40 Facts About Mr T

Mr T is known for his roles as B A Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III.

In 1970, he legally changed his last name to T His new name, Mr T, was based upon his childhood impressions regarding the lack of respect from white people for his family:.

Mr T later said it was here that he discovered a gift for helping children.

Mr T then enlisted in the United States Army in 1975 and served in the Military Police Corps.

Mr T eventually parlayed his job as a bouncer into a career as a bodyguard that lasted almost ten years.

Mr T's clients included celebrities Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, LeVar Burton, and Diana Ross, and boxers Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Leon Spinks.

Mr T decided that adoption of the style would be a powerful statement about his African origin.

In 1980, Mr T was spotted by Sylvester Stallone while taking part in NBC's "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition, a segment of NBC's Games People Play.

Mr T appeared in an episode of Silver Spoons, reprising his old role as bodyguard to the character Ricky Stratton.

Mr T was reported to be earning $80,000 a week for his role in The A-Team.

Mr T helped them with their training but they helped him solve mysteries and fight crime in Scooby-Doo-style scenarios; thirty episodes were produced.

Each episode was bookended by Mr T himself, presenting the theme of the episode, and then a closing statement on a lesson for children, based on the events of the episode.

Mr T gives helpful advice to children throughout the video; for example, he teaches them how to understand and appreciate their origins, how to dress fashionably without buying designer labels, how to make tripping up look like breakdancing, how to control their anger, and how to deal with peer pressure.

Mr T sings "Treat Your Mother Right ", and raps a song about growing up in the ghetto and praising God.

Mr T released a rap mini-album titled Mr T's Commandments the same year, featuring seven songs, including the title theme for the aforementioned TV film.

Mr T followed it up the same year with a second album, titled Mr T's Be Somebody.

In 1988, after the cancellation of The A-Team, Mr T starred in the syndicated Canadian television series T and T Earning $15,000 for personal appearances, by the end of the 1990s, he was appearing only in the occasional commercial, largely because of health problems.

Some time during the 1990s, Mr T would be in Eric "Butterbean" Esch's corner in the boxing matches during one of the Toughman Contests.

Mr T frequently appears on the TBN Christian television network.

In 2002, Mr T appeared as a bartender in the video for "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II" by Busta Rhymes featuring Sean Combs and Pharrell Williams.

Mr T was offered a cameo appearance in the film adaptation of The A-Team, but decided to turn it down, whereas Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict both made cameos in the film.

On March 1,2017, Mr T was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars.

Mr T vowed to donate the money received from this participation to the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Mr T has been involved in numerous commercials, including for Snickers, Atari, World of Warcraft, MCI, Comcast and RadioShack.

In 2008, Mr T appeared on the American channel Shopping TV selling his "Mr T Flavorwave Oven".

Mr T distanced himself from these accusations, insisting that he would never lend his name to such beliefs, and that he did not think the commercial was offensive to anyone, as all the commercials he appeared in had a similarly silly, over-the-top nature and were never intended to be taken seriously.

In 2010, Mr T signed up as the spokesman for Gold Promise, a gold-buying company.

Mr T entered the world of professional wrestling in 1985.

Mr T was Hulk Hogan's tag-team partner at the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania I which he won.

Hulk Hogan wrote in his autobiography that Mr T saved the main event of WrestleMania I between them and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff because when he arrived, security would not let his entourage into the building.

Mr T was ready to skip the show until Hogan personally talked him out of leaving.

Piper has said that he and other fellow wrestlers disliked Mr T because he was an actor and had never paid his dues as a professional wrestler.

Mr T took on "Cowboy" Bob Orton on the March 1,1986, Saturday Night's Main Event V, on NBC.

On July 21,1989, Mr T made an appearance in World Class Championship Wrestling, seconding Kerry Von Erich.

Five years later, Mr T reappeared in WCW, first appearing in Hulk Hogan's corner for his WCW world title match against Ric Flair at Bash at the Beach 1994.

Mr T has three children with his wife: two daughters, one of whom is a comedian, and a son.

Mr T was sued by a man in 2014 saying that he was Mr T's son from outside his marriage.

Mr T made a direct reference to it as he performed a waltz to the song "Amazing Grace" in Dancing with the Stars.

Mr T stopped wearing virtually all his gold, one of his identifying marks, after helping with the clean-up after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Mr T cites Muhammad Ali as his "childhood hero" and his main inspiration with regard to style and mannerisms.