 Bosco Baracus is the name his mother gave him, but to the rest of us and the A-Team themselves he's plain B.A. In South Asia, where he earned his reputation for having a Bad Attitude, B.A. was recognised as the finest field infantry mechanic in the military. But times change. Big and bad, and with jewels hanging off him like lights on a christmas tree, B.A. is now known as an electronics wizard who could build a racing car from a sackful of bottle tops and a rubber band. Like Achilles, B.A. has a weakness: fear of flying. He knows it's irrational, but like he says: "If it's safer to fly than drive - how come they don't put parachutes in cars?"
The following extract on B.A. Baracus is taken from TV Land's website:
Sgt. Bosco B.A. Barracus
The B.A. stands for Bad Attitude, and pity the fool who gets in his way! B.A. earned his reputation in Vietnam, where he had trouble controlling his temper and had a tendency to settle his frustrations with his fists. B.A. is the mechanic of the A-Team with a special skill for creating combat vehicles and makeshift weapons. Despite his gruff demeanor and fearsome appearance, B.A. possesses an abiding sensitivity and hides a big ol' heart in his massive chest. He's also deathly afraid of heights. This is frequently a problem when getting on a plane piloted by A-Team member "Howling Mad" Murdock, whom B.A. is routinely on the verge of throttling anyway.
B.A. Sounds:
"I Ain't Afraid To Fly, And I Ain't Afraid Of No Monkey's Either""He's On The Jazz, Man.""Shut Up, Fool.""I Don't Think So Sucker"
Mr T. InformationSergeant B.A. Baracus was played by Mr. T. Here is some basic information on Mr. T:
Real Name: Lawrence Tero
Born: 21st May 1952 in Chicago, Illinois, USA raised by his mother. He is the second to youngest of twelve children (he has four sisters and seven brothers)
Educated: Dunbar Vocational High School.
Height: 5ft 10 inch
Never Married. - He had a daughter in 1971 with Phyllis Clark.
Awards: Twice named America's toughest bouncer.
Biographies
Taken From The IMDB:
T, Mr. 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 hockey, 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.
Another From The IMDB:
Entered the world of pro wrestling in 1985-86 and 1994-95. Was Hulk Hogan's tag team partner at the first WrestleMania, defeating the team of Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper on March 31, 1985. His feud with Piper continued into WrestleMania 2 in 1986, defeating Piper in a boxing match by DQ. Mr. T returned to the WWF as a special guest referee in 1987, before disappearing from the wrestling world. He reappeared as a special referee for a Hogan-Ric Flair match, 7 years later in October 1994. He stayed with Hogan for a few matches before returning to obscurity.
Biography From TV Land's Website:
MR. T
Born Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T grew up in the tough southside ghettos of Chicago. The youngest of 12 children, and raised by a single mother, T began pumping iron at an early age as a means of survival. Determined to succeed at something, he became a champion high-school wrestler and a football star. Soon after his graduation from high school, he joined the US Army. When a knee injury kept him from joining the Green Bay Packers, T became a bodyguard for the likes of Muhammad Ali. Diana Ross and Michael Jackson (among others). T adopted his signature Mandinka hairstyle in the mid '70s, while he was working as a bouncer in-between bodyguard gigs. Spotted by Sylvester Stallone while competing in the "Worlds Toughest Bodyguard" segment on TV's "Games People Play," T was invited to try out for the part of Clubber Lang in "Rocky 3." Stallone was so impressed he expanded the role. If "Rocky 3" made him a star, "The A-Team" made him an icon. Several TV action series and movies followed, including a cartoon called "Mr. T" which ran for three seasons on Saturday mornings in the mid '80s. He also was featured on his own Mr. T Cereal. The toughest battle of his life came when he developed cancer in the '90s. He seems to have won the fight, and is frequently seen as a guest on TV shows like "Suddenly Susan," and most recently in the feature film "Inspector Gadget."
Famous Mr T. Quotes:
Also from the IMDB there are a few quotes that Mr T. is famous for these are:
"I am the best bodyguard, because I'll take a bullet, I'll take a stab wound, I'll take a hit upside the head; I'm like a Kamikaze pilot; The President got shot because his men relaxed." - Mr. T, in Sept. 1983 issue of Playboy
"I believe in the Golden Rule - The Man with the Gold... Rules."
"I pity the fool..." [his trademark quote]
Mr T. On The Conan O'Brien Show:
This extract was taken from www.nypost.com about Mr T.'s appearance on the chat show:
TALKING TO MR. T: ALWAYS TERRIFIC By ADAM BUCKMAN--- CONAN O'Brien nearly plotzed.
That's Yiddish, of course, meaning: "To collapse or faint, as from surprise or excitement."
Sitting across from a publicist for the TV oldies channel TV Land at a bachelor dinner for a mutual friend not too long ago, he'd just been asked if he'd like to have Mr. T as a guest on "Late Night."
Recalled Conan, laughing, "It was like someone saying, 'Would you like 3 million dollars in gold Krugerrands?' I was like, 'Are you kidding? Of course I'd love to talk to Mr. T!'"
Conan got his chance last Wednesday. T - as his friends call him - came on the show wearing a glittery silver suit, a gold pendant with an emerald mounted in the center, and a $40,000 gold Rolex encrusted with diamonds.
What transpired after that was the kind of segment a late-night host dreams about - 81/2 minutes of raucous conversation fueled by an animated, high-decibel guest and an enthusiastic audience who couldn't get enough of him.
At Conan's request, Mr. T recited his catch phrase from "Rocky III" - "I pity the fool!" - causing Conan to leap from his chair and dance behind his desk, as Mr. T followed suit.
The "A-Team" star, still sporting his trademark mohawk and black beard, then demonstrated the correct way to play with a Mr. T action figure, and explained why a Mr. T air freshener hanging from a rear-view mirror is the best deterrent against car thieves - all in that loud, seemingly tireless voice of his.
"Do you ever speak softly?" Conan asked at one point.
Replied Mr. T, "You know, I'm so excited, man! I tell you, I'm pumped! You know, the audience loves me! I'm excited! Look at me perspiring, man! That's right!"
At that, they both leapt to their feet again.
"I was thrilled," Conan said on the phone the next day. "I mean, people were howling.
"We weren't having any laughs at his expense. We were just having fun with Mr. T. We established a good rapport up front and it was so loose that I'm jumping up on my desk and he's dancing and it was just ...," he said, laughing at the memory.
Mr. T - who says he's waging a successful battle against cancer with the help of several drugs - was in New York to promote TV Land's Ultimate Fan Search, the annual contest sponsored by Nick at Nite and TV Land whose aim is to pluck from obscurity the nation's most obsessive expert on TV trivia. T is this year's host of the on-line Fan Search, which commences tonight at 9:30 on Nick-at-nite.com.
Other stops on the New York leg of his 18-city tour included Howard Stern's radio show, where T threatened Stern with bodily harm for asking personal questions about his mother; and a visit to the Helmsley Building astride Park Avenue at 46th Street, site of the "Cow Hospital," where workmen were repairing the Mr. T cow that had been part of the ongoing CowParade.
As he made his rounds, greeting surprised and delighted fans wherever he went, T was philosophical about his career. Said he, "I don't mean to be cocky, but if I'm never on TV again, if I never make another dollar, I am proud. I did what I wanted to do."
Still, he admits, "I love performing, you know, because, like I say, I'm a ham for this stuff."
An Extract From Eonline About Mr. T's Troubles:
By Joal Ryan - October 12th 1998
It's hard to keep an A-Team guy down.
Iconic, only-in-the-'80s TV star Mr. T is beating a battle with cancer, a rep for the actor tells today's New York Post.
It was just last May that the Mohawked One (real name: Lawrence Tureaud) appeared on Entertainment Tonight to announce he was sick (with lymphoma) and broke (with about $200 in the bank).
It's not known how the bank account is looking these days, but his health is reportedly back in the black.
The Post reports that Mr. T, 46, is feeling so good these days, he's ready to assert his market-given rights as an American of the late 20th century--and (but of course) write a book about the whole ordeal.
There's no title, no publisher and no due date yet, the agent tells the Post, but one can dream, right? (Think of the TV-movie-of-the-week possibilities.)
In the 1980s (but of course), Mr. T was something of a force in the publishing industry. He penned his (first) autobiography, Mr. T: The Man with the Gold, in 1984. He also starred in a series of kids' books in which the former bouncer shared life lessons in oh-so magical adventures such as The Best Bike Ever.
Mr. T co-starred as Sgt. B.A. ("Bad Attitude") Barracus on NBC's knucklehead action series The A-Team, from 1983-87. He's also known to fight fans as bad-attitude boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III.
Check out Eonline here.
Another Extract From Eonline On Mr. T's Troubles:
By Joal Ryan May 5th 1998
Mr. T--once the stuff that breakfast cereals, action figures and Saturday morning cartoon shows were made of--is now a cancer patient with about $200 in the bank.
But true to his tough-guy style, The A-Team enforcer isn't looking for pity.
"I try to be upbeat," the 45-year-old Mohawk aficionado tells Entertainment Tonight. "When people watch this, I want them to be uplifted." The Mr. T interview airs on tonight's instalment of the infotainment show.
The former Lawrence Tureaud was diagnosed with lymphoma--cancer of the lymph system--in 1995. He says the toughest thing about battling the disease wasn't its effect on him, but its effect on his family.
"The hardest part was telling my mom," he tells ET.
Mr. T invites the TV crew to join him for a visit to the hospital. The man who once tried to talk sense into Arnold Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes says he's determined that love will see him through this latest challenge.
"Love, love, love--I can't but get better," he says. "This is what gives me the strength to go to the hospital."
Mr. T's bank account could use a boost, too.
"I'm probably broke," the Initialed One tells ET. "I've probably got $200 in the bank."
What of all that blinding gold poundage he used to wear around his neck?
"I gave it to my family for them to sell, make money, whatever they want to do," he says. "Material stuff...You can only take it to the grave, not past the grave."
Mr. T rose from the Chicago ghetto to become a bodyguard to the stars, providing muscle for the likes of Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. Sylvester Stallone "discovered" him in 1982 in a TV bit about "The World's Toughest Bouncer" contest on the Real People wannabe, Games People Play. Stallone cast T as bad-attitude boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III.
The A-Team followed in 1983. (Well, D.C. Cab followed, too, but nobody saw that.) For five seasons, Mr. T played Sgt. B.A. ("Bad Attitude") Barracus, becoming a tubeland icon--or joke--along the way. He even coined a T-shirt-friendly catch-phrase: "I pity the fool!"
The jobs dried up by the late 1980s. His last primetime appearance came in a 1997 bit on Suddenly Susan.
Mel Gibson is said to have starring dibs in a long-planned A-Team big-screen movie. (He'd play the George Peppard role.)
While fans organise a write-in campaign to win film parts for the series' original (surviving) stars, Mr. T is busy with his own campaign. For health.
Yet Another Extract From Eonline From 1996 About Mr. T. Being Taken To Court Due To His Name!:
by Jeff B. Copeland
Before he was Mr. T--the gold-spangled, mohawked foil for Rocky Balboa--he was Lawrence Tero, Chicago night club bouncer and friend of club managers Calvin Hollins and John Bitoy. That much isn't in contention. But Hollins and Bitoy claim they created the character of Mr. T, got him started on the road to fame and had an oral understanding to manage his career for 20 percent of the action. Mr. T claims he made it on his own and never promised Hollins and Bitoy a fee. Now a Chicago judge has ruled on the case--and ordered Mr. T to pay the pair a total of $4.9 million
Jeffrey Goldberg, attorney for Hollins and Bitoy, says that they groomed and marketed Mr. T as a bodyguard around Chicago and then pointed him toward his first big break, a winning appearance on a televised "World's Toughest Bouncer" contest in the late '70s. Mr. T's attorney, John Goudge, says that in fact it was his client's appearance on a second "World's Toughest" show that attracted the attention of Sylvester Stallone's staff and got him cast in his breakout role boxing in Rocky III--and, by then, Mr. T, Hollins and Bitoy had gone separate ways. Mr. T went on to star in the hit '80s TV series The A-Team.
So why didn't the judge buy Mr. T's version? Goudge says that his client couldn't mount an effective defence because of personal problems. He was diagnosed with lymphoma late last year and about the same time injured both of his knees in a fall while shooting a commercial. Goudge says that Mr. T became "extremely distraught and unable to attend to his affairs. He dropped completely out of sight. In the meantime, the plaintiffs screamed and hollered."
Far from just hollering, says Goldberg, he presented written evidence and witnesses that Mr. T did indeed have a solid agreement, even though there was no written contract. Goudge says that no decision has been made on an appeal.
Mr. T had a cameo role in Spy Hard, this year's Leslie Nielsen comedy, but hasn't worked much as an actor in recent years, according to his agent, Peter Young.
Acting Career: (Taken From The Internet Movie Database)
ACTOR FILMOGRAPHY
-Apocalypse IV: Judgement (2000)
-Inspector Gadget (1999) (uncredited) .... Minions Anonymous
-Spy Hard (1996) .... Helicopter Pilot
-Al Yankovic: The Videos (1996) (V)
-Magic of the Golden Bear: Goldy III, The (1994) .... Freedom
... aka Goldy III (1994)
-Freaked (1993) .... The Bearded Lady
... aka Hideous Mutant Freekz (1993)
-"T. and T." (1988) TV Series .... T.S. Turner
-Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool! (1984) (V) .... Mr. T
-Toughest Man in the World, The (1984) (TV) .... Bruise Brubaker
-"A-Team, The" (1983) TV Series .... Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus
-D.C. Cab (1983) .... Samson
... aka Street Fleet (1983)
-Rocky III (1982) .... Clubber Lang
-Penitentiary II (1982) .... Himself
NOTABLE TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"Malcolm And Eddie" (1996) playing "Calvin" in episode "Wrongest Yard, The"
"Suddenly Susan" (1996) playing "Himself" in episode: "I'll See That and Raise You Susan"
"Suddenly Susan" (1996) playing "Himself" in episode: "Hoop Dreams"
"Martin" (1992) in episode "Boo's In The House"
"Blossom" (1991) playing "Himself"
"Alvin & the Chipmunks" (1983) playing "Himself"
"Silver Spoons" (1982) playing "Rick's bodyguard"
"Bizarre" (1980) playing "Himself"
"Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) playing "Himself"
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