Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952) is an American actor and retired wrestler celebrated for his roles as B.A. Baracus in The A-Team and Clubber Lang in Rocky III, along with his iconic Mandinka-inspired hairstyle, gold jewelry, and catchphrase "I pity the fool!"—which he later trademarked for shows like the 2006 reality series I Pity the Fool. Growing up as the youngest of 12 children in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes, he legally changed his name to "Mr. T" at age 18 to demand the respect denied to black men, who were often called "boy." After excelling as a two-time city wrestling champion in high school and briefly studying math at Prairie View A&M, he served in the US Army's Military Police in 1975 and later tried out for the Green Bay Packers before a knee injury ended his football hopes. Working as a bouncer at a Chicago nightclub, he crafted his tough-guy persona by wearing lost gold jewelry left by customers, and he claims to have won over 200 fights. He then spent nearly a decade as a bodyguard for stars like Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali, and Diana Ross, before winning NBC's "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition—which catapulted him into Hollywood stardom.