R.I.P. Mario

Captain Lou Albano, a.k.a. the best damn Mario EVER, died today. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the Super Mario Super Show. As a matter of fact, I loved it to death. To death I mean, watched every episode (including the Zelda cartoons, which I like too), buying every possible cassette they had out, and yes, I "did the Mario" A LOT. I used to do this everywhere I went....school, home, even the bathroom and it annoyed the hell out of everyone.

If by now you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, here's a history lesson. The Super Mario Bros Super Show was every young Mario fan's wet dream come true, right after Super Mario Bros 3 of course. A two-decade old show starring every kid's favorite pair of sibling plumbers. Each episode had a live segment and a cartoon, usually the live-segment was split into two with the cartoon in the middle. Lou Albano and Davis Wells played and voiced Mario and Luigi respectively.

The live portions circles around the plumbers misadventures in Brooklyn with an oddball cast and stranger selection of guest stars including Dracula, Tina Turner, Mario's mom, Luigi's mom and Lou Albano as himself. The plots were cheesy and the actors were even cheesier but when everything's all said and done, Lou and Davis made it worth our wild. Up to this day, I haven't heard anyone top Lou's performance and it's a shame Nintendo didn't hire Lou to be the official voice of Mario. In retrospective, it was Albano and Davis that made their alter egos such likable characters to children all across the country and in turn, transformed Mario and Luigi into household name. In short, I may not have known the wrestler, but I loved the plumber.

So, until next time everybody.....DO THE MARIO!



RIP Lou (1933 - 2009)