Man of men, God of gods

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY MR. T!

Mr. T was born Laurence Tureaud on 21 May 1952 in the rough southside ghetto area of Chicago. He is the second to youngest of twelve children (he has four sisters and seven brothers) and grew up in the housing projects of Chicago. His father left when he was 5, and his mother raised the family on $87 a month welfare in a three-room apartment. Mr. T's brothers encouraged him to build up his body in order to survive in the area, and he has commented, "If you think I'm big, you should see my brothers!" His mother is a religious woman, who has had a strong influence on him. He says, "Any man who don't love his momma can't be no friend of mine."
He was an average student in school. "Most of the time," he says, "I stared out the windows, just daydreaming. I didn't study much because I have a photographic memory." Apart from one spell between 5th and 7th grades when he went a little astray -- playing hookey, cursing, acting tough, being disrespectful -- he was a well-behaved child. (He worried about how his mother would feel if he ended up in jail, and stayed out of trouble!) He attended Dunbar Vocational High School.
He was a college football star, studied martial arts, and was three times city wrestling champion! He won a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Texas, but was thrown out after a year -- after that he went to a couple of little colleges in Chicago, always on an athletic scholarship.
When he left college, Mr. T was a military policeman in the US Army. After that, he was invited to try out for the Green Bay Packers, but a knee injury finished his professional football career. He became a 'minder', and remained largely in that profession for about nine years. He has bodyguarded such stars as Muhammed Ali, Leon Spinks, Michael Jackson, Steve McQueen, Diana Ross and LeVar Burton. He charged about $3,000 a day (more for 'special' jobs) and his business card reads, 'Next to God, there is no better protector than I'. He boasts that he never lost a client. Of the job he says, "I got hurt worse growing up in the ghetto than working as a bodyguard." He believed in having a very professional attitude toward the job, preventing trouble from even starting rather than having to sort it out once it had. "I was a very dapper dresser," he recalls. "I shaved my head, wore derby hats, white gloves, 3-piece suits, carried a cane. I never went any place without a fresh carnation or a rosebud in my lapel."
When he wasn't working as a bodyguard, he filled in by working as a bouncer. One job he had was at Dingbat's club in Chicago. Club owner Ron Riskman says, "He was always very smartly dressed and he shaved his head completely bald. He'd confront trouble makers and say to them, "It's only fair to warn you that my patience is as long as the hair on my head." Most of them would get pretty quiet after that."
He changed his name in 1970 by deed poll to Laurence Tero, and later to Mr. T in order that people would HAVE to address him as "Mr."
It was whilst reading "National Geographic" that Mr. T first saw the hairstyle for which he is now famous -- on a Mandinka warrior. He felt that adopting the style was a powerful statement about his origins.
In 1975 he worked for a while on the Chicago educational scheme as a gym teacher. In 1978 he decided to do something definite about his religious beliefs and was rebaptised in the Cosmopolitan Community Church in Chicago.
In 1982, Mr. T was 'spotted' by Sylvester Stallone; he was on the TV show "Games People Play," taking part in "The World's Toughest Bouncer" contest -- tossing two stuntmen about quite casually! His role in "Rocky III" was originally intended as just a few lines, but Stallone built up the part around the man. Mr. T
also appeared in another boxing film, "Penitentiary 2," and in a cable TV special, "Bizarre," before accepting the role of B.A. in "The A-Team."
Mr. T is 5'11" tall, and weighs somewhere between 216 lb and 237 lb (the former is the lightest report I've encountered, the latter is his fighting weight given in the second bout in "Rocky III.") That gold jewelry IS real, and is worth around $300,000. He was reported to earn around $80,000 a week for his role in the A-Team, though, and gets $15,000 for a personal appearance, so he can afford to support his eccentricity! His earrings are specially made so that they won't damage his ears if they are caught during a fight (they'll just slip free), and he wears seven because of the religious significance of the numbers 3, 4, and 7. It takes him about an hour to put it on, incidentaly, and most nights he cleans it in an ultrasonic cleaner...although some nights he sleeps in it "to see how my ancestors, who were slaves, felt." He gives much the same response if asked if it is
heavy--nobody ever asked those enslaved ancestors if THEIR chains are heavy! He has a point.
He makes little effort, he claims, to keep his body in shape, and is a confirmed junk food addict-- triple-decker hamburgers have been mentioned! He currently lives alone in a tower block apartment in the
Westwood area of Los Angeles. He spends a great deal of time with his family in Chicago, however, and with his 13-year-old daughter Lesa (the result of a teenage love affair) who lives there with her mother.
He is very active in community work, and is often to be found in MacLaren Hall, Los Angeles, a shelter for abused children because, he says, "There's no telling how many lives you can turn around." He is very conscious of his responsibility toward the children who admire him and never drinks, smokes or takes drugs of any kind. He refuses to take any acting role that casts him as 'bad', and isn't keen on doing what he refers to as 'mushy scenes.' "My style," he says, "is always a hungry fighter."
In the break between seasons of The A-Team, Mr. T had been making a low-budget comedy movie, "DC Cab," which also stars Gary Busey and Musical Youth. In it, he plays a taxi driver who protects kids from hoods. Also in the works is "Rev T," in which he plays a garbage collector who lauches a neighborhood compaign against drugs and crime. NBC is also making a series of cartoons based on 'the adventures of Mr. T.' He has made several guest appearances; one in "Silver Spoons" (which we don't get in the UK), and in the season opener of "Diff'rent Strokes." In the latter, the A-Team spends the week filming in the Drummond Apartment, and little Arnold has an identity crisis when he learns that his new girlfriend is only using him to meet Mr. T. He attempts to emulate his idol (he looks ridiculous with a Mandinka!) and is told, firmly, "You gotta be your own original." That's probably Mr. T's most valuable statement.
For the future, Mr. T hopes to become a preacher in about five years' time. When asked at a Press conference whether he is as thick as B.A. Baracus, he observed (quietly, because he usually DOES speak
quietly!), "It takes a smart guy to play dumb."

The Mr. T Timeline


1952 - May 21, Mr. T is born Lawrence Tureaud - later changed by his father to Lawrence Tero- in the South Side of Chicago.
1953-56
1957 - Mr. T starts 1st grade in Kankakee, IL; his family is so poor he cannot afford a rug for nap time.
1958-65
1966 - Mr. T enters Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School on the South Side of Chicago.
1967-69 - Mr. T wrestles for the school team; he is City Champ for two straight years, sets the record for fastest pin (7 sec), and wins most valuable multiple times. He quits when he is wrongly denied Most Valued Wrestler in his junior year. He plays football and becomes the captain his senior year; his excellence in football earns him many scholarship offers.
1970 - Mr. T graduates high school in June and changes him name to Mohammad Tero.
August - Mr. T begins school and football at Prairie View A&M, TX .
1971 - Mr. T is suspended from college after being falsely accussed of being involved in a riot.
1972 - Mr. T legally changes his name to "Mr. T" and establishes his style of 3-piece suits, derby, and cane.
Mr. T works for a short while at a hotel;
Mr. T works at a couple of different guard jobs and at a bank
Mr. T begins work as a gym instructor at Operation Impact, a school for troubled boys who had problems in normal school.
1973 - After a dope addict steals his brother's TV and tries to sell it, Mr. T goes into action. T confronts him and would've killed him, but he was arrested before T could punish his brother.
1974 - Mr. T's mother is robbed and threatened by a couple of punks, so T and his brothers go on the hunt with a massive arsenal of weapons. T creates so much heat in town that crime stops for days. A week and two days later, T finds the perpetrators and avenges his mother by putting them to death- "The Lord have mercy on their souls because their ----- belong to me."
1975 - Operation Impact is shut down, but not before Mr. T speaks at graduation.
Mr. T takes it easy after Operation Impact, buying a new car and a four-unit apartment building.
On a summer night, a couple of black punks try to rob Mr. T's father in front of his apartment. He yells for help, and T grabs his gun and jumps from his second story room and hits the ground running. T chases the thugs five blocks in nothing but his underwear, shooting at them with his .357 all the while. Mr. T figures he hit one, but not enough to his satisfaction. The would-be muggers elude the Teros, but Mr. T vows he will search for them until he is dead.
Mr. T is hired as a security guard at a local hospital.
In November, Mr. T signs up with the National Guard Military Police. While at Fort Jackso, NC, Mr. T passes the MP classes and becomes "Trainee of the Cycle".
1976 - July 3, Mr. T arrives home from military camp. Two days later, he leaves for annual two week training at Fort McCoy, WI.
Mr. T arrives home from his two weeks of training in time to return to work at the hospital the night of his return.
1977 - Mr. T is unjustly fired form his hospital job, and in return, files suit for racial discrimination and unfair employment practices.
1978 - June- Mr. T is hired to bodyguard World Heavyweight Champion, Leon Spinks, at an exhibition fight. Mr. T successfully supresses the racially violent crowd.
Mr. T is hired to bodyguard for Spinks after impressing them at the initial fight.
September 15- Mr. T is bodyguarding for Spinks in his title match against Ali. Spinks loses the match due to the fact he was snorting cacaine a few hours before the fight.
December 21- After a day of drinking, smoking, and snorting, Spinks hits the road on a stormy night. He wrecks the car, despite Mr. T's warnings to slow down. They bail out and T takes the fall for Leon.
Mr. T guest stars in Diff'rent Strokes.
1979 - After chasing Spinks from town to town, Mr. T decides to quit Spinks entourage.
Mr. T is investigated by the IRS, who questioned his tax returns.
Mr. T is arrested after beating the heck out of a police officer who assualted him. Mr. T boasts it took thirteen cops to subdue him.
Mr. T is detained by the militarety on false accusations of desertation. He is kept for eleven days before he is released.
1980 - Febuary 2- While working as a bouncer at Dingbat's Disco, Mr. T is approached by two NBC executives who invite him to participate in "America's Toughest Bouncer". Mr. T accepts and begins training.
March 26- On the day of competition, Mr. T successfully defeats his oppenents to become America's Toughest Bouncer.
July 16- Mr. T successfully defends his title in another bouncer contest.
October- Mr. T is invited to try out for the part of CLubber Lang in Rocky III.
1981 - January 3- Mr. T receives a seven-page script to practice for Rocky III. Three days later, he auditions. Four days after that, he is chosen for the part.
Mr. T trains with Sly Stallone until the end of March, at which point filming begins. Filming lasts until June.
August- Mr. T lands a small role in Penitentary II.
December- Mr. T guest stars on NBC's Chicago Story.
1982 - April- The United Motion Pictures Association chooses Mr. T as Newcomer of the Year.
May 24- After a major promotional blitz, Rocky III premieres, prompting many a intervew and specials on Mr. T.
Mr. T guest stars in TV series Silver Spoons.
1983 - January- TV series "The A-Team" premieres, starring Mr. T
May 30- Mr. T is featured in People magazine.
Riding the wake of "The A-Team" popularity, Mr. T guest stars in cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Mr. T stars in a low-budget comedy movie, D.C. Cab.
1984 - January 30- Mr. T is featured in People magazine.
Mr. T makes a motivational film for children, Mr. T's Be Somebody or be Somebody's Fool.
Mr. T stars in a TV movie, Mr. T: The Toughest Man in the World.
1985 - March 30- Preceding his wrestling match, Mr. T hosts Saturday Night Live.
March 31- Mr. T joins up with Hulk Hogan to defeat "Hot Rod" Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Ordnorff in WWF's Wrestlemania I.
1986 - Mr. T defeats "Hot Rod" Piper at Wrestlemania II.
1987 - Mr. T stars in his own TV series, T and T.
1988
1989
1990
1991 - Mr. T guest stars as himself in TV series, Blossom.
1992
1993 - Mr. T's new comic book series, Mr. T and the T-Force, premieres.
1994 - July 17- In a wrestling match between Hulk and Ric Flair, Mr. T is called to be a special guest referee.
October 23- Mr. T is an outsiderefere in yet another match between Hogan and Flair.
December 23- Mr. T singles wrestles against Keith Sullivan.
Mr. T stars in Goldy III:Magic of the Golden Bear.
Mr. T stars in movie, Through the Looking Glass.
Mr. T plays the Bearded Lady in movie, Freaked.
1995 - Mr. T is diagnosed with T-Cel lymphoma cancer.
1996 - Mr. T guest stars in TV series Suddenly Susan.
Mr. T makes an uncreditted appearence in Spy Hard.
1997 - Mr. T guest stars in TV series Suddenly Susan.
1998-Present - May 5- Mr. T is interviewed by Entertainment Tonight.
October 13- People Online reports that Mr. T is doing well and is looking to publish a book regarding his bout with cancer.

Happy birthday Mr. T!!!

Mr. T Links:

Mr. T on Conan O'Brian

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That cancer may be tough, but it's not as tough as Mr. T!