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For Mr. T, gold chains are out, helping is in
By William Keck, USA TODAY
1980s pop-culture icon Mr. T (Rocky III, The A Team) was so touched by the plight of the victims of Hurricane Katrina that he has forever cast away the gold chains he so famously wore around his neck for more than two decades.
The new Mr. T, who has been donating clothes and money to Katrina victims, will be seen this fall in a new reality series airing on TV Land, called I Pity the Fool, which will find the devout Christian assisting those in need.
T, who has been privately visiting sick children in hospitals for years, says he might even be seen in a suit and bow tie on the show, if the occasion calls for it. The Chicago resident has moved to Sherman Oaks, Calif., to shoot the series, which will begin filming in October for a late-fall airdate.
"Even though people call this a reality show, this is what I've been doing all my life - going to Iraq and visiting hospitals," he says. "I'm going to be a troubleshooter. Like Mission: Impossible, we'll pick out certain cases." One scenario would find him suiting up to work at a car dealership to assist a saleswoman who is being harassed by her male co-workers. Another situation would place him in a family's home, to help a parent whose child has fallen in with the wrong crowd.
"TV has given me an opportunity to help the kids," says the 53-year-old. "A lot of times people ask me for an autograph, and I've felt bad because I didn't have a new show. Now I can entertain and also send a message."
What will remain the same is T's signature mohawk and repeated use of the word "fool." "I might say, 'Don't be disrespecting no lady, fool.' "
A cancer survivor, T says his T-cell lymphoma is being "controlled and killed." He continues getting monthly checkups and is viewing his new series as a pulpit. "The cancer was a test of my faith," he says. "God used me to do his will, to give somebody hope!"
Mr. T turned down several offers to appear on other reality shows, including VH1's The Surreal Life, which he finds insulting to participants. He was particularly troubled to see celebrities eating sushi off the body of a naked woman. "Everybody on that show is through - they're washed up. I told them to give me $5 million and I'd do that show; you don't insult me! They ain't dealin' with no fool! My show's not about eating worms or swapping wives. The whole family can sit around and watch this."
As for the gold chains, he says, "Because of the situation we're in now (after Katrina), I told myself, 'No, T, you can never wear your gold again. ' It's an insult to God."
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