"The Guiding Light": Deceased Artiste Capt. Lou Albano

Captain Lou Albano died the other day at the age of 76, and the world of pro wrestling has certainly lost one of its all-time greatest crazy characters. I got the opportunity to interview Lou, and he kept cameraman Arnold and I literally laughing from beginning to end, because the man was a performer, I tell ya. We had a lavalier microphone for him, but I don’t know *what* I was thinking, since Lou had to have the mic in his hand to do his business.

You can find various obits around the Web for Lou (didn’t know he was born in the Mother Country!), but I think the truest way to experience what he was about is just watching the man rant his ass off, ad-libbing complete insanity. And so…

Lou handles the mic work for “the Golden Terrror” (a guy named Pete Doherty):


At his best, telling off Vince McMahon and a booing crowd:


A calmer Lou, being interviewed with Greg “the Hammer” by Mean “BY GOD” Gene Okerlund:


Actually wrestling against the legendary Gorilla Monsoon:


Interesting moment where he “blades” himself (meaning, cuts himself lightly with a razor to produce the usual “crimson mask”):


Serving as manager for one of the greatest characters of the Seventies and Eighties, George “the Animal” Steele:


A clip chronicling the mighty war that Lou and Cindi Lauper raged against the evil forces of Rowdy Roddy Piper:


One more with Roddy. Here’s Chef Lou giving him a taste of some home cooking:


Here’s a great “Captain Lou’s wisdom” clip with McMahon quizzing Lou that the poster didn’t want embedded. Pfooey!

In his role as “Mario,” Lou warns kids not to do drugs because “you go to hell before you die” (!):


A MUST inclusion. Lou “does “the Mario” on The Super Mario Brothers Super Show:


Handing the torch to a new generation of madman, interviewing Mick Foley, aka Cactus Jack:


Lou holds forth on the subject of the origins of rock ’n’ roll:


The song that goes through my head EVERY TIME I think of Lou, NRBQ’s wonderful “Captain Lou”:


And finally, a lively bit from my interview with Lou:


To commemorate Lou’s passing, I’ve uploaded two other snippets of the conversation, including a favorite moment — when he was interrupted by a security guard, checking on the room we were in.

Full Chris Rush interview episode online

In my intermittent effort to post entire episodes on the Net, so that folks who don’t live in Manhattan can get an idea of what a full Funhouse show is like, this week I offer up the last episode, which was an in-depth interview with a “comedian’s comedian,” the wonderful, razor-sharp stand-up Chris Rush.

Chris is currently in the midst of developing a one-man show called Bliss at the theater at 45 Bleecker St. (called, wait for it, 45 Bleecker), which ties together all the threads of his comedy to date. His work is a fusion of quantum physics, Eastern mysticism, pop-culture insights and, well… pussy jokes (he uses the far-more-proper “T&A” during our interview). He also has a terrific ability to riff on pretty much any given topic, and did so in our chat. He’s a force of nature, and a comedian whose time has come. Thus, I give you… Chris Rush.

Part one, in which we discuss Chris’s leaving the Catholic church, his friendship with George Carlin, his opinions on the legalization of pot and drugs in society:


Part two includes Chris’s reflections on Lenny Bruce, the early days of National Lampoon (which he wrote for), and his singular and unique fascination with quantum physics:


Part three continues with Chris’s bit on Madison Avenue and the “accident” that Christ had….