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Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith George Peppard |
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Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith is the leader of the A-Team played by George Peppard. The producers originally had James Coburn in mind to play the part of Hannibal , but it eventually ended up going to Peppard. The character of Hannibal appeared on The A-Team from its beginning in 1983 until its cancellation in 1987.
He fought in both the Korean and Vietnam wars and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (although, he is most often referred to simply as "Colonel"). Thriving on adventure and the adrenaline rush of life-threatening situations (or being "on the jazz", as the rest of the team refers to it), he seems to genuinely enjoy every challenge they encounter. He is renowned by both allies and enemies for being cool-headed and extremely clever. There is rarely a situation where he is not able to smile in the face of adversity. He will usually light up a cigar when he needs to do some thinking — often when coming up with a plan, and in the heat of a dangerous or exciting moment. He is also often seen putting on his gloves when he senses the action is about to pick up (such as a fist fight breaking out). When captured by their enemies, he will deliver flippant or sarcastic remarks. He regularly dispenses aphorisms, especially to their foes, upon defeating them. He also has some medical skills which he picked up when in Vietnam.
He styles himself a "master of disguise", though his skill lay not so much in how convincing his disguise was, but in his ability to assume any role and convince others that his role is genuine. Most episodes begin with the prospective clients coming to meet the A-Team, and instead, being introduced to one of Hannibal 's comic aliases. Hannibal uses his various disguises to screen all the A-Team's potential clients to assure they were not fronts for the military—sometimes playing more than one at a time. Clients often make reference to a "Mr. Lee", the owner of a Chinese laundromat who tells them where to meet the team. When not working with the team, Hannibal works as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies (being a fugitive, he can only choose roles in which his face cannot be seen). His many roles include "Gatorella", "Killgator" and his most famous, "The Aquamaniac". Naturally, Hannibal secures his roles playing his own agent; somehow always 'eluding' the Producer of his true identity. Hannibal 's Romantic relationships
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The Man Behind Hannibal - George Peppard, Jr. (Born 1 Oct 1928 – Died 8 May 1994) He secured a major role early in his career when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), but he is probably best known to the younger audiences for his role as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith in the 1980s television show The A-Team , where he is the cigar-chomping leader of a renegade commando squad. He also starred as the millionaire sleuth in the 1972-74 TV series Banacek. Early lifeGeorge Peppard, Jr. was born in Detroit , Michigan . The son of building contractor George Peppard, Sr. and opera singer Vernelle Rohrer, he graduated from Dearborn High School in Dearborn , Michigan . Peppard enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 17 and rose to rank of acting Gunnery Sergeant in the artillery, leaving the Marines at the end of his first tour. He studied Civil Engineering at Purdue University where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He also attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh . Acting career
His good looks, elegant manner and superior acting skills landed Peppard his most famous film role as Paul Varjak (though Holly Golightly would usually refer to him as "Fred") in Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. This role boosted him briefly to a major film star. His leading roles included How the West Was Won in 1962, The Carpetbaggers in 1964 and The Blue Max in 1966. Peppard developed a tendency to choose tough guy roles in big, ambitious pictures where he was somewhat overshadowed by ensemble casts; for example, his role as German pilot Bruno Stachel, an obsessively competitive officer from humble beginnings who challenges the Prussian aristocracy during World War I in The Blue Max (1966). For this role, Peppard learned to fly, earned a private pilot's license and did his own stunt flying.
Among the disappointing films was the 1970 Western, Cannon for Cordoba , in which Peppard played the steely Captain Rod Douglas, who has been put in charge of gathering a group of soldiers on a dangerous mission into Mexico , and 1967's Rough Night in Jericho in which he co-starred with Dean Martin. Peppard appeared in the short lived (only 1/2 season) Doctors' Hospital (1975) and several other television films. He was in the science fiction film Damnation Alley in 1977. With fewer interesting film roles coming his way, he acted in, directed and produced the drama "Five Days from Home" (1979). In a rare game show appearance, Peppard did a week of shows on Password Plus in 1979. Out of five shows, one was never broadcast on NBC (but aired much later on GSN) due to a rant where Peppard expressed dissatisfaction with NBC executives watching "as if you're some sort of crook." Peppard was never asked to return to the show again. Dynasty (1981)Peppard was offered the original role of Blake Carrington in the TV series Dynasty (1981) and filmed the pilot episode with Linda Evans and Bo Hopkins. Peppard later turned down the role due to disagreements with writers; the part was subsequently offered to John Forsythe and the scenes with Peppard were reshot. Personal life
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In the pilot episode ("Mexican Slayride: Part 1"), Hannibal is described as follows by a reporter colleague of Amy Allen: "The leader [of the A-Team] is a Colonel named John Smith. But everybody calls him Hannibal. The guy has a very unorthodox style." Smith takes his name from the famous military commander and strategist, as told by B.A. Baracus in the same episode. He is distinguished by his constant cigar-smoking, his black leather gloves, and his many comic disguises. He is a master tactician (although his plans rarely turn out as they are supposed to) and seems to have a plan for getting the team out of any situation they get into. He is probably best known for his catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together". 
Peppard made his stage debut in 1949 at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He then enrolled in The Actors Studio in New York . His first work on Broadway led to his first television appearance, with a young Paul Newman, in The United States Steel Hour (1956). Peppard's Broadway appearance in " The Pleasure of His Company " (1958) led to an MGM contract. Prior to a strong film debut in The Strange One (1957), he was discovered playing Robert Mitchum's illegitimate son in the popular melodrama in Home From The Hill (1960) 
Due to Peppard's tendencies toward alcohol, his career led to a string of B films, except for a brief moment of notable success with the highly successful TV series Banacek (1972-74), (part of the NBC Mystery Movie series), and one of his most critically acclaimed, though rarely seen, performances in the TV movie Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975). 
A life-long smoker, Peppard was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992 and subsequently quit. His fifth wife and "number one fan", former West Palm Beach banker Laura Taylor, met and married him shortly after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and nursed him through his last 18 months. Cancer never forced his retirement from acting, and Peppard completed a pilot for a new series in 1994 (a Matlock spin-off) just shortly before his passing. 