Recording Industry Association of America
Formation	1952
Type	Technical standards, licensing and royalties
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Location	United States
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	Cary Sherman
Website	riaa.com

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA say "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States."^[1] RIAA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.^[2][3]

The RIAA was formed in 1952^[4] primarily to administer the RIAA equalization curve,^{[citation needed]} a technical standard of frequency response applied to vinyl records during recording. The RIAA participates in the collective rights management of sound recording. The association is also responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the USA.

The RIAA lists its goals as:^[1]

1. to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists;
2. to perform research about the music industry;
3. to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations and policies;

Company structure and sales[link]

Cary Sherman has been the RIAA's chairman and CEO since 2011. Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO.

Mitch Glazier has been the RIAA's senior executive vice president since 2011. He served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011.

The past RIAA chairman and CEO is the Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011. He left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, drawn mostly from the big four members of the RIAA.^[5] The board is currently made up of:

• Cary Sherman - RIAA
• Colin Finkelstein - EMI Recorded Music
• Bill Hearn - EMI Christian Music Group
• Deirdre McDonald - Sony Music Entertainment
• Terry Hemmings - Provident Music Group/Sony Music Entertainment
• Kevin Kelleher - Sony Music Entertainment
• Thomas Hesse - Sony Music Entertainment
• Julie Swidler - Sony Music Entertainment
• Luke Wood - Interscope Records
• Jeff Harleston - Universal Music Group
• Zach Horowitz - Universal Music Group
• Mel Lewinter - Universal Motown Republic Group
• Craig Kallman - The Atlantic Group
• Paul Robinson Warner Music Group
• Bob Cavallo - Buena Vista Music
• Glen Barros - Concord Music Group
• Mike Curb - Curb Records
• Michael Koch^{[disambiguation needed ]} - Entertainment One U.S.
• Tom Silverman - Tommy Boy Entertainment
• Steve Bartels - Island Records

The RIAA represents over 1,600 member labels, which are private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, and collectively create and distribute about 90% of recorded music sold in the United States. The largest and most influential of the members are the "Big Four" that include:

• EMI
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Universal Music Group
• Warner Music Group

The RIAA reports that total retail value of recordings sold by their members was $10.4 billion^[6] at the end of 2007, a decline from $14.6 billion in 1999.

Sales certification[link]

The RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies.^[7] The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles and albums that reach 1,000,000 in sales. The criteria was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales. In 1989 it changed again with a "Gold Award" for singles that reach 500,000 in sales and a "Platinum Award" for singles that reach 1,000,000 in sales, and in 1999 a Diamond Award for ten million sales.^[8] The awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members.^[9]

Since 2000,^[10] the RIAA also operates a similar program for Spanish language music sales, called Los Premios de Oro y De Platino. Currently, a Disco De Oro (Gold) is awarded for 50,000 units and a Disco De Platino is awarded for 100,000 units, with Album Multi-Platino at 200,000.^[11] To be eligible for this award, sound recordings must contain more than 50% Spanish language content.^[10]

"Digital" sales certification[link]

In 2004, the RIAA added a branch of certification for what it calls "digital" recordings, meaning roughly "recordings transferred to the recipient over a network" (such as those sold via the iTunes Store), and excluding other obviously-digital media such as those on CD, DAT, or MiniDisc. In 2006, "digital ringtones" were added to this branch of certification. As of 2007^[update], the certification criteria for these recordings are as follows:

• Silver: 100,000 copies
• Gold: 500,000 copies
• Platinum: 1,000,000 copies
• Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 copies
• Diamond: 10,000,000 copies

Video Longform certification[link]

Along with albums, digital albums, and singles there is another classification of music release called "Video Longform." This release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is slightly different from other styles.^[12]

• Gold: 50,000
• Platinum: 100,000

Efforts against infringement of members' copyrights[link]

Efforts against file sharing[link]

The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music. Studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible^[13][14] to substantial.^[15]

The association has commenced high profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers. It has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children. It is accused of employing techniques such as peer-to-peer "decoying" and "spoofing" to combat file sharing.^[16][17]

As of late 2008 they have announced they will stop their lawsuits,^[18] and instead are attempting to work with ISPs who will use a three-strike warning system for file sharing, and upon the third strike will cut off Internet service all together.^[19] However as of 2009 no major ISPs have announced they are part of the plan, and Verizon has publicly denied any involvement with this plan.^[20]

Selection of defendants[link]

The RIAA names defendants based on ISP identification of the subscriber associated with an IP address,^[21] and as such do not know any additional information about a person before they sue. After an Internet subscriber's identity is discovered, but before an individual lawsuit is filed, the subscriber is typically offered an opportunity to settle. The standard settlement is a payment to the RIAA and an agreement not to engage in file-sharing of music and is usually on par with statutory damages of $750 per work, with the RIAA choosing the number of works it deems "reasonable." For cases that do not settle at this amount, the RIAA has gone to trial, seeking statutory damages from the jury, written into The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 as between $750 and $30,000 per work or $750 and $150,000 per work if "willful." In the case RIAA v. Tenenbaum, the jury awarded the RIAA $22,500 per song shared by Joel Tenenbaum resulting in a judgment of $675,000 for the shared 30 tracks (this was later reduced to $67,500 by the judge) and in the case RIAA v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the jury awarded $80,000 per song, or $1.92 million for 24 tracks^[22][23] (this award was later reduced by the judge to $54,000,^[24] though the final amount of damages has not been determined).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen oppose the ability of the RIAA and other companies to "strip Internet users of anonymity without allowing them to challenge the order in court."^[25][26]

The RIAA's methods of identifying individual users had, in some rare cases, led to the issuing of subpoena to a recently deceased 83-year-old woman,^[27] an elderly computer novice,^[28] and a family reportedly without any computer at all.^[29]

Settlement programs[link]

In February 2007 the RIAA began sending letters accusing Internet users of sharing files and directing them to web site P2PLAWSUITS.COM, where they can make "discount" settlements payable by credit card.^[30] The letters go on to say that anyone not settling will have lawsuits brought against them. Typical settlements are between $3,000 and $12,000. This new strategy was formed because the RIAA's legal fees were cutting into the income from settlements.^[31] In 2008, RIAA sued 19-year-old Ciara Sauro for allegedly sharing ten songs online.^[32]

The RIAA also launched an "early settlement program" directed to ISPs and to colleges and universities, urging them to pass along letters to subscribers and students offering early settlements, prior to the disclosure of their identities. The settlement letters urged ISPs to preserve evidence for the benefit of the RIAA and invited the students and subscribers to visit an RIAA website for the purpose of entering into a "discount settlement" payable by credit card.^[33] By March 2007, the focus had shifted from ISPs to colleges and universities.^[31][34][35]

In October 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit in the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claiming the Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 player violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. The Rio PMP300 was significant because it was the second portable consumer MP3 digital audio player released on the market. The three judge panel ruled in favor of Diamond, paving the way for the development of the portable digital player market.^[36]

In 2003, the RIAA sued college student developers of LAN search engines Phynd and Flatlan, describing them as "a sophisticated network designed to enable widespread music thievery."^[37][38][39]

In September 2003, the RIAA filed suit in civil court against several private individuals who had shared large numbers of files with Kazaa. Most of these suits were settled with monetary payments averaging $3,000. Kazaa publisher Sharman Networks responded with a lawsuit against the RIAA, alleging that the terms of use of the network were violated and that unauthorized client software was used in the investigation to track down the individual file sharers (such as Kazaa Lite). An effort to throw out this suit was denied in January 2004, however, that suit was settled in 2006. Sharman Networks agreed to a global settlement of litigation brought against it by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI), and the RIAA. The creators of the popular Kazaa file-sharing network will pay $115 million to the RIAA, unspecified future amounts to the MPAA and the software industry, and install filters on its networks to prevent users from sharing copyrighted works on its network. ^[40] Michael L. Williams 15:31, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

RIAA has also filed suit in 2006 to enjoin digital XM Satellite Radio from enabling its subscribers from playing songs it has recorded from its satellite broadcasts.^[41] It is also suing several Internet radio stations.^[42]

On October 12, 2007, the RIAA sued Usenet.com seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the company from "aiding, encouraging, enabling, inducing, causing, materially contributing to, or otherwise facilitating" copyright infringement. This suit, the first that the RIAA has filed against a Usenet provider, has added another branch to the RIAA's rapidly expanding fight to curb the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials. Unlike many of the RIAA's previous lawsuits, this suit is filed against the provider of a service who has no direct means of removing infringing content. The RIAA's argument relies heavily on the fact the Usenet.com, the only defendant that has been named currently, promoted their service with slogans and phrases that strongly suggested that the service could be used to obtain free music.

On April 28, 2008, RIAA member labels sued Project Playlist, a web music search site, claiming that the majority of the sound recordings in the site's index of links are infringing. Project Playlist's website denies that any of the music is hosted on Project Playlist's own servers.^[43]

On June 30, 2009, The Recording Industry Association of America prevailed in its fight against Usenet.com, in a decision, that the U.S. District Judge Harold Baer of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the music industry on all its main arguments: that Usenet.com is guilty of direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement. In addition, and perhaps most important for future cases, Baer said that Usenet.com can't claim protection under the Sony Betamax decision. That ruling states, companies can't be held liable for contributory infringement if the device they create is "capable of significant non-infringing uses."^[44] Furthermore, the parties are now headed to federal court for damage assessments and awards, which could amount to many, many millions of dollars for the music industry. ^[45]

On October 26, 2010, RIAA members won a case against LimeWire, a P2P file sharing network, for illegal distribution of copyrighted works.^[46] On October 29, in retaliation, riaa.org was taken offline via denial-of-service attack executed by members of Operation Payback and Anonymous.^[47]

The "work made for hire" controversy[link]

In 1999, Mitch Glazier, a Congressional staff attorney, inserted, without public notice or comment, substantive language into the final markup of a "technical corrections" section of copyright legislation, classifying many music recordings as "works made for hire," thereby stripping artists of their copyright interests and transferring those interests to their record labels.^[48][49] Shortly afterwards, Glazier was hired as Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Legislative Counsel for the RIAA, which vigorously defended the change when it came to light.^[50] The battle over the disputed provision led to the formation of the Recording Artists' Coalition, which successfully lobbied for repeal of the change.^[51][52]

See also[link]

	Music portal
	United States portal

• Center for Copyright Information
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Global music industry market share data
• Intellectual Property trade groups
• International Intellectual Property Alliance IIPA
• List of RIAA member labels
• Music Canada CRIA
• Parental Advisory

References[link]

External links[link]

• RIAA official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Its only attribution is to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Robert Andrew Ri'chard (born January 7, 1983) is an American television and movie actor.

Early life[link]

Ri'chard was born in Los Angeles, California. He is of Louisiana Creole (French, African American, Native American, and Spanish) descent.

Career[link]

He has starred in the UPN hit sitcom One on One which was the most significant of his television roles as Arnaz Ballard, and in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousin Skeeter. He also made a few appearances as himself on the hit Nickelodeon game show, Figure It Out. Also, he has appeared in films such as Coach Carter and House of Wax. His breakout role was in the TV adaptation of Anne Rice's novel, The Feast of All Saints, where he played the young Marcel who becomes a man within society. He has been professionally acting since the age of 13. He appeared in the movie Light It Up along with R&B star Usher. He attended Palms Middle School in Los Angeles, California.

Ri'chard has guest starred on many hit shows such as Boston Public, Touched by an Angel, CSI: Miami, My Wife and Kids, and The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2000 he starred in the Disney Channel TV movie Alley Cats Strike. Ri'chard has appeared in the 2006 season of Veronica Mars. In 1997, Ri'chard starred in the television special, In His Father's Shoes, which earned him the 1998 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Children's Special. In the sitcom Meet the Browns, he portrays Derek Porter, a buffoonish frat student who lives next door to Brown Meadows. He often provides service to Brown Meadows, and is often either the mastermind or participant in Brown's antics. He debuts in Season 3 as a recurring character, and in the fourth season, is promoted to a main character.

Ri'chard was set to star in a new series entitled "Eight Days a Week", starring Christina Milian and Mario Lopez on the CW Television Network during the Fall 2007 season, but it was canceled due to the Writer's Strike before airing. On November 16, 2011, it was announced that Robert Ri'chard was cast as Jamie in the TV series The Vampire Diaries.^[1]

Films[link]

• Light It Up (1999)... as Zacharias 'Ziggy' Malone (the narrator)
• Alley Cats Strike (2000)... as Todd McLemore
• The Feast of All Saints (2001)...as Marcel
• Who's Your Daddy? (2003)... as Murphy
• P.N.O.K. (2005)... as Private Battle
• House of Wax (2005)... as Blake
• Coach Carter (2005)... as Damien Carter
• The Comebacks (2007)... as ACL Tare (pronounced Aseel Teri)
• The Burrowers (2008)
• Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
• A Beautiful Soul (2012)... as Christ Scott

Voice[link]

• Our Friend, Martin (1999)... as Miles

Producer[link]

• Otto (2001)

Television[link]

• Cousin Skeeter (1998–2003) ...as Bobby Walker
• Touched by an Angel (2001) ...as Alex Wilson
• One on One (2001–2006)....as Arnaz Ballard
• My Wife and Kids (2001).... as Tommy Jefferson
• Veronica Mars (2006–2007), season 3....as Mason
• NCIS (2009).... as a Navy officer
• Meet the Browns January 7, 2009–2011.... as Derek Porter
• The Vampire Diaries^[2] (2012).... as Jamie

As Himself[link]

• Figure It Out (1997) TV series
• Figure It Out: Family Style TV series (third season title)
• Figure It Out: Wild Style TV series (fourth season title)
• Nickelodeon Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal guest- 1 episode (scored 4 points)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robert Ri'chard at the Internet Movie Database

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

Michael L. Tan, PhD is a medical anthropologist and writer best known for his work among Non-governmental organizations in the Philippines, and for his column Pinoy Kasi, which appears twice a week in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Tan is currently the Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. He has authored numerous books and articles, often focusing on: indigenous medical beliefs, sex and sexuality, reproductive and sexual health (particularly HIV/AIDS), pharmaceuticals, and health policy issues.^[1][2][3]

Education[link]

Michael Tan actually began his career as a veterinarian, earning his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of the Philippines. He has maintained ties with veterinarians, but has since "moved on to human public health and pharmacology...and eventually, medical anthropology." ^[4]

He earned a Master of Arts in Anthropology from the Texas A&M University, and then obtained his PhD in social and political science from the Medical Anthropology Unit of the University of Amsterdam.

He continues to use his skills as a veterinarian, however, working with such groups as the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and the Dog Scouts of the Philippines to promote animal welfare, and giving occasional advice as he goes about during his NGO work. Tan also works with the Ateneo de Manila University, "teaching doctors to be more sensitive to the social and cultural aspects of healthcare."

As a Writer[link]

Although he is now best known for his work as a columnist, Tan was already a well recognized writer among academics and NGO workers when he began his Pinoy Kasi columns for the Philippine Daily Inquirer in May 1997.

His latest book is "Revisiting Usog, Pasma, Kulam" ^[5]

In the maiden article of his Inquirer column, he proposed "A middle way of looking at Filipino culture, avoiding one extreme of protracted Lenten self-flagellation that could see nothing good in the Filipino, but also being mature enough to talk about our faults."^[6]

Regarding the choice of name, he explained further:

At that time, I thought that "Pinoy Kasi" would reflect the middle way, sometimes uttered in despair, exasperation, even shame but also... I hoped it would be more often said in awe, wonder, and pride.

Profiling him as an awardee Dr. Jose P. Rizal Awards of Excellence in 2005, the Manila Times and the Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran Foundation noted that:

Through his writings, Tan encourages readers to think out of the box and critically on social issues. Topics on family relationships, gender and generation issues, care for the environment and even for family pets trigger readers’ responses and often become topics in many dinner discussions... His writings (both academic and popular ones) disseminate crucial information that affects lives.

Sources[link]

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