Mr. T. What can one say about Mr. T? Well, it could easily be said that he is one of the best role models alive today. Born Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T grew up in a tough neighborhood of Chicago. He was an honor student in school, and loved playing football, wrestling and martial arts. He also ALWAYS listened to his mom, especially since his father left when he was five. He went to college on athletic scholarships, but was expelled after one year. Then he joined the army and was eventually invited to try out for the Green Bay Packers, although an unfortunate knee injury soon ended those hopes. But, remembering his childhood, he kept working and became a bodyguard. He soon won a ‘World’s Best Bodyguard’ contest on TV and was noticed by Sylvester Stallone, who invited him to work on Rocky III. A year later, he was cast in his most famous role to date on the popular A-Team. At that point on, Mr. T has been a celebrity and has been working hard to uphold the values entrusted in him. But more than anything else, Mr. T treasures strength and compassion.
    Mr. T grew up knowing that one had to be strong in order to not get pushed around. He needed to be strong as the second youngest in a family of twelve where the family survived on $87 a month from welfare. Later in life when all of his needs were easily being taken care of, he associated that strength with the responsibility of helping others. But whether it was through protecting celebrities or teaching children, he always took his job seriously. He once said "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." He never shows anything but strength to his attentive audience. Even with his toughest opponent to date, a rare form of T-cell lymphoma he developed during the mid to late 90s, he was always strong and knew he would come out of it with his faith in God. He believes that there is no reason to show fear. So instead, he shows only strength. And along with this strength comes respect. He officially changed his name to “Mr. T” so that everyone would have to call him Mister. And since he always shows power and is assertive, NO ONE in a room with Mr. T would deny him respect while speaking. Even though he already has an intimidating figure, Mr. T takes control of situations as if he was twenty feet tall. He uses common sense and what he’s learned through life to make decisions and does not back down. Mr. T demands respect, but shows respect for others accordingly. The mohawk he dons is from a Mandinka warrior and he wears it to pay homage for his ancestors in the past. The gold he wears symbolizes the chains of slavery the African-Americans suffered through. Mr. T is extremely strong in what he believes in. He has ‘no time for the jibba-jabba’ and does not play around with things that are wrong or evil. Instead, he holds purity and hard work as the values required in order to succeed.
     Although most people only get see his tough side, Mr. T has an incredible compassionate side to him as well. He is a self-proclaimed “mama’s boy” and repeatedly goes back to his mother for inspiration. To this day, he still calls her on a regular basis and takes heed to whatever she says. During an interview for Entertainment Weekly, he said that the hardest part about getting cancer was having to tell his mom. He would also do anything for children. In 1984, he released his own inspirational tape for adolescents entitled “Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool”. Inside this tape are several segments trying to teach children to be strong and try their best in everything. Also enclosed are several humorous musical numbers and even "Mr. T's Five-Minute Workout”. Mr. T has also put out several other works aimed for children including his album called "Mr. T's Commandments". The most surprising thing of all about Mr. T is contrasting his sense of humor with his tough-guy image. As he repeatedly shows in his commercials, movies and on talk shows, Mr. T has an amazing funny side. Some examples of his past skits on Conan O’ Brien include picking apples with Conan in an orchard and singing a German heritage song for Oktoberfest. Both were comedic genius. And even though he has always been physically strong, he repeatedly points out that the real power is in the heart. During his fight with cancer, he donated all of his gold to charity and said, "I don't wear gold no more. The gold is in my heart... The gold couldn't save me."
     Mr. T is truly a tremendous man who rose like a phoenix to become the well-known and well-respected celebrity he is today. His actions and strength inspire others, especially children. And to anyone who doesn’t like him or tries to undermine what he believes in, well- “I pity the foo”.