Beloved Wrestler and Actor “Captain” Lou Albano Dies Oct 15, 200911:34 PDT

Thursday, October 15, 2009.

One of the most diverse fan bases of any wrestler in history is mourning the loss of Captain Lou Albano. Also, Country superstar Garth Brooks has announced he’s coming out of retirement to make more music. This is your Daily Surf Report, using the best videos on the web to keep you abreast of the day’s top stories.

So Long, Captain Lou

For a wrestler, a career spanning fifty years is unimaginable. And yet, by pursuing opportunities outside the squared circle, Captain Lou Albano had just that, and in the process changed wrestling forever. Louis Vincent Albano passed away in upstate New York yesterday at the age of 76. Although his career as a wrestler began in small arenas in Canada in 1952, playing the “villain” and playing to the audience by pretending to have mob ties, several events in the 1980’s would make Albano a pioneer, without whom the careers of wrestlers-turned-actors like The Rock and John Cena would not have been possible.

In the early 80’s, professional wrestling (then organized as the WWF, now the WWE) had a loyal fanbase but the public recognition of, say, roller derby. While several factors contributed to wrestling’s sudden rise to prominence, including charismatic personalities such as Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, it was Captain Lou who gave the WWF it’s first and biggest push into the spotlight with his appearance in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” video.

As wrestling’s popularity exploded, Captain Lou was a fixture for the ride, even appearing as himself in a WWF Saturday morning cartoon.

As times changed, Albano continued to adapt, once again finding a new relevance and fan base by taking acting roles and signing on to be the first voice of Mario in the Super Mario Brothers cartoon.

While several wrestlers have large fan bases, and some have transcended the sport to take roles as action heroes in films or, for Hogan, even have their own reality series, perhaps none has ever had as broad and diverse a following as Captain Lou Albano. By wrestling fans, music fans, video game fans, and more, Captain Lou will be missed.

Brooks Not Done

The best selling solo music artist in history has decided to come out of retirement. Garth Brooks, a legend in country music who in the early 90’s dominated the charts in a way previous accomplished by only The Beatles and Michael Jackson before him, retired from the spotlight in 2001 to spend time with his daughters.

Details of his return are currently sparse, but insiders are speculating on a four month run of shows at Las Vegas’ Wynn casino. Further details are expected to be announced this week.

The Daily Surf Report is your daily primer of the world in video. Check back every weekday for the best video highlights of the day’s top stories. Looking for more videos? Click on the links!