Mr. T. rose to fame in 1982 with his appearance in Rocky III as Rocky's nemesis Clubber Lang,
then truly became a star the following year with his role as B.A.
Baracus in the hit TV series The A-Team.
Less commonly known by his real name, Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T was ever-present on TV screens
for more than a decade of domination.
His star's fallen to some extent over the years, leaving audiences worldwide wondering:
does he still pity fools?
Here's the truth about what happened to Mr. T.
Still a pitchman
Outside of his acting roles, Mr. T may be best known as an advertising pitch man.
Whether he's hawking Snickers bars, his own cereal, or World of Warcraft, his ads have
always been able to get your attention, if nothing else.
“Now you can have the greatest hair in the World of Warcraft with the mohawk grenade.
Yeah, wherever I go I’m making Warcraft look gooood!”
Recently he's appeared in ads for Fuze Iced Tea, in which he makes it clear that the years
have done nothing to affect his charisma.
Seriously, he might be ageless.
You can judge for yourself, but he looks exactly the same.
“The only thing bolder than Fuze Iced Tea is me!”
Wrestling Hall of Fame
Mr. T may have entered the popular consciousness as a fictional boxer in 1982's Rocky III,
but by 1985, the actor behind Clubber Lang had made the leap to real wrestling, serving
as tag-team partner to Hulk Hogan versus "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful at the inaugural
WrestleMania.
This gave rise to a feud which lasted years between Mr. T and Piper, who already had little
respect for the actor-turned-wrestler.
“There was no love in that ring.”
Some felt he'd never paid his dues as a performer in the ring, but when Mr. T was finally inducted
into the WWE's Hall of Fame in 2014, he and Piper finally made peace the old fashioned
way: on Twitter.
Battling cancer
One of the reasons Mr. T decreased his workload was his 1995 cancer diagnosis for T-cell lymphoma.
He took on the unwelcome opponent the only way he knew how — aggressively — telling
Coping with Cancer magazine, quote, "Can you imagine that?
Cancer with my name on it.
Personalized cancer."
“I’ve been through alot in my life.
I’ve faced some tough opponents.
But now it’s time to face my toughest opponent of all...me.”
He wrote an as-yet unpublished book on his experience with author Joyce Brooks, called
Cancer Saved My Life (Cancer Ain't For No Wimps), in which he said, quote, "If you don't
remind me that I have cancer then I won't remember either, because I am too busy living."
“It’s a blessing.
I’ve been, uh, I’m a cancer survivor for 12 years, you know, so I’ve been through
a lot, you know.
It’s uh...been peaks and valleys, you know.
Every day, you don’t feel 100%, but uh...I made it through.”
A whole world's worth of fools
In 2011, Mr. T set up shop across the Atlantic for a show on BBC 3 called World's Craziest
Fools.
“We got fools with chainsaws.
We got fools breakin’ the law.
We got karate fools with fists flyin’, and feet jumpin’ all over the place.”
A compendium of "can-you-believe-this" clips captured from cameras around the world, the
show ran for 20 episodes before going off the air in March of 2013.
The show, a throwback in the age of YouTube, also used animated segments to illustrate
the antics of more egregious fools.
The series looked like it was going to be a hit, but it ended after two short seasons.
“Never celebrate too early.”
I Pity the Tool
Mr. T surprised both Al Roker and the rest of America in 2015 when he paid a visit to
the Today show to make an unexpected announcement: a new home improvement show called I Pity
the Tool.
“I majored in brick masonry.
I did carpentry.
So I know what I’m doing.
I’m good with my hands, whether fighting or building.”
The DIY Network aired one episode of I Pity the Tool and as yet hasn't commented on whether
or not they'll follow up with more.
The reason why is a mystery, owing to either viewer turnout or something more behind-the-scenes.
Is it a pity?
Seems likely.
“Don’t be dumb and hit your thumb!”
Mister Tweet
Mr. T doesn't just pity fools — he turns that pity into positive action through his
uplifting Twitter feed, which is full of good vibes and support informed often by his born-again
Christian faith, along with comments on the world as he sees it.
He explained his philosophy during a eulogy for First Lady Nancy Reagan, saying, quote,
"I am not a Republican nor am I a Democrat.
I am just a Christian Brother from the Hood trying to do some good!"
Often heard and not seen
Starting with his '80s Saturday morning cartoon series, sensibly titled Mister T, our mohawked
friend has stayed busy doing voice work for a variety of projects — from cartoon series
like Eek!
The Cat, Sabrina the Animated Series, and Pecola, through TV movies like the 1987 version
of Alice Through the Looking Glass, in which he played the Jabberwocky.
“One little girl?
Ho ho ho!
Piece of cake!”
He's even been heard on the big screen in recent years through his work as the voice
of Earl Devereaux in 2009's hit animated feature Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
“My chest hairs are tingling.
Something’s wrong!”
And gamers of a certain age have no doubt recognized his dulcet tones in the Lego Dimensions
game, in which he appeared as his A-Team character, B.A.
Baracus.
“That’s B.A.
Baracus.
The B.A. stands for…”
“...bad attitude!”
Some heroes are simply timeless.
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