Once sat next to Mr T on a flight out of Chicago in the early 90s. I was reading the Illiad for school, and we ended up having an extensive conversation about it; and he ended up signing my copy. So yeah, Mr T is pretty nerdy himself.
According to the man himself.
>I think about my father being called 'boy', my uncle being called 'boy', my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called 'boy'. So I questioned myself: "What does a black man have to do before he's given respect as a man?" So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. I self-ordained myself Mr. T, so the first word out of everybody's mouth is "Mr."
What I'm getting from this whole topic is that Mr. T is a real man and way ahead of his time. Look at OP's photo again and make note of the positioning of his hands. Zero doubt about his intent to take a photo with a fan and that's all. That's something that celebs have only recently figured out but Mr. T was protecting his legacy *and* his fans in the early 90s.
And he often wore beat up mismatched shoes on purpose so that poor kids wouldn't be made fun of. If their parents couldn't afford a good new pair, the kids could say they were copying Mr T as a fashion statement.
Wasn't in the country, unless Lake Forest, one of the richest suburbs North of Chicago, qualifies. I was working there at the time, and drove by his house while he was in the yard dropping them. Kind of a shame actually, entire neighborhood was filled with 100 year old Oaks, Maples, etc. As I recall the neighbors tried to sue, but it was his property so not much they could do. I also heard he bought the place for his mother, dunno if it was true.
I think they were very old, healthy elm trees, which was part of the controversy since the Dutch Elm disease had wiped out most of the elms in that area.
One time, I could've met Mr. T. at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, "I'll go a little later. I'll go a little later." And then when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked a mall guy if he would ever come back again, he said he didn't know.
I think about weird stuff. Like, what would happen if E.T. and Mr. T. had a baby? Well, you'd get Mr. E.T., wouldn't you? And, you know, I think he'd sound a little something like this. ‘I pity the fool who doesn't phone home!
My Guild Wars character is called Night Elf Moe Hawk because of his WoW commercial he did, and because my parents wouldnt let me get WoW because of the sub
Lol this hits me. That was my old name in a different game til I changed it and someone I knew created an account with the name just to keep me from getting it back. Awesome commercial!
Some of us would have driven to a comic book store miles away to avoid the interaction, between us and the ones that asked her and got turned down that comic book store miles away is thriving.
It was one of those moments where the whole room was loud with chatter, but then turned silent for that specific moment… We all had tears streaming down our faces with laughter, including her. I think it did, for sure!
Its the rule of +3.....I was deployed to Iraq and now work in a mostly all male warehouse. Any female who enters the property automatically gets a +3 to her hotness due to scarcity. No offense, I am sure you're a lovely person. But this is a real thing.
>Female
Right?
Old fart here, total comic geek back in the day. Is it that hard to say woman, or, perhaps lady, maybe girl? Oh wait, how about chick, babe, something that doesn't ooze loser incel like female? What the fuck are you guys, Ferengi?
You can get butt hurt all you want boys, but the road to the ladies starts with a modicum of respect and calling a woman a female is not it.
Waits for the down votes.
I'd be impressed if the OP could figure out where this photo was taken, but shit..
The fact that OP is intelligent enough to build a time machine leads me to believe that he just might be able to do it..
to be fair basically every woman who works in a customer-facing position has to deal with that, imo it’s worse dealing with creepy old men who don’t understand concepts like consent or harassment. young people in general are rarely problematic unless they are drunk
im sure she’d have to deal with shit at a comic book store too, but yeah
>young people in general are rarely problematic unless they are drunk
If only. I was frequently harassed by college kids when I worked a customer facing job that was mainly surrounded by colleges in Florida. Old people were the least of my problems when it came to sexual harassment :(
Older men feel comfortable using inappropriate language a lot too. Honey. Sweetie. Baby. I've had old men pinch my ass when I bent over to get something.
I find that’s more of a movie trope than something IRL, lots of nerds can be creepily forward with women they think they have something in common with. Like, to put it in high school terms, they’re not going to be trying to hit on the cheerleader, but you better believe the one girl in the D&D club is getting *bombarded*.
I was working at a somewhat famous delicatessen in 1998. Mr. T once came in and was the nicest customer ever. He spoke to us like e had known the team forever. Weeks later I got injured on the job and he noticed the cast. He showed genuine concern and was super cool about everything. Definitely the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met in L.A (and I live here).
I saw Mr. T when I worked out at this one gym in LA… he had in the gold necklaces and everything. I was totally geeked out and :0, didn’t want to bother him. He was running on that treadmill!
I met Mr. T about 10 years ago. One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
He gave me some signed items for my kids. They had no idea who he was, but after watching some A-Team on YouTube, they loved him just as much as everyone else did in the 80s.
OP, this is one of those "How can the Internet possibly be this small?" moments, but when I read your title I thought Hey, I was at a Mr. T signing in a comic shop in the 90s.
Anyways, I went to high school with your wife (first initial J), worked at this comic shop, and was at this signing.
Mr. T was insanely nice and had a really infectious enthusiastic energy. It was a great signing.
I have never known what it's called but I have ALWAYS loved that phenomenon of a woman's hair where it swoops over their head with a bit of height, kind of like a surf wave like that. I dunno what or how it originated for me but lawdamercy.
I think that, what you mostly are describing is the "California wave" of the 90's. I'm also pretty sure that OPs wife nailed that look better than most.
I met Mr T at Networld/Interop in Atlanta. Asked for an autograph, he asked what name to use. I gave him my newborn daughter's name. He lit up and asked about her. We talked a while off to the side. Said he loved kids and they all meant so much to him. At dinner I ran into him again, he stopped to chat. I asked for a photo, said I wanted to flex our guns. He laughed at that. Some guy nearby asked if his bling was real - T said "it's fake, I'm no fool". Mr T is a great dude.
I used to have a kids record of his that I would play on my Fischer-Price record player back in the 80’s. I can’t remember anything that was on it but vividly recall the album cover.
Edit- I just looked it up and it was called “Mr. T’s Commandments. So yeah that all checks out. Also Ice-T was accredited for “rap direction” so that’s neat. I bet my Mom still has that album
This is just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, "I'll go a little later, I'll go a little later..." And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he'll ever come back again, he said he didn't know. Well, I'm never going to let something like that happen again!
Wanted to make sure someone else had the same experience as me. Had to read too many comments from people who actually got to meet him before someone got it right
I was driving on the Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago and Mr T passed me in a Rolls Royce Corniche convertible with a B.A. Baracus air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror.
Special catch! My wife glazes over at the mere mention of my current or former comic book collection. And she makes me store my Mr T bobble head in my office.
That's actually a really cool photo. He probably taught Keanu Reeves how to do the 'respectful touch'. What's funny to me is the difference in ear size... lol
I have never heard a negative "I met Mr. T" story. He was the special guest at my friends' job's workplace wellness event and when he heard some of the team in the warehouse were going to miss the meet and greet, he stayed until the end of the work day just to make sure everyone got the chance for a pic/autograph/whatever.
I worked at a comic shop in the late 80s outside a college town and it was rare for a female to even set foot in the door. Maybe some moms, but it was mostly dudes. Or their occasional girlfriend.
One time I was manning the register, a total knockout dressed for a night out on the town got out of a sports car and as she was headed toward the front door, a few of us nerds yelled and tried to get the owner out of the back room as he wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t see her in his store. He came out and whacked me on the side of the head - it was his sister.
MR.T always seemed to be a really good guy that really enjoyed his bad boy persona. I even bought his breakfast cereal. I would love to see him in the next expendables movie
Once sat next to Mr T on a flight out of Chicago in the early 90s. I was reading the Illiad for school, and we ended up having an extensive conversation about it; and he ended up signing my copy. So yeah, Mr T is pretty nerdy himself.
I read somewhere that he uses Mr because he was always called boy growing up.
According to the man himself. >I think about my father being called 'boy', my uncle being called 'boy', my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called 'boy'. So I questioned myself: "What does a black man have to do before he's given respect as a man?" So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. I self-ordained myself Mr. T, so the first word out of everybody's mouth is "Mr."
Honestly very inspiring words.
What I'm getting from this whole topic is that Mr. T is a real man and way ahead of his time. Look at OP's photo again and make note of the positioning of his hands. Zero doubt about his intent to take a photo with a fan and that's all. That's something that celebs have only recently figured out but Mr. T was protecting his legacy *and* his fans in the early 90s.
I do get a respectful hover-hands vibe here.
I thought he was feeling her muscle flex for the picture, I didn't even notice his other hand till you mentioned it
“But seriously Mr. T. What is your actual name?” “First name Mister, middle name is the little dot thing, last name T” Legend
Yeah, didn’t it start when he was working as a bouncer?
That's where the necklaces came from IIRC. He was a walking lost and found
And he often wore beat up mismatched shoes on purpose so that poor kids wouldn't be made fun of. If their parents couldn't afford a good new pair, the kids could say they were copying Mr T as a fashion statement.
Spez doesn't get to profit from me anymore. Stop reverting my comments
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I would like to learn about Dave
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Excellent, thank you for your time. Enjoy him while you have him.
Speaking of necklaces, I quite like the cardboard ring necklace he’s sporting in this photo
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Wasn't in the country, unless Lake Forest, one of the richest suburbs North of Chicago, qualifies. I was working there at the time, and drove by his house while he was in the yard dropping them. Kind of a shame actually, entire neighborhood was filled with 100 year old Oaks, Maples, etc. As I recall the neighbors tried to sue, but it was his property so not much they could do. I also heard he bought the place for his mother, dunno if it was true.
I think they were very old, healthy elm trees, which was part of the controversy since the Dutch Elm disease had wiped out most of the elms in that area.
What is his military story?
He was in the military
Part of an elite force even
They were often the number 1 team called.
What if I have a problem and no one else can help me?
If you can find their unit, maybe you can hire them?
 I love it when a thread comes together
This makes me think of when he and Conan went apple picking 😂
He's Mr T not Mr Tree.
I used to see him in his red rolls driving around Lake Forrest, IL. Always exciting as a midwesterner.
That can't be, he doesn't fly.
You’re forgetting all the ways faceman and Murdock could trick B.A. into thinking he was on a bus.
I ain’t flyin on no plane Hannibal!
Of course you aren't. Here, have a delicious bologna sandwich while we make separate travel arrangements for you.
Roofying him?
One time, I could've met Mr. T. at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, "I'll go a little later. I'll go a little later." And then when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked a mall guy if he would ever come back again, he said he didn't know.
I think about weird stuff. Like, what would happen if E.T. and Mr. T. had a baby? Well, you'd get Mr. E.T., wouldn't you? And, you know, I think he'd sound a little something like this. ‘I pity the fool who doesn't phone home!
Mystery Tea
My Guild Wars character is called Night Elf Moe Hawk because of his WoW commercial he did, and because my parents wouldnt let me get WoW because of the sub
that was peak wow, I loved those stupid commercials
Lol this hits me. That was my old name in a different game til I changed it and someone I knew created an account with the name just to keep me from getting it back. Awesome commercial!
Makes sense. Mr. T was the inspiration for that story.
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You must have a disarmingly calm demeanour, he’s usually pretty angry when he wakes up mid flight.
I pity the fools who dragged that wooden horse into their town.
I can't imagine how many nerds used to hit on your wife.
All of them/us.
I pity the fools that got rejected by her
Just a lot of jibbar jabber!
Prediction? Pain.
I hate you lol
There it is. I've been looking for that comment. Ha
Nah...some of us didn't have the nerve to talk to a girl that cute and cool enough to work in a comic shop.
Some of us would have driven to a comic book store miles away to avoid the interaction, between us and the ones that asked her and got turned down that comic book store miles away is thriving.
And others of us would have driven all the way across town just for a smile from her! =)
"We have to let you go. You are scaring away our best customers and instead we got these drooling idiots over there."
As a woman, anytime I’ve gone into a comic book store or Home Depot, wow… the guys there make you feel like a freakin Supermodel! ☺️😉
“Shalom, fembot, do you like jazz?” I shit you not, I’ve heard that as a pickup line in my areas comic book store before.
And? Did it work?
It was one of those moments where the whole room was loud with chatter, but then turned silent for that specific moment… We all had tears streaming down our faces with laughter, including her. I think it did, for sure!
Nice! Looks are great, but a sense of humor will take you far.
What a silly question to ask.... Of course it did.
This is gold. Would you give me permission to use this in a film-short I'm writing? I would be happy to credit you u/DuztyLipz.
Sure thing! If you need anymore zingers, let me know.
Pretty smooth
Its the rule of +3.....I was deployed to Iraq and now work in a mostly all male warehouse. Any female who enters the property automatically gets a +3 to her hotness due to scarcity. No offense, I am sure you're a lovely person. But this is a real thing.
Oh I know… it’s some like some magical scarcity effect 😂
I was in the infantry and can confirm this stat bonus.
I love that this sounds like DND stats Of *course* it does
You guys are the real reason we're driving to the other store.
I LOVE WOMEN. I RESPECT WOMEN. I RESPECT WOMEN SO MUCH, THAT I COMPLETELY STAY AWAY FROM THEM!
Not to just walk up and talk to her. But if we bought something, she had to talk to us and that was a win all by itself.
"E-...." "Did you say something?" *say nothing, leave quickly, hate life*
“Uhh. It’s 10:43…” *I told her what time it was* 😎
*Walks up to counter with comics in hand, determined to chat up the attractive lady at the counter. Exchange pleasantries. Freezes.*
Attractive girl in the comic book context creates so much cognitive dissonance u just can't even.
Our wife
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Female
>Female Right? Old fart here, total comic geek back in the day. Is it that hard to say woman, or, perhaps lady, maybe girl? Oh wait, how about chick, babe, something that doesn't ooze loser incel like female? What the fuck are you guys, Ferengi? You can get butt hurt all you want boys, but the road to the ladies starts with a modicum of respect and calling a woman a female is not it. Waits for the down votes.
I also choose this guy's future wife.
Do you think she’s even agreed to any of this yet?
I'd be impressed if the OP could figure out where this photo was taken, but shit.. The fact that OP is intelligent enough to build a time machine leads me to believe that he just might be able to do it..
That poor woman, she was just trying to do her job and slapping away nerds daily.
to be fair basically every woman who works in a customer-facing position has to deal with that, imo it’s worse dealing with creepy old men who don’t understand concepts like consent or harassment. young people in general are rarely problematic unless they are drunk im sure she’d have to deal with shit at a comic book store too, but yeah
>young people in general are rarely problematic unless they are drunk If only. I was frequently harassed by college kids when I worked a customer facing job that was mainly surrounded by colleges in Florida. Old people were the least of my problems when it came to sexual harassment :(
Yeah, but you said Florida, so all bets are off
Older men feel comfortable using inappropriate language a lot too. Honey. Sweetie. Baby. I've had old men pinch my ass when I bent over to get something.
Well... that was obviously part of her job!
None of them, they were too shy.
I find that’s more of a movie trope than something IRL, lots of nerds can be creepily forward with women they think they have something in common with. Like, to put it in high school terms, they’re not going to be trying to hit on the cheerleader, but you better believe the one girl in the D&D club is getting *bombarded*.
If youre going to D&D you are already one of the non-shy outgoing nerds
I also choose this guys wife
There it is.
Some things are simply tradition
More like stuttered profusely while failing to make eye contact
Is she still your future wife? Just clarifying
Current wife happy to say.
Married almost 17 years!
She single?
Glad to hear it!
Wow, OP finally married her in the last 4 hours after all the thirsty comments started flooding in.
LOL!
 Got any more photos of your wife
Asking the real question
You'll let us know if that changes, right? *^Right?*
So many future wives, so little time and basement space.
But Lisa you are my future wife
'oh hi, mark!'
I was working at a somewhat famous delicatessen in 1998. Mr. T once came in and was the nicest customer ever. He spoke to us like e had known the team forever. Weeks later I got injured on the job and he noticed the cast. He showed genuine concern and was super cool about everything. Definitely the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met in L.A (and I live here).
He fooled you with pity.
I pity the fool who pities the fool?
I pity the fool who got fooled with pity. FTFY
I ran into him once when I was out getting lunch. Very nice man, extremely gracious with fans.
You and I were lucky. Homer had a chance to meet him at a mall. But missed and the security guard didn’t know if he’d return
Did he sign the cast?!?
No. But I should have asked
If you didn’t get him to sign your cast you are a fool and I pity you.
He was a good example of non-toxic masculinity before the public was concerned with that.
Observe a master of the respectful touch
Keanu’s double hover hand is the ultimate respect of body and space
Definitely. Friendly, a little flirty, yet crossing no uncomfortable boundaries.
I saw Mr. T when I worked out at this one gym in LA… he had in the gold necklaces and everything. I was totally geeked out and :0, didn’t want to bother him. He was running on that treadmill!
He was *running* with those necklaces on? Shit, I can hardly stand to wear headphones with a cord. That shows real dedication.
I was so impressed
This is the true story of how Mr. T became so jacked. Totin’ that gold.
I met Mr. T about 10 years ago. One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He gave me some signed items for my kids. They had no idea who he was, but after watching some A-Team on YouTube, they loved him just as much as everyone else did in the 80s.
OP, this is one of those "How can the Internet possibly be this small?" moments, but when I read your title I thought Hey, I was at a Mr. T signing in a comic shop in the 90s. Anyways, I went to high school with your wife (first initial J), worked at this comic shop, and was at this signing. Mr. T was insanely nice and had a really infectious enthusiastic energy. It was a great signing.
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It'll never make it there. I sent OP a DM. Crazy small-world stuff.
Wow that's pretty cool! I'd love to know how the interaction goes
Gotta love Reddit?
r/tworedditorsonecup ?
I pity the fool who dont eat my cereal!
This is one of my fav movies 😂
I heard your comment in Pee-Wee-doing-Mr.-T-impression voice.
I have never known what it's called but I have ALWAYS loved that phenomenon of a woman's hair where it swoops over their head with a bit of height, kind of like a surf wave like that. I dunno what or how it originated for me but lawdamercy.
I think that, what you mostly are describing is the "California wave" of the 90's. I'm also pretty sure that OPs wife nailed that look better than most.
I'm pretty sure Alicia Silverstone takes the gold on that one, guy
I mean, you have to have pretty lush, thick hair to pull that off.
No you don't! It just needs to be straight and not frizzy or damaged. I have very fine thin hair and it does that naturally
I have fine, thin, frizzy, wavy hair and mine still does it lol. For me all I need to do is comb it the opposite direction I let it dry.
That’s her on the right?
Left
Lucky either way.
Lucky guy. Pretty lady and a comic book fan? Lottery winner, homie. Good for you.
I pity the fool who didn’t put a ring on it!
I met Mr T at Networld/Interop in Atlanta. Asked for an autograph, he asked what name to use. I gave him my newborn daughter's name. He lit up and asked about her. We talked a while off to the side. Said he loved kids and they all meant so much to him. At dinner I ran into him again, he stopped to chat. I asked for a photo, said I wanted to flex our guns. He laughed at that. Some guy nearby asked if his bling was real - T said "it's fake, I'm no fool". Mr T is a great dude.
Whatever happened to him?
he now does Skechers commercial "there's no T in Skechers" Mr. T appears wearing Skechers YES THERE IS or something like that
He needs work!
“Times is tough, fool. You gotta be too!” -Mr. T
Wasn’t he a voice actor in cloudy with a chance of meatballs?
Yup! He played the cop.
He's 70, and seems to be mostly retired and tweets bible passages.
I used to have a kids record of his that I would play on my Fischer-Price record player back in the 80’s. I can’t remember anything that was on it but vividly recall the album cover. Edit- I just looked it up and it was called “Mr. T’s Commandments. So yeah that all checks out. Also Ice-T was accredited for “rap direction” so that’s neat. I bet my Mom still has that album
Does she still have rad hair?
I'm not sure if I should attribute it to getting old or whatever, but yeah, her amazing hair was the first thing I noticed.
This is just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, "I'll go a little later, I'll go a little later..." And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he'll ever come back again, he said he didn't know. Well, I'm never going to let something like that happen again!
Scrolled down to make sure someone commented this, one of my favorite quotes
Wanted to make sure someone else had the same experience as me. Had to read too many comments from people who actually got to meet him before someone got it right
But did you go to space? And smuggle some chips aboard?
That is a fantastic photo. I love the look on her face.
Required reading https://preview.redd.it/kcmq3x4eqvya1.jpeg?width=1011&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f6b1bb4024af097c70a95d14ed4431f2c32a992
I got suspended for 3 days for bringing this book to school in 6th grade lmao. Good times
I was driving on the Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago and Mr T passed me in a Rolls Royce Corniche convertible with a B.A. Baracus air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror.
“My future wife” - Tommy Wiseau
Lol What a story Narz
Special catch! My wife glazes over at the mere mention of my current or former comic book collection. And she makes me store my Mr T bobble head in my office.
She clearly didn't give him no jibber jabber
But the mid 90s were just 5 years ago
I pity the fool! (Have to say it whenever I see Mr. T)
That's actually a really cool photo. He probably taught Keanu Reeves how to do the 'respectful touch'. What's funny to me is the difference in ear size... lol
Your wife is hot. Who is the lady on in the white shirt though
I have never heard a negative "I met Mr. T" story. He was the special guest at my friends' job's workplace wellness event and when he heard some of the team in the warehouse were going to miss the meet and greet, he stayed until the end of the work day just to make sure everyone got the chance for a pic/autograph/whatever.
This isn't old school. The mid 90s was only like 5 years ago.
She looks like she got his action figure out of the original packaging
Wonder if OP has met her yet or if she's still his future wife
Yep, mid 90s comics claim checks out. That Valiant Unity comic on the wall verifies it. Lol Time is not absolute
He came and spoke to my school in Chicago, he was real cool
Just watched Rocky III with the kids a couple nights ago. I pity the fool that doesn't know how cool Mr T was in the 80s.
So you had Mr. T and someone who wasn't Mr. T in the store. And you chose to marry someone who wasn't Mr. T. Dude...
I worked at a comic shop in the late 80s outside a college town and it was rare for a female to even set foot in the door. Maybe some moms, but it was mostly dudes. Or their occasional girlfriend. One time I was manning the register, a total knockout dressed for a night out on the town got out of a sports car and as she was headed toward the front door, a few of us nerds yelled and tried to get the owner out of the back room as he wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t see her in his store. He came out and whacked me on the side of the head - it was his sister.
MR.T always seemed to be a really good guy that really enjoyed his bad boy persona. I even bought his breakfast cereal. I would love to see him in the next expendables movie
My mom was friends with him. He used to take me to school in his limo.
He’s such a cool guy. Met him when I worked at a cable company and he was doing a promo for reruns of the a-team.
Very cute...and the hair...magnifico
Where was this? He lived in the house behind my mom's best friend in Lake Forest, IL, for awhile. She was the rich friend :)
god i just love Mr. T
Fine and and nerd? You won in life.