He was a Father, an actor, a soldier, and even a famous wrestler and manager in the WWF, but we’ll remember him best for being a plumber. A very large, very eccentric plumber who experimented with rubber band facial piercings.

Today we mourn the passing of Louis Vincent Albano due to natural causes. He is survived by his wife, their 4 children and 14 grandchildren. Our condolences to them on behalf of all of our staff.

As he goes towards the light at the end of the sewer pipe and moves on to the next level, our thoughts also go out to his brother Luigi and his longtime companion, Princess Peach.

On a more serious note… the person who comes up with the most creative alternate headline or opening sentence for this post in the comments below, will get some sort of Nintendo-related swag (still to be determined, but it will be worth your effort) and a free t-shirt from our sister site, GameAlmighty.

Update: We have decided we will accept poems/hiakus, and illustrations too. Anything creative related to the passing. (And be sure your profile contains your correct email address so we can contact you in the event that you win.)