation takes you behind the scenes of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history. Notable show hosts include legendary pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter, former WWE/TNA star Shelly Martinez, former WWE and AWA broadcaster Ken Resnick, former NWA champion Manny Fernandez,  former WCW performer The Maestro, former TNA Impact talent Wes Brisco, Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Brady Hicks, independent pro wrestling and Fireball Run star Sassy Stephie, and more! Since 2010, VOC Nation has brought listeners into the minds of the biggest stars in pro wrestling and entertainment.  Subscribe to the podcasts for free on most major directories, and visit vocnation.com for live programming.

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