Mr.T Articles and Quotes

Mr.T articles that are to be edited for usage for the Mr.T magazine spread that i will be doing soon. I grabbed some of Mr.T's quotes because I believe they are very important to who he really is. 

It's been a hard decade for non-suckas. The only thing you could find Mr. T in was I Pity The Fool, a reality show featuring a combination of opposites so extreme it should have exploded the universe. The first episode opens with an old and desperately tired-looking Mr. T jogging past a street corner, and would have been less embarrassing if he'd just stopped there and started turning tricks. Instead he continues into a dealership and begins pitying some Grade-A Fool, in this case a group of well-dressed, increasingly confused car salesmen.

The whole thing is enough to make you forget about the peak of the 80s, when Mr. T was at his most ridiculously awesome. Also enough to make you forget about those heady times: Both the decade and Mr. T reached their apex in a movie nobody's ever seen. It is called The Toughest Man in the World, and it's what they will put in museums when trying to explain the baffling decade in which it was released. And they will succeed.

Mr T, born as Laurence Tureaud, is best known for his role in the 1980s television series "The A Team", his role as "Clubber Lang" in Rocky III and for his appearances on the WWF as a pro-wrestler. He is also known for his record called "Mr. T's Commandments", a rap album for kids. His trademark mohawk and and gold chains have made him an icon of the entertainment industry.

Mr. T was born on May 21, 1952 as Laurence Tureaud in Chicago, Illinois. The second-youngest of twelve children, Mr. T grew up in a small, three-bedroom apartment with his siblings and mother. His father left them when Mr. T was only five, leaving his mother to raise twelve children on less than $100 a month from her welfare check. Determined to make his mother proud, Mr. T worked hard in school and sports, eventually becoming a local football star, student of martial arts, and a three-time wrestling champion.

After graduating from Dunbar Vocational High School, Mr. T was awarded a football scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Texas. He was expelled after one year but was quickly awarded scholarships to other universities. Late, he joined the Army to serve as a military policeman. After his service ended, Mr. T was offered a playing position with the Green Bay Packers. His professional football career was cut short by a serious knee injury and Mr. T looked for work as a bodyguard, instead.

Mr. T's size and strength landed him jobs with Mahammad Ali, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson. In 1970 he changed his name to Lawrence Tero and soon changed it again to Mr. T. After an appearance on "The World's Strongest Black Man", Mr. T was sought out by Sylvester Stallone to play a boxer in the upcoming movie Rocky III.

▪ Shut up, fool!

▪ Well, maybe Mr. T hacked the game and created a Mohawk class! Maybe, Mr. T's pretty handy with computers! Had that occurred to you, Mr. "Condescending" Director?!

▪ I'm Mr. T and I'm a "Night Elf Mohawk"! What's YOUR game?

▪ I ain't no computer hacker! 

Mr. T found some film success in "The Beastmaster" and "Penetentiary 2" before accepting his biggest role as B.A. Baracus in the television show "The A-Team". The show premiered in 1983 and launched Mr. T into the center of pop culture. One year later Mr. T produced a video entitled "Be Somebody...or Be Somebody's Fool!" that he produced with musician Ice T as a motivational and inspirational video for children. Mr. T's album, "Mr. T's Commandments" came out later that same year. Like his first video, Commandments was designed to teach and inspire youth.

In 1985 Mr. T entered the world of professional wrestling when he joined Hulk Hogan for the first WrestleMania. Because of his background in Rocky, Mr. T became a special "WWF boxer", although he never made this is full-time career.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s Mr. T appeared in numerous television shows and movies, mostly as cameo appearances or small roles. He also worked on commercials for communication companies like MCI and Comcast. In 1995 Mr. T was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma which has limited his ability to work long jobs.

Mr. T continues to be a pop culture icon for generations and still makes appearances on the TBN Christian television network.

I'm not perfect, I'm not an angel, but I try to live a certain way because it brings honour and respect to my mother. I tell people that when they look at me, they're looking at nothing but a big, overgrown, tough mama's boy. That's who I am.

Mr T

People ask what gives me the authority to give advice? I say, First of all, I don't give advice. Dr Phil gives advice. Mr T helps people. I motivate them, I inspire them, I give them hope, and I plant the seed so they can feel good about themselves
Mr T 

▪ Do you know me? Of course you do. 'Cause I'm famous!

▪ Hey, you with the teeth...

▪ Hey, everybody gotta’ put on clothes and if you don’t you get arrested.

▪ Calvin Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt don't wear clothes with your name on it, so why should you wear their name?

▪ Anger - use it, but don't lose it!

▪ I didn't just start doing this today. Not like some people that have a movie coming out, so they go visit kids in the hospital. You don't need that phony crap. All of these celebrities, they turn my stomach with their funny stuff. I've been going in the ghettos without the press, without bodyguards, talking to kids. "Get to reading, stay in school. You don't have to carry a gun." I know about peer pressure and all that, but I say, "Hey, they called me a sissy because I wouldn't join a gang. Who was calling me a sissy? Does it make me a sissy because somebody called me a sissy?" [...] I'm going to fight if you touch me or hurt me or do harm to my family. But if you call me a bad name, or whatnot, I'm too smart for that. That's the message the kids need to hear coming from me. I tell them, "If I fought every time somebody called me a name, I would never get out of jail. But I'm disciplined. I'm smarter than that." So I tell them, like my mother said, "Consider the source." When you see who called you the name, then you understand why they're doing it. Then you don't have to stoop that low.

▪ See, if I come into a black neighborhood and say, "Thanks for watching my show," and give out high fives and all that, I'm not doing no good. I go out and see a kid grabbing his crotch. Ain't nobody telling them that. Where do they get it from? They watch MTV. I say, "If you wash up more often, you won't have to grab your crotch." I'm telling these guys, "Why you gotta grab your crotch?" Then you see Michael Jackson grabbing his crotch 50 times. What's with him?

▪ Everything started as a dream. You gotta have insight, know what you want. You gotta have a plan. Like I tell anybody, if you fail to plan, you're planning to fail. I've been planning ever since I was a youngster. You've got to start from somewhere. There's nothing wrong or demeaning in flipping burgers. It's more proud than selling drugs.

▪ We didn't starve. We spent wisely. Like I tell people in the ghetto, "If you can buy guns and bullets, why can't you buy food? You can buy heroin and crack cocaine, so why can't you buy bread and butter and milk? Why can't you pay your rent?" There's a lot of people in the ghetto who go out and get a fancy car and all that. The car costs more than their house. Meanwhile, your kids need shoes. That's not cool.