Weve Got Mr T

That gold jewelery is real, and is worth around $300,000.

He was reported to earn around $80,000 a week for his role in the A-Team, though, and got $15,000 for a personal appearance, so he could afford to support his eccentricity. His earrings are especially made so that they won't damage his ears if they are caught during a fight (they'll just slip free), and he wears seven because of the religious significance of the numbers 3, 4, and 7. It takes him about an hour to put it on, incidentaly, and most nights he cleans it in an ultrasonic cleaner although some nights he sleeps in it "to see how my ancestors, who were slaves, felt." He gives much the same response if asked if it is heavy "nobody ever asked those enslaved ancestors if their chains are heavy!"

He makes little effort, he claims, to keep his body in shape, and is a confirmed junk food addict. Triple-decker hamburgers have been mentioned! He lived alone in a tower block apartment in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. He spends a great deal of time with his family in Chicago, however, and with his 13-year-old daughter Lesa, who lives there with her mother.

He was very active in community work, and was often to be found in MacLaren Hall, Los Angeles, a shelter for abused children bevcause, he says, "There's no telling how many lives you can turn around." He is very conscious of his responsibility toward the children who admire him and never drinks, smokes or takes drugs of any kind. He refuses to take any acting role that casts him as 'bad', and isn't keen on doing that he refers to as 'mushy scenes.'

"My style," he says, "is always a hungry fighter."

In the break between seasons of The A-Team, Mr T made a low-budget comedy movie, "DC Cab," which also starred Gary Busey and Musical Youth. In it, he played a taxi driver who protects kids from hoods. Also in the works is "Rev T," in which he plays a garbage collector who lauches a neighborhood compaign against drugs and crime. NBC made a series of cartoons based on 'the adventures of Mr T.' He has made several guest appearances; one in "Silver Spoons" (which isn't shown in the UK), and in the season opener of "Diff'rent Strokes." In the latter, the A-Team spends the week filming in the Drummond Apartment, and little Arnold has an identity crisis when he learns that his new girlfriend is only using him to meet Mr T. He attempts to emulate his idol (he looks ridiculous with a Mandinka!) and is told, firmly, "You gotta be your own original."

For the future, Mr T hopes to become a preacher in about five years' time.

When asked at a Press conference whether he is as thick as BA Baracus, he observed (quietly, because he usually does speak quietly!):
"It takes a smart guy to play dumb."