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Sergeant B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus Mr. T
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Sergeant Bosco "B.A." Baracus is played by Mr. T. B.A. Baracus appeared on The A-Team from the series beginning in 1983 until its cancellation in 1987. He is arguably the breakout character of the series and has become a cult icon worldwide. B.A. Baracus Character BiographyIn the pilot episode ("Mexican Slayride: Part 1"), B.A. is described as follows by a reporter colleague of Amy Allen: "Bosco Baracus. Known as B.A. for 'bad attitude.' The man is a mechanical genius. He also has one of the worst conduct records in the army. He likes to slug officers." A rough-and-tough fighter, the character of B.A. Baracus is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He is known for his trademark mohawk hairstyle (which according to the show, is not Mohawk but rather an African symbol), and his gold jewellery. While the other members of the team regularly resort to disguises, scams and subterfuge to achieve their goals, B.A.'s distinctive appearance and confrontational attitude usually lead to a more direct approach to problems, which often involve either his skills at hand to hand combat, or his mechanical talents.
A teetotaler, B.A. never touches alcohol, preferring milk instead. He suffers an intense fear of flying (" I ain't gittin' on no plane !"), especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team drugging him, knocking him unconscious, or, as in one episode, hypnotizing him, so he can be transported without objection. However, in one episode, he is on a plane pretending to be a maintenance technician with Murdock when the plane suddenly takes off. He immediately falls into a catatonic state while Murdock tries to revive him. Furthermore, in two episodes "The Sound of Thunder" and "Quarterback Sneak" B.A. hops onto a helicopter which is piloted by Murdock (Although he is said to have gone catatonic during the plane ride in "The Sound of Thunder"). Perhaps one could say in dire situations, B.A. is willing to fly, and indeed he voluntarily boards an airplane to travel to Chicago when his mother is in danger, although Hannibal drugs him aboard the plane anyway. As revealed in a few episodes, B.A. and Murdock share the same blood type—AB negative, the rarest type. This was a plot device for finding one of them urgently when a transfusion was needed for the other. However, in reality, an AB negative recipient can accept blood from any negative donor, so all this would have been unnecessary in real life. B.A. drives a customized 1983 GMC van, painted black and grey with a red stripe, black and red rims, and a rooftop spoiler. B.A. is extremely protective of his van, and becomes furious if it gets the smallest scratch. He refuses to let anyone else drive it, with the notable exception of episode 12 of the third season, Hot Styles , in which B.A. mysteriously only appears for a few seconds. The meaning of "B.A."
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The Man Behind B.A. Baracus Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud ; Born 21 May, 1952) is an American actor known for his roles as Sgt. "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus in The A-Team , as boxer James "Clubber" Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III and for his numerous appearances in the WWF and as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is also well-known for his distinctive mohawk hairstyle, for wearing large amounts of gold jewellery, and for his tough guy image. He starred in the reality show I Pity the Fool , shown on TV Land, the title of which comes from his Rocky III catchphrase. Early lifeMr. T was born Laurence Tureaud in Chicago , Illinois , the youngest boy in a large family with twelve children. His father, Nathaniel Tureaud Sr., was a minister. Tureaud, with his four sisters and seven brothers, grew up in one of the city's housing projects, Robert Taylor Homes .
Tureaud worked as a bouncer after he returned from the army. It was at this time that he created the persona of "Mr. T." His wearing of gold neck chains and other jewellery was the result of customers losing the items, leaving them behind at the bar/night club after a fight, or being removed from the place. A customer would not have to re-enter or even have to see anyone else again if Mr. T wore their jewellery as he stood out front. When a customer came back, their item was readily visible and available with no further confrontations required. Often, the "former" customers did not return. Mr. T thus built up a large collection and earned a reputation for wearing lots of gold neck chains and bracelets. Mr. T managed to eventually parlay his job as a bouncer into a career as a bodyguard to the stars that lasted almost ten years. He protected well-known personalities like Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Leon Spinks, Joe Frazier, and Diana Ross, charging $3,000 per day. As a bodyguard, Tureaud's business card read, "Next to God, there is no greater protector than I." Mr. T claimed that he never lost a client, saying, "I got hurt worse growing up in the ghetto than working as a bodyguard." A bald-headed Mr. T can be seen on film accompanying Joe Frazier to the ring in Frazier's rematch against George Foreman in 1976. Acting roles and workWhile reading National Geographic , Mr. T first noticed the unusual hairstyle, for which he is now 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." His role in Rocky III was originally intended as just a few lines. His catchphrase, "I pity the fool!", comes from the film, in which he played a boxer facing Rocky Balboa. When asked if he hated Rocky, he replied, "No, I don't hate Balboa, but I pity the fool." After losing out on the role of the title character's mentor in The Beastmaster , Mr. T appeared in another boxing film, Penitentiary 2 , and in a cable television special, Bizarre , before accepting a television series role on The A-Team . Mr. T appeared in an episode of Silver Spoons , reprising his old role as bodyguard to Ricky Stratton. In the episode, he explains his name as "First name: Mister ; middle name: period ; last name T ." In one scene, when Ricky's class erupts into a paper ball throwing melee, Mr. T throws his body in front of the objects, fully protecting his client. In The A-Team , he played Sergeant Bosco "B.A." Baracus ( B.A. is an abbreviation of "Bad Attitude"), an ex-army commando on the run with three other members from the U.S. government "for a crime they didn't commit." When asked at a press conference whether he was as stupid as B.A. Baracus, he observed quietly, "It takes a smart guy to play dumb." A Ruby-Spears produced cartoon called Mr. T premiered in 1983 on NBC. The Mister T cartoon starred Mr. T as himself, the owner of a gym where a group of gymnasts trained. He would help them with their training but they would also help him solve mysteries and fight crime. Thirty episodes were produced. In 1984, he made a motivational video called Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool! . He 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. The video is roughly one hour long, but contains 30 minutes of singing, either by the group of children accompanying him, or by Mr. T himself. He sings "Treat Your Mother Right (Treat Her Right)", in which he enumerates the reasons why it is important to treat your mother right, and also raps a song about growing up in the ghetto and praising God. The raps in this video were written by Ice T. That same year he released a related rap album titled Mr. T's Commandments. In 1988, Mr. T starred in the television series T. and T. . Mr. T was once reported to be earning around $80,000 a week for his role in The A-Team and getting $15,000 for personal appearances, but by the end of the 1990s, he was appearing only in the occasional commercial, largely because of health problems. (In 1995, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma.) He frequently appears on the TBN Christian television series. He has appeared in commercials for MCI's 1-800-COLLECT collect-call service and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien . He has also appeared on some Comcast commercials, and in the United Kingdom , Australia and New Zealand during 2007, advertising the chocolate bar Snickers with the slogan "Get Some Nuts!" Mr. T appeared in a popular commercial for the Oregon Lottery which parodied the current popularity of reality TV shows. The commercial was a satire, in which Mr. T starred in a fictitious reality show entitled Who can spend 30 days in a trailer with Mr. T? . Mr. T did a video campaign for Hitachi 's Data Systems that was created and posted on consumer Wrestling
Remaining with the World Wrestling Federation, Mr. T became a special "WWF boxer," in light of his character in Rocky III. He took on "Cowboy" Bob Orton on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, on NBC. This boxing stint ultimately culminated in another boxing match against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2. Mr. T returned to the World Wrestling Federation as a special guest referee in 1987, before suddenly disappearing from the wrestling world. Seven years later, Mr. T reappeared as a special referee for a Hogan-Ric Flair match, in October 1994, at Halloween Havoc, and then went on to wrestle again, defeating Kevin Sullivan at that year's Starrcade. Mr. T would return to wrestling, another seven years later, appearing in an episode of WWF Raw on November 19, 2001. Album Mr. T, in 1984, released an album entitled, Mr. T's Commandments, much in the same tone as his 1984 educational video which instructed children to stay in school and to stay away from drugs. He later followed up with a second album the same year, titled Mr T's Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!, which featured music from the video of the same name. In 2002, Mr. T appeared in the video for "Pass The Courvoisier" by Busta Rhymes featuring P. Diddy and Pharell Williams. John Cena's music video, "Bad Bad Man," also featured an imitation of Mr. T / B.A. throughout. Personal lifeMr. T lives in Sherman Oaks, California , and is single. He owns a twenty-acre ranch in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque , New Mexico , and spends most summers there. He is a born again Christian. In 2005, Mr. T stated that he never would wear his chains again, "No, T, you can never wear your gold again. It's an insult to God". He arrived at this decision after seeing the effects of Hurricane Katrina. However, he has been seen wearing some chains for several commercial appearances, such as the 2007 U.K. Snickers advertisement, and the 2007 World of Warcraft ad. Mr. T donated a great deal of clothing and money to Katrina victims. Filmography
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He is a highly-skilled mechanic and has an amazing talent for making impressive machinery out of just about any ordinary parts that they have available to them. Hannibal once said to B.A., "With a pair of pliers and a little time, you could fix anything but dinner." He is also an excellent fighter and is invaluable in hand-to-hand combat. Because of his massive size and strength, he has a unique fighting tactic, which involves grabbing his opponents, lifting them over his head, and hurling them in the air. He is easily angered to the point of rage, and often greets people with a growl or a snarl. He is most often upset by Murdock and frequently addresses him with the phrase "You crazy fool!" Despite his reputed attitude, he is a nice guy at heart. He has a special fondness for children, occasionally working at a youth center teaching sports to the kids. 
Tureaud attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar Vocational Career Academy , where he played football, wrestled, and studied martial arts. He won a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University , but was thrown out after a year. Tureaud also attended several small Chicago area colleges on athletic scholarships. After leaving school, Tureaud became a military policeman in the U.S. Army, before trying out for the professional football Green Bay Packers. 
famous, on a Mandinka warrior. He decided that adoption of the style would be a powerful statement about his African origin. It was a simpler, safer and more permanent visual signature than his gold chains, rings, and bracelets. The gold jewellery was worth about $300,000 at the time and took him about an hour to put on. Most nights, Mr. T spent even more time cleaning them using an ultrasonic cleaner. Occasionally, he would sleep with the heavy neck chains and bracelets on, "to see how my ancestors, who were slaves, felt." 
video sites including YouTube and Yahoo! Video. According to Steven Zivanic, senior director and corporate communications of HDS, "this campaign has not only helped the firm in its own area, but it has given the data storage firm a broader audience." As of December 1st 2007, the first version, “Mr. T: The T in IT,” has been viewed 259,857 times on YouTube alone.In November 2007, Mr. T appeared in a television commercial for the online role playing game World of Warcraft with the phrase "I'm Mr. T and I'm a Night Elf Mohawk" .
Mr. T entered the world of professional wrestling in 1985. He was Hulk Hogan's tag-team partner at the first WrestleMania. 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 coming into wrestling and had never paid his dues as a professional wrestler.