The life and times of history’s most prolific tough guy

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With his large collection of gold chains and a mohawk, Mr. T. was one of the
most memorable individuals in the 1980’s.
Many people remember the legacy of Mr. T. on “The A-Team” as Sergeant
Bosco “B.A.” Baracus. But, there is more to Mr. T than the A-Team
and his sudden comeback in 1-800-COLLECT commercials.
Mr. T was born as Laurence Tureaud on May 21, 1952 in the ghetto area of southside
Chicago. His father left the family when he was five, and they lived in dire
straits after that. An average student in school, he was fairly well-behaved
in his time growing up, and went on to be a football star at Prarie View A&M
University in Texas, but was thrown out in a year’s time.
Since then, T has been in and out of the public eye.
He has twice been named “America’s Toughest Bouncer,” and at
one point was a bodyguard for the great Muhammed Ali. He is also the father
of three children— Lisa, 29; Erika, 21; and T junior, 14.
Mr. T started out his career on the screen with a special guest appearance in
the television series “Diff’rent Strokes” as himself. He went
on to star in a movie called “Penitentiary II” as himself. From there,
he went on to his famous appearance in “Rocky III,” and then to his
most famed spot on “The A-Team.”
T also starred in “D.C. Cab” (aka “Street Fleet”) as Samson,
“The Toughest Man in the World” as Bruise Brubaker, “Be Somebody
or Be Somebody’s Fool!” as himself, “Freaked” (aka “Hideous
Mutant Freekz”) as The Bearded Lady, “The Magic of the Golden Bear:
Goldy III” as Freedom, “Spy Hard” as the Helicopter Pilot, and
in “Inspector Gadget” and “Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie
Murphy” as Mister Robinson’s Neighbor. He will also be featured in
“Apocalypse IV: Judgment,” a movie where the devil arrives on Earth
and tries to prove that Jesus never existed.
Mr. T was in in a couple television series besides “The A-Team,” such
as “Mister T” and in “T and T” as T.S. Turner.
He also dabbled in the pro wrestling syndicate for a while, taking his tough
attitude and massive strength to the ring as himself. He was Hulk Hogan’s
tag team partner in the first Wrestlemania, beating the team of Paul Orndorff
and Rowdy Roddy Piper. The feud with Piper carried on to Wrestlemania II, where
he beat him in a boxing match by disqualification. He returned to WWF in 1987
as a guest referee, and then disappeared from the wrestling scene.
He reappeared seven years later just in time to be a special guest referee for
the match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. After this, he stayed with Hogan
for a few match-ups, and then disappeared from wrestling on a permanent basis.
Mr. T has also made several guest appearances on television shows, playing himself
in “Blossom,” “Suddenly Susan,” and “Martin.”

Mr. T is one of the most memorable individuals of the 1980s. From the numerous
fan pages on the Internet (see side story) and the many screen appearances he
has had, to his roaring comeback in the present day, an appetite for Mr. T is
sure to never go unsatisfied.