Mr. T on ghosts, UFOs, Pee-wee Herman, etc
Bizarre magazine in the UK conducted a rather odd interview with 1980s icon, Mr. T.
"How Bizarre is... Mr. T"Your current Snickers campaign sees you come out with a new trademark line, telling weedy men to “get some nuts”. Who’s the weakest guy you’ve ever encountered? Pee-wee Herman. Sadly, I’ve never had the chance to train him – to get him to beef up and man up! I don’t think there’d be enough time if I had eternity. And that little wimpy suit he wears doesn’t help matters.
But you’ve worn some pretty full-on outfits – dungarees, gold lamé waistcoats, all those necklaces...
When you’re a real man, you can dress up in whatever – spangly fabrics, women’s stuff or whatnot – because you’re secure enough in your masculinity to pull it off. But you’ve gotta be a real man inside the clothes.
Have you ever seen a ghost?
I’m not sure whether it was just my imagination, and the memory might have become blurred in my mind, but again, as a child, one night I peeked out from my bed covers and I saw a court jester wearing curly-toed shoes and a spiked hat with bells on sharp points. Perhaps I was dreaming – influenced by the sound of the wind whipping around outside the house, the building creaking and the rain tapping on the windows, but it seemed very real.
Previously:
the latest
latest episodes
He still talks about Pee-Wee in the present tense even though Paul Reubens hasn't done that character for years. Is it possible that T is actually as stuck in the 80s as our collective notion of him is?
Yes.
A couple of years ago a reporter asked Mr. T if he still pities the fool, and Mr. T replied, "I pity the fool who asks me if I still pity the fool." He gets a lifetime free pass for that.
"Pity the fool..."
THAT'S the ghostly court jester!!
That last question. What the heck?
"If you could have a magical power, what would it be?
Easy question! That’s too, too easy Alix! Wow. I appreciate your sweetness giving me such an easy question! I’d have the power to heal little children. I’d want to make sure they all got an education and weren’t scrabbling around in garbage and eating scraps of junk, like the kids in India shown in that movie, Slumdog Millionaire. I hope the people that made that film are investing some of the profits into cleaning up the area where they filmed, and doing something to improve those kids’ lives. Yeah, I’d want to help the tiny ones who are blind, who have diseases like AIDS and problems like muscular dystrophy... I’d heal the children and save the babies."
Mr. T still kicks all kinds of ass.
As ridiculous as people make Mr. T out to be, I had the opportunity to meet the guy, and he is honestly a completely wonderful person.
If every guy out there was half the man Mr. T is the world would be a better place. I'm absolutely serious when I say that.
@ #7,
I would love to hear the story.
I met Mr. T once - at a cable TV dance performance taping I did.
The other dancers were too shy to go up and talk to him, but not me. I grew up watching the A-team, man! He was very very polite, approachable, humble, and kind-hearted. I was stoked.
Piddy da foo.
Oh well, that's entertainment I guess since we don't have Bush anymore to spew such ineptitudes.
I pity the fool who trolls on a Mr. T comment thread.
I worked on a really stupid movie in the early 90s in which Mr. T played a bearded lady. He was always very cool to me, and I was about as low on the production totem pole as you could go.
One time I happened to see him walking around the lot in his bearded lady costume. Some kids came up to the fence and recognized him. Now, remember this is a guy who was a HUGE star, but is not getting a lot of gigs at this point. In fact he was picked for the role of the bearded lady in this dumb movie pretty much for the irony of it all. And he's wearing a dress. But he stopped and talked to the kids for about a half hour.
He went on and on about staying in school and keeping away from drugs and listening to your mama and the whole nine yards. The kids LOVED him. His persona was all bluster, but he was totally genuine and they knew it, even though he was Mr. T wearing a dress.
Also, I should say that I'm positive Mr. T didn't know that I (or anyone else) saw him. It was a secluded spot and I'm sure he thought it was just him and the kids. He stopped and talked to them because he viewed himself as a role model and that's what role models do.
It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen. He clearly cared about the kids and what he wanted to say to them. And they absolutely loved him. I really think he would have stayed there talking to them for hours if he didn't have scenes to shoot.
Anyway, my point is that Mr. T rocks. He is a good man.
wow
"I’d have the power to heal little children"
wow. I am stunned. I hope I have the grace and class to remember this answer, because it trumps darn near any other possible answer.
Riches? Power? Fame? all worthless after his answer.
Say what you will, .. but that was brilliant.
"But you’ve gotta be a real man inside the clothes."
Best line in the world.
The man had his own CEREAL for a while. You don't get more famous than that.
@14 Well, easy to trump, though. "I'd love the power to heal." I'm sure it was in now way intended, but limiting it to children implies that suffering of adults is somewhat less noteworthy. Not as cuddly as children.
For the record, I also don't believe in the "not hitting women"- rule. Simple because no one "deserves" hitting.
Am I the only one that cant help but read this in his voice?
@18 Anonymous:
Me too! I couldn't help reading the whole thing as if it were delivered in the stern, angry BA Barackus voice. For example, imagine Mr. T. staring you down and shouting:
"I prefer steak – well done, no blood – with baked potatoes, mash, and some salad with balsamic vinaigrette."
It was cool what he had to say and all, and I do honestly admire him, but I have to admit I was cracking up the whole time I read that.
I grew up in a much poorer nearby town, and this made me love Mr. T forever:
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/30/us/genteel-chicago-suburb-rages-over-mr-t-s-tree-massacre.html
OK now you're all making me appreciate Mr. T.
What will become of me!?
I once worked at a ritzy wine shop in West Los Angeles, and Mr. T was a customer. At the time, he was pretty far past his A-Team glory, but he was all positive energy in hospital scrubs, dookie rope chains and sunglasses, and he would carry (seriously) a golden goblet, which he would set down on the counter before ordering 2 cases of Champale. Super nice guy, and he'd throw in a fat tip for the carry-out.
Wow. Reading all these comments make me wonder about the man. o_o After reading comment #13 I might just have to replace all my Chuck Norris jokes with Mr. T jokes instead.
Or maybe, instead of unicorn chasers we can have Mr. T chasers instead. Want moar Mr. T sighting anecdotes please!
"I pity the fool who asks me if I still pity the fool" is airtight. It makes itself true.
I got you all beat. I was Mr. T's bodyguard at a Barnes and Noble book signing back in the 80's.
Great guy, a total hoot, certainly didn't need my protective abilities, since his biceps were as big as my thigh. He signed a bunch of books. He made a point to tell every kid, "Stay off drugs" interspersing that with "Keep your hands off the car."
Tipped me a benjy for basically doing nothing. Wacky, but a class act. Unforgettable.
I always liked this line he spoke in "The A Team," to some bad person from whom he wanted information:
"You've got two choices:
Start talking, or
Start hurting."
The collected wisdom of BA Barakus, or "why do I remenber this stuff":
To another (petty) criminal, one he was "letting off the hook":
"You a very lucky man:
I'm gonna let you
live
."That's it. I don't know any others.
I said I ain't getting on no plane Hannibal.
If you're a real man, you can also amass an incredible amount of refuse in your yard, prompting authorities to take legal action against you.
If you haven't seen the Friar's Club roast of Mr. T, you should. It's less of a traditional roast and more of an ass-kissing soiree. Plus, it features Gary Coleman.
I have recently obtained a VHS of the pilot to the A-Team. He is amazing in it.
@20
That article was worth it just for this line
"Mr. T, who manned a chain saw alongside other landscape workers here, has declined to be interviewed about his reasons for removing the trees."
This guy is just so genuine, it's really magnificent.
Mr. T, a noted Christian, earned his place in my heart when he went on a televangelist's show and, after being introduced, broke out with: "Don't give these fools your money..." They cut to a commercial and when they came back, Mr. T was gone.
Kelsey Grammer once recounted a hilarious evening when Mr. T threw a drink in Hef's face at the Playboy Mansion.
@32 Anonymous,
Is this video on the internet?
@glitchveggie: The "Mr. T vs. X" - the first meme I ever was exposed to on the Internet - predates Chuck Norris memes by years and outclasses them in both humor and craft by miles.
Silly ghost story... didn't RatDog once say he used to pull burglaries in West Hollywood dressed as a jester?