Hater Hall of Fame: Mr. T Edition

Laurence Tureaud aka “Mr. T”,  Born May 21, 1952

Laurence Tureaud was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and is the youngest of son of twelve children in his family (7 brothers & 4 sisters).  His father, Laurence Sr., left the family when T was only 5 years old; his mother was left to raise a dozen children in a 3 room apartment on only $87/month.  At Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Laurence was a football star, a student of the martial arts, an avid reader, and a three-time city wrestling champ.  After high school, he received a full football scholarship to Prairie View A&M University, but was thrown off the team after only one year – I couldn’t find the reason behind his dismissal, but one could only imagine that it was for pitying too many fools.  He attended several other Chicago area colleges on athletic scholarship, but ultimately decided to leave school and become a military policeman in the U.S. Army.  After fulfilling his duties in the service, he played briefly in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, worked as a gym teacher, and then began working fools over as a night club bouncer.

During his time as a bouncer, Laurence created the persona of Mr. T and incorporated a new appearance that would eventually be recognized as his trademark style.  When confrontations with, or among customers caused problems that lead to someone being thrown out, Mr. T would confiscate any valuables that people left behind after an altercation.  He would proudly display his gold collection while working in front of the establishment, and yet few customers had the cojones to ask for their possessions back after the fact.  So within a few years, he basically looked like an estranged member of Run DMC on steroids.  His other signature look evolved after T read a National Geographic Magazine article detailing the lives of the Mandinka tribe in West Africa.  The story included pictures of the warrior’s traditional haircut, the mohawk/beard combo, and he felt it would make a more permanent statement concerning his proud African heritage.  His recognizable look and reputation as a tough, professional bouncer would eventually lead to another career as a bodyguard to the stars.  In the ten years he worked as hired muscle, his famous clientele included the likes of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Joe Frazier - T can be seen leading Smokin Joe into the ring before his rematch with George Foreman in 1976.

In 1980, Mr. T was part of a segment on the NBC show Games People Play titled “America’s Toughest Bouncer”;  his appearance and gruff demeanor caught the eye of Sylvester Stallone, who decided to cast him as the Italian Stallion’s next opponent in Rocky III.  Mr. T’s performance as Clubber Lang would lead to a meteoric rise in the 80′s, and included the famous line “I pity the fool” – which is arguably one of the most widely recognized catchphrases in American pop culture history.  His next iconic role came in 1983 when he was cast as B.A. Baracus (Bosco Albert, or Bad Attitude) on a new NBC series called The A-Team.  His character was an ex-army commando on the lam with three other members of the U.S. government who were convicted of a crime they didn’t commit.  This team of rag tag crime stoppers mainly offered their services to hot chicks and rural old-timers who were looking to get rid of various militia redneck groups.  While the A-Team only lasted four seasons, Mr. T had already established himself as a household name in many different respects.  By the time the show ended in 1988, he already had a cartoon and cereal bearing his name, a motivational video directed at kids titled Be Somebody…or Be Somebody’s Fool!, and a rap album - Mr. T’s Commandments – to name a few.  Mister’s popularity waned in the 90′s when he basically disappeared from the public eye after being diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma; he has experienced a resurgence as of late after appearing in commercials for Snickers, and touting the power of the “Mohawk Grenade”in spots for World of Warcraft.  But enough with the biographical jibba jabba, it’s time to sit back and enjoy some of my favorite clips from the Hall’s latest, greatest hater. 

His 1985 appearance on The Late Show is a bit awkward, and totally awesome:

(Part II)

A video which chronicles Mr. T’s short stint as the 5th Foo Fighter:

The Best of B.A. Baracus:

Bonus Video:  An song from his 1984 motivational video, “Treat Your Mother Right“