A team at work

A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.

A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize his/her strengths and minimize his/her weaknesses. Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations.^[1]

Thus teams of game players can form (and re-form) to practise their craft. Transport logistics executives can select teams of horses, dogs or oxen for the purpose of conveying goods.

Theorists in business in the late 20th century popularised the concept of constructing teams. Differing opinions exist on the efficacy of this new management fad. Some see "team" as a four-letter word: overused and under-useful. Others see it as a panacea that finally realizes the human relations movement's desire to integrate what that movement perceives as best for workers and as best for managers. Still others believe in the effectiveness of teams, but also see them as dangerous because of the potential for exploiting workers — in that team effectiveness can rely on peer pressure and peer surveillance.

Compare the more structured/skilled concept of a crew, and the advantages of formal and informal partnerships.

Team size, composition, and formation[link]

Team size and composition affect the team processes and outcomes. The optimal size (and composition) of teams is debated and will vary depending on the task at hand. At least one study of problem-solving in groups showed an optimal size of groups at four members. Other works estimate the optimal size between 5-12 members.^{[citation needed]} Belbin did extensive research on teams prior to 1990 in the UK that clearly demonstrated that the optimum team size is 8 roles plus a specialist as needed.^[2] Fewer than 5 members results in decreased perspectives and diminished creativity. Membership in excess of 12 results in increased conflict and greater potential of sub-groups forming.

David Cooperrider suggests that the larger the group, the better. This is because a larger group is able to address concerns of the whole system. So while a large team may be ineffective at performing a given task, Cooperider says that the relevance of that task should be considered, because determining whether the team is effective first requires identifying what needs to be accomplished.

Regarding composition, all teams will have an element of homogeneity and heterogeneity. The more homogeneous the group, the more cohesive it will be. The more heterogeneous the group, the greater the differences in perspective and increased potential for creativity, but also the greater potential for conflict.

Team members normally have different roles, like team leader and agents. Large teams can divide into sub-teams according to need.

Many teams go through a life-cycle of stages, identified by Bruce Tuckman as: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

Types of teams[link]

Independent and interdependent teams[link]

A rugby union scrum

Of particular importance is the concept of different types of teams. A distinction is usually drawn between "independent" and "interdependent" teams. To continue the sports team example, a rugby team is clearly an interdependent team:

• no significant task can be accomplished without the help and cooperation of any of the members;
• within that team members typically specialize in different tasks (running the ball, goal kicking & scrum feeding), and
• the success of every individual is inextricably bound to the success of the whole team. No rugby player, no matter how talented, has ever won a game by playing alone.

On the other hand, a chess or bowling team is a classic example of an independent team:

• matches are played and won, or points are scored, by individuals or partners;
• every person performs basically the same actions;
• how one player performs has no direct effect on the performance of the next player. If all team members each perform the same basic tasks, such as students working problems in a math class, or outside sales employees making phone calls, then it is likely that this team is an independent team. They may be able to help each other — perhaps by offering advice or practice time, by providing moral support, or by helping in the background during a busy time — but each individual's success is primarily due to each individual's own efforts. Chess players do not win their own matches merely because the rest of their teammates did, and math students do not pass tests merely because their neighbours know how to solve the equations.

Coaching an "interdependent" team like a football team necessarily requires a different approach from coaching an "independent" team because the costs and benefits to individual team members — and therefore the intrinsic incentives for positive team behaviors — are very different. An interdependent team benefits from getting to know the other team members socially, from developing trust in each other, and from conquering artificial challenges (such as offered in outdoors ropes courses).

Project teams[link]

A team used only for a defined period of time and for a separate, concretely definable purpose, often becomes known as a project team. Managers commonly label groups of people as a "team" based on having a common function. Members of these teams might belong to different groups, but receive assignment to activities for the same project, thereby allowing outsiders to view them as a single unit. In this way, setting up a team allegedly facilitates the creation, tracking and assignment of a group of people based on the project in hand. The use of the "team" label in this instance often has no relationship to whether the employees are working as a team.

Sports teams[link]

A sports team is a group of people which play a sport together. Members include all players (even those who are waiting their turn to play) as well as support members such as a team manager or coach.

Virtual teams[link]

Developments in communications technologies have seen the emergence of the virtual work team. A virtual team is a group of people who work interdependently and with shared purpose across space, time, and organisation boundaries using technology to communicate and collaborate. Virtual team members can be located across a country or across the world, rarely meet face-to-face, and include members from different cultures.^[3] Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S. & Taha, Z. in their recent (2009) literature review paper, added two key issues to definition of a virtual team “as small temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/ or time dispersed knowledge workers who coordinate their work predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in order to accomplish one or more organization tasks”.^[4] Many virtual teams are cross-functional and emphasis solving customer problems or generating new work processes. The United States Labour Department reported that in 2001, 19 million people worked from home online or from another location, and that by the end of 2002, over 100 million people world-wide would be working outside traditional offices.^[5]

Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams[link]

Teams, such as in medical fields, may be interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary.^[6] Multidisciplinary teams involve several professionals who independently treat various issues a patient may have, focusing on the issues in which they specialise. The problems that are being treated may or may not relate to other issues being addressed by individual team members. Interdisciplinary team approach involves all members of the team working together towards the same goal. In an interdisciplinary team approach, there can often be role blending by members of the core team, who may take on tasks usually filled by other team members.^[6]

Not all groups are teams[link]

Some people also use the word "team" when they mean "employees." A "sales team" is a common example of this loose or perhaps euphemistic usage, though inter dependencies exist in organisations, and a sales team can be let down by poor performance on other parts of the organisation upon which sales depend, like delivery, after-sales service, etc.. However "sales staff" is a more precise description of the typical arrangement.

From groups to teams[link]

Groups develop into teams in four stages. The four stages are: dependency and inclusion, counter dependency and fighting, trust and structure, and work. In the first stage, group development is characterized by members' dependency on the designated leader. In the second stage, the group seeks to free itself from its dependence on the leader and groups have conflicts about goals and procedures. In the third stage, the group manages to work through the conflicts. And in the last stage, groups focus on team productivity.^{[7][clarification needed]}

See also[link]

• Air-defense experiments
• Coalition
• Community
• Forming-storming-norming-performing
• Group (sociology)
• Groups of people
• Team Action Management
• Judge–advisor system
• Teamwork
• Team building
• Player
• Virtual team
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• Driving (horse)
• Team Composition

References[link]

Look up teem or team in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Background information
Birth name	Edward Christopher Sheeran
Born	(1991-02-17) 17 February 1991 (age 21)
Origin	Halifax, England
Genres	Folk, acoustic, hip hop, grime
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, rapper, beatboxer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, BOSS Loop Pedal RC-30
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Asylum, Atlantic Records
Associated acts	Yelawolf, Devlin, Wiley, Ghetts, P Money, Wretch 32, Sway DaSafo, Jamie Woon, Yasmin, Amy Wadge[1]
Website	edsheeran.com

Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter who is currently signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records.^[2] Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.^[3]

Life and career[link]

1991–2011: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire to Irish^[4] and English^[5] parents, before moving to Framlingham, Suffolk; he is a cousin of TV journalist and presenter Gordon Burns.^[6] He learned guitar at a very young age, and began writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham.^[7] His early childhood memories, referred to in a interview on the Zane Lowe show, included listening to Van Morrison on his countless trips to London with his parents and going to an intimate gig with Damien Rice in Ireland when he was 11.^[8] He also opened for Nizlopi in Norwich in April 2008 after being one of their guitar technicians.^[7] Sheeran began recording in 2005, which led to the release of his first EP, The Orange Room EP. Sheeran also released 2 albums, a self-titled one in 2006 and Want Some? in 2007. He moved to London in 2008 to play gigs, starting off in very small venues, playing every day, to as little as five people. In 2008, he auditioned for the ITV series Britannia High.^[9]

In 2009, Sheeran played 312 gigs. He said that he read an interview with James Morrison that said that Morrison had done 200 gigs in a year, and Sheeran wanted to beat him on this number.^[10] Also in 2009, he released another EP, You Need Me, just before going on tour with Just Jack. He also did a few collaborations with Leddra Chapman, including Cee Lo Green's Fuck You. In February 2010 Sheeran posted a video through SB.TV, which led to mainstream rapper Example asking Sheeran to tour with him. Also in February 2010 he released his critically acclaimed Loose Change EP, which featured his later debut single "The A Team".

In April 2010, after leaving his old management company, Sheeran bought a ticket to Los Angeles, with no contacts other than one poetry night. He played open mic nights all over the city, before his talent was spotted at The Foxxhole by Jamie Foxx, who was so impressed that he offered Sheeran the use of his recording studio and the run of his Hollywood home for the rest of his stay. Throughout 2010, Sheeran began to be seen by more people over the internet through YouTube and his fan-base grew, with him also getting credit from The Independent newspaper, England football captain Rio Ferdinand and Elton John.^[11] Sheeran also self-released two other EPs in 2010; Ed Sheeran: Live at the Bedford and Songs I Wrote With Amy, which is a collection of love songs he wrote in Wales with fellow singer songwriter Amy Wadge.

Sheeran at Academy 1, Manchester Dot to Dot Festival on Monday 30 May 2011

On 8 January 2011, Sheeran released his final independent EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project featuring appearances by grime artists including Wiley, JME, Devlin, Sway and Ghetts.^[2] With this EP, Sheeran gained mainstream attention for reaching number 2 in the iTunes chart without any promotion or label, selling over 7,000 copies in its first week.^[12] Three months later, Sheeran put on a free show to fans at the Barfly in Camden. Over 1,000 fans turned up to see the show, so Sheeran ended up playing four different shows to make sure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed. Later that month, Sheeran was signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records.

[edit] 2011–present: + and commercial success

On 26 April, Sheeran appeared on the TV music show Later... with Jools Holland – where he performed his debut single "The A Team". Six weeks later, "The A Team" was released as a digital download in the UK. The release served as the lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album, entitled +. "The A Team" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was congratulated on being the best selling debut single and the overall eight best selling single of 2011, shifting 801,000 copies.^[13] The lead single also became a top ten hit in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands. During a headline set in the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury Festival 2011, Sheeran announced that "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" would be released on 28 August as the second single from the album. The second single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.^[14]

Sheeran's debut album + was released on 12 September 2011. + received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[15] + debuted number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 102,000 copies in its first week.^[16] It became the second best selling debut album and the ninth biggest-selling album of 2011 in the UK, shifting 791,000 copies.^[17] The album climbed back up to number one on the UK Albums Chart on 1 January 2012, fifteen weeks after it last peaked at the top. The album has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 900,000 units.^[18] As of March 2012, the album had sold 1,021,072 copies in the UK.^[19] The album also reached the top ten on the Australian Albums Chart, Flanders Belgian Albums Chart,^[20] Dutch Albums Chart,^[21] Irish Albums Chart,^[22] New Zealand Albums Chart^[23] and the Swiss Albums Chart.^[24]

On 11 November 2011, soul ballad "Lego House" was released as the third single lifted from the debut studio album +.^[25] It received its first radio play on BBC Radio 1 on 8 September 2011.^[26][27] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number five, on 17 November. "Lego House" also reached the top ten on Australian, Irish, Scottish, New Zealand Singles Charts, Flemish Ultratop 50 and the Wallonian Ultratip. "Drunk" was released on 19 February 2012 as the fourth single lifted from +.^[28] "Drunk" became the Sheeran's fourth consecutive top ten single in the UK, when it peaked at number nine.^[29] "Small Bump" is scheduled for a release in late May 2012 as the fifth single.^[30]

The song "Moments" on the debut album by boy band One Direction was co-written by Sheeran.^[31] On 21 February 2012, Sheeran attended the 2012 Brit Awards, he received the Brit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Breaktrough of the Year.^[32][33]

On 10 January 2012, it was announced Sheeran would support Snow Patrol on their United States tour from late March until May. On the band's Fallen Empires Tour.^[34]

His song "Give Me Love" was featured in the episode "Dangerous Liaisons" of The Vampire Diaries.^[35][36] At the 2012 Ivor Novello Awards in May 2012, Sheeran's "The A Team" beat Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" and Florence and the Machine's "Shake It Out", winning the award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.^[37]

Philanthropy[link]

Sheeran will perform a gig in Bristol, which has raised £40,000 for a charity that reaches out to street sex workers. Sheeran agreed to the event after one of the women One25 helps contacted him. "It's good to show insight that these people are real people with real emotions and they deserve the same charity work as anyone else," Sheeran said. "There's a lot more popular charities that get a lot of attention. And with certain subjects like this they're often washed over and people don't necessarily give them the attention they deserve." Tickets were available to those taking part in the charity's Give it up for One25 campaign by giving something up for 125 hours and hitting the £125 fundraising mark. Louise Willott, who organised the event at The Fleece, said of Sheeran: "He had volunteered in Crisis in London. which is a homeless shelter, and he had met a woman who told him her story. Her name was Angel. "He then went and did some more research about the issues and obviously he must have been moved and inspired to have written The A Team." Willott added: "The Fleece is quite a small venue - it only holds about 400, which makes it extra exciting as it's really intimate and Ed's not playing those size venues anymore. In total this has raised about £40,000 for the project. Its just going to give us such a boost. This is a difficult time for any charity. There's less money available and there's more competition for it, so to have one event raise £40,000 is just incredible."^[38]

Discography[link]

Album[link]

• + (2011)

Tour[link]

Opening act

• Fallen Empires Tour (North American select dates) (2012)

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

[edit] BRIT Awards

[edit] BT Digital Music Awards

[edit] Ivor Novello Awards

[edit] MOBO Awards

[edit] Q Awards

[edit] UK Music Video Awards

See also[link]

• List of Official Subscription Plays Chart number-one songs from the 2010s

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview
• Official website
• Ed Sheeran on Myspace
• Ed Sheeran on Facebook
• Ed Sheeran on Twitter
• Ed Sheeran's channel on YouTube

Mr. T
Mr. T in 2009.
Born	Laurence Tureaud (1952-05-21) May 21, 1952 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, motivational speaker, wrestler, bodyguard, television personality
Years active	1980–present

Mr. T^[1] (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952) is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle,^{[citation needed]} his gold jewelry, and his tough-guy image. In 2006 he starred in the reality show I Pity the Fool, shown on TV Land, the title of which comes from the catchphrase of his Lang character.

Early life[link]

Mr. T was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest son in a family with twelve children. His father, Nathaniel Tureaud Sr., was a minister.^[2] Tureaud, with his four sisters and seven brothers, grew up in a three-room apartment in one of the city's housing projects, the Robert Taylor Homes, in a poorly constructed building, in an area with high levels of environmental pollutants and the largest concentration of poverty in America.^[3] While growing up Tureaud regularly witnessed murder, rape, and other crimes, but attributes his survival and later success to his will to do well and his mother's love.^[4]

Mr. T as a senior in high school, 1970.

Tureaud attended Dunbar Vocational High School,^[5] where he played football, wrestled, and studied martial arts. While at Dunbar he became the city-wide wrestling champion two years in a row. He won a football scholarship to Prairie View A&M University, where he majored in mathematics, but was expelled after his first year.^[6] He then enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Military Police Corps. In November 1975 Tureaud was awarded a letter of recommendation by his drill sergeant and in a cycle of six thousand troops Tureaud was elected "Top Trainee of the Cycle" and was also promoted to Squad Leader.^[7] In July 1976 Tureaud's platoon sergeant punished him by giving him the detail of chopping down trees during training camp at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, but the sergeant did not tell how many trees to stop at, and so Tureaud had single-handedly chopped down over seventy trees from 6:30am to 10:00am until a higher ranking major in shock relieved him, superseding the sergeant's orders.^[8] After his discharge, he tried out for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League, but failed to make the team due to a knee injury.^[6]

Tureaud next worked as a bouncer. It was at this time that he created the persona of Mr. T.^[9] His wearing of gold neck chains and other jewelry was the result of customers losing the items or leaving them behind at the night club after a fight. A customer, who may have been banned from the club or trying to avoid another confrontation, would not have to re-enter the club if Mr. T wore their jewelry as he stood out front. When a customer returned to claim the item, it was readily visible and available with no further confrontations required. Along with controlling the violence as a doorman, Tureaud was mainly hired to keep out drug dealers and users.^[10] During his bouncing days Tureaud was in over 200 fights and was sued a number of times^[vague] but won each case.^[11] "I have been in and out of the courts as a result of my beating up somebody. I have been sued by customers whom I threw out that claimed that I viciously attacked them without just cause and/or I caused them great bodily harm as a result of a beating I supposedly gave them," Mr. T once remarked.^[12]

He eventually parlayed his job as a bouncer into a career as a bodyguard that lasted almost ten years. During these years he protected, among others, sixteen prostitutes, nine welfare recipients, five preachers, eight bankers, ten school teachers, and four store owners.^[13] As his reputation improved, however, he was contracted to guard, among others, David Fricker, seven clothes designers, five models, seven judges, three politicians, six athletes and forty-two millionaires.^[13] He protected well-known personalities like Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Leon Spinks, Joe Frazier and Diana Ross, charging $3,000/day,^[14] with the highest charge of $10,000 per day depending on the clientele's risk-rate and traveling locations.

With his reputation as "Mr. T", Tureaud attracted strange offers and was frequently approached with odd commissions, which included: assassination, tracking runaway teenagers, locating missing persons, and large firms asking him to collect past-due payments by force.^[15] Tureaud was once anonymously offered $75,000 to assassinate a target and received in the mail a file of the hit and an advance of $5,000, but he refused it.^[16] "He offered me $75,000 to kill his friend. The last envelope and letter contained a round-trip airline ticket, first class, United. Plus there was $5,000 wrapped in a little package, fifty and hundred dollar bills. I tell you the honest truth, when I saw that money I didn't believe it was real." -Mr. T.^[16] Tureaud states that he tried to warn the victim but it was too late and the man died in a car accident. In accepting a client for Tureaud there were two rules: 1) A client cannot lie to him. 2) All potential clients are required to shop around the field of security before coming to him.^[17] He also made it clear to the client beforehand that he could not promise them their lives, "I did everything except guarantee people's lives, but I guarantee you that I will give my life protecting yours".^[18] He carried a .357 magnum and a .38 caliber snubnose revolver.^[19] He weighed an average of 255 pounds.^[20]

While he was in his late twenties, Tureaud won two tough-man competitions consecutively.^[21] The first aired as "Sunday Games" on NBC-TV under the contest of "America's Toughest Bouncer" which included throwing a 150 lb stuntman, and breaking through a four-inch wooden door.^[22] For the first event, Tureaud came in third place. For the end, two finalists squared off in a boxing ring for a two-minute round to declare the champion. Making it to the ring as a finalist, his opponent was a 280 pound Honolulu bouncer, Tutefano Tufi.^[23] Within twenty seconds "Mr. T" gave the six foot five competitor a bloody nose, and later a bloody mouth. He won the match and thus the competition.^[24] The second competition was aired under the new name "Games People Play" on NBC-TV. When interviewed by Bryant Gumbel before the final boxing match, Mr T. said, "I just feel sorry for the guy who I have to box. I just feel real sorry for him."^[25] For this second competition the final event of the fight was scheduled to last three rounds, but Mr. T finished the fight in less than 54 seconds. When Sylvester Stallone spotted Mr. T in this second airing, it is strongly believed that the interview with sports journalist Bryant Gumbel originated his famous line "I don't hate him but...I pity the fool", which was worked into the movie Rocky.

Acting roles and work[link]

While reading National Geographic, Mr. T first noticed the unusual hairstyle for which he is now famous, on a Mandinka warrior.^[26] He decided that adoption of the style would be a powerful statement about his African origin. It was a simpler, safer and more permanent visual signature than his gold chains, rings, and bracelets. The gold jewelry was worth about $300,000 at the time and took him about an hour to put on. Most nights, Mr. T spent even more time cleaning them using an ultrasonic cleaner. Occasionally, he slept with the heavy neck chains and bracelets on, "to see how my ancestors, who were slaves, felt."^[27]

In 1980, Mr. T was spotted by Sylvester Stallone while taking part in NBC's "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition, a segment of NBC's Games People Play.^[28] Although his role in Rocky III was originally intended as just a few lines, Mr. T was eventually cast as Clubber Lang, the primary antagonist. His catchphrase "I pity the fool!" comes from the film; when asked if he hates Rocky, Lang replies, "No, I don't hate Balboa, but I pity the fool." Subsequently, after losing out on the role of the title character's mentor in The Beastmaster, Mr. T appeared in another boxing film, Penitentiary 2, and on an episode of Showtime's early sketch comedy series Bizarre, where he fights and eats Super Dave Osborne, before accepting a television series role on The A-Team.

Mr. T also appeared in an episode of Silver Spoons, reprising his old role as bodyguard to Ricky Stratton. In the episode, he explains his name as "First name: Mister; middle name: period; last name T." In one scene, when Ricky's class erupts into a paper-ball-throwing melee, Mr. T throws his body in front of the objects, fully protecting his client.

In The A-Team, he played Sergeant Bosco "B.A." Baracus, an ex-Army commando on the run with three other members from the United States government "for a crime they didn't commit." As well as the team's tough guy, B.A. was a genius mechanic but afraid of flying. When asked at a press conference whether he was as stupid as B.A. Baracus, Mr. T observed quietly, "It takes a smart guy to play dumb."

His role in The A-Team led to him making an appearance in the long-running sit-com Diff'rent Strokes in the sixth season opener "Mr T. and mr. t" (1983), in which an episode of The A-Team is supposedly filmed in the family's penthouse apartment.

Mr. T portrays Santa Claus at the White House with First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1983.

A Ruby-Spears-produced cartoon called Mister T premiered in 1983 on NBC. The Mister T cartoon starred Mr. T as himself, the owner of a gym where a group of gymnasts trained. He helped them with their training but they also helped him solve mysteries and fight crime in Scooby-Doo-style scenarios. Thirty episodes were produced.

In 1984, he made a motivational video called Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!. He gives helpful advice to children throughout the video; for example, he teaches them how to understand and appreciate their origins, how to dress fashionably without buying designer labels, how to make tripping up look like breakdancing, how to control their anger, and how to deal with peer pressure. The video is roughly one hour long, but contains 30 minutes of singing, either by the group of children accompanying him, or by Mr. T himself. He sings "Treat Your Mother Right (Treat Her Right)," in which he enumerates the reasons why it is important to treat your mother right, and also raps a song about growing up in the ghetto and praising God. The raps in this video were written by Ice T.^[29]

On January 19, 1985, he introduced Rich Little at the nationally-televised 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala, the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

In 1988, Mr. T starred in the television series T. and T. Mr. T was once reported to be earning around $80,000 a week for his role in The A-Team and earning $15,000 for personal appearances. By the end of the 1990s, he was appearing only in the occasional commercial, largely because of health problems (in 1995, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma).^[30] He frequently appears on the TBN Christian television network. He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has also appeared on some Comcast commercials, and in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand during 2007, advertising the chocolate bar Snickers with the slogan "Get Some Nuts!"^[31] One of these commercials, featuring Mr. T crashing through a wall on the back of a technical vehicle before firing Snickers bars at a speed walker wearing tight-fitting yellow shorts, was pulled by Mars following a complaint by the U.S.-based group Human Rights Campaign, despite the fact that the advert had never been shown outside the U.K. The group alleged that the commercial promoted the idea that violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people "is not only acceptable, but humorous."^[32] Mr. T has distanced himself from these accusations, insisting that he would never lend his name to something that supports such beliefs, and that the commercials did not depict such promotions. The commercials are still shown on Australian and UK television.

Mr. T did a video campaign for Hitachi's Data Systems that was created and posted on consumer video sites including YouTube and Yahoo! Video. According to Steven Zivanic, senior director and corporate communications of HDS, "this campaign has not only helped the firm in its own area, but it has given the data storage firm a broader audience."^[33] In November 2007, Mr. T appeared in a television commercial for the online role playing game World of Warcraft with the phrase "I'm Mr. T and I'm a Night Elf Mohawk".^[34] A follow-up to this commercial appeared in November 2009 where he appeared promoting the "mohawk grenade" item, which appears in game and turns other players into Mr. T's likeness.

In 2008, Mr. T appeared on the American channel Shopping TV selling his "Mr. T Flavorwave Oven."^[35] A video game starring Mr T. is also being developed by ZootFly.^[36] Mr. T was offered a cameo appearance in the film adaptation of The A-Team, but decided to turn it down,^[37] whereas Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict both made cameos in the film. These scenes were shown after the credits, but were reinserted during the film in the Extended Cut.^[38][39] (George Peppard died in 1994).

In the 2009 movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film), Mr. T provided the voice for Officer Earl Devereaux, the town's athletic cop who loves his son very much.

As of June 2011^[update], Mr. T is presenting a clip show on BBC Three named World's Craziest Fools. The show features stories such as botched bank robberies and inept insurance fraudsters.^[40]

Wrestling[link]

Mr. T entered the world of professional wrestling in 1985. He was Hulk Hogan's tag-team partner at the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) first WrestleMania which he won. Hulk Hogan wrote in his autobiography that Mr. T saved the main event of WrestleMania I between them and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff because when he arrived, security would not let his entourage into the building. Mr. T was ready to skip the show until Hogan personally talked him out of leaving. Piper has said that he and other fellow wrestlers disliked Mr. T because he was an actor and had never paid his dues as a professional wrestler.

Remaining with the WWF, Mr. T became a special "WWF boxer" in light of his character in Rocky III. He took on "Cowboy" Bob Orton on the March 1, 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, on NBC. This boxing stunt ultimately culminated in another boxing match against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2. Mr. T returned to the World Wrestling Federation as a special guest referee in 1987 as well as a special referee enforcer confronting such stars as the Honky Tonk Man.

On July 21, 1989, Mr. T. made an appearance in World Class Championship Wrestling, seconding Kerry Von Erich.^[41]

Five years later, Mr. T reappeared as a special referee for a Hogan-Ric Flair match, in October 1994, at WCW's Halloween Havoc, and then went on to wrestle again, defeating Kevin Sullivan at that year's Starrcade.

Another seven years later Mr. T appeared in the front row of the November 19, 2001, episode of WWF Raw.^[42]

Albums[link]

In 1984, Mr. T released an album titled Mr. T's Commandments (Columbia/CBS Records), in much the same tone as his 1984 educational video, which instructed children to stay in school and to stay away from drugs. He followed it up the same year with a second album, titled Mr. T's Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool! (MCA Records), featuring music from the eponymous film. In 2002, Mr. T appeared as a bartender in the video for Pass_the_Courvoisier by Busta Rhymes featuring P. Diddy and Pharell Williams.

Personal life[link]

Mr. T is a born-again Christian.^[43]

Tureaud angered the residents of a Chicago suburb called Lake Forest, by cutting down more than a hundred oak trees on his estate. The incident is now referred to as "The Lake Forest Chain Saw Massacre".^[44]

He gave up virtually all his gold, one of his identifying marks, after helping with the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He said, "As a Christian, when I saw other people lose their lives and lose their land and property...I felt that it would be a sin before God for me to continue wearing my gold. I felt it would be insensitive and disrespectful to the people who lost everything, so I stopped wearing my gold."^[45]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Biography portal
	Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mr. T

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mr. T

• Mr. T at the Internet Movie Database
• Mohawk Media Mr. T site
• TV Land's official I Pity The Fool page
• Legendary TV's Mr. T profile
• Mr. T discusses his Christian faith
• Mr T. talks technology
• Mr. T on a late 70s Local Chicago TV Show -- discussing being Leon Spinks bodyguard