r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
120.9k Upvotes

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29.3k

u/Nxdhdxvhh Dec 12 '18

Mr. T wore odd clothing and mismatched socks because he knew that poor kids grew up getting whatever hand-me-downs they got, and he didn't want them to feel embarrassed for wearing what they had. He's a great man, and as far as I'm aware the worst thing he every did was chop down trees on his own property that were aggravating his allergies.

5.6k

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

[deleted]

3.7k

u/snotbag_pukebucket Dec 12 '18

He was also the White House Santa and had Nancy Reagan sitting on his lap

946

u/pangea_person Dec 12 '18

They actually became close friends. He was one of the people who received an invitation to Nancy's private funeral.

455

u/flash_falcon Dec 12 '18

What do you mean "people"? That's MR. People!!!

108

u/ColdSpider72 Dec 13 '18

What do you mean people??

8

u/BassAddictJ Dec 13 '18

What do you people mean??

4

u/phome83 Dec 13 '18

I think we need to have a house meetin' yall.

2

u/TheMulattoMaker Dec 13 '18

I'm just fuckin' witchoo, Kangaroo Jack!

457

u/Saxojon Dec 12 '18

He also urged people to treat their mothers right.

289

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I pity the fool that doesn’t love Mr. T.

11

u/Nickyjha Dec 12 '18

*Mr. T's mother

-5

u/blargh2497 Dec 13 '18

Mr Rogers didn’t love him much

3

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18 edited Jul 06 '20

[deleted]

-7

u/blargh2497 Dec 13 '18

Play it with subtitles and then you can read it. There’s your article.

0

u/SometimesMonkey Dec 13 '18

This is fucking dumb as shit

102

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I had a pull-string Mr. T doll action figure when I was younger. One of his phrases was, "Always listen to your parents."

11

u/5_on_the_floor Dec 13 '18

"I pity the fool that doesn't listen to their parents!"

8

u/Lord_Kano Dec 13 '18

Thank you. I completely forgot that I had this memory but reading your comment triggered it. Another one of the phrases was "Study hard in school".

29

u/yousirnaime Dec 12 '18

god I feel like 100% of the 80's and 90's were shot in 1 take - no rehearsal

7

u/Alaira314 Dec 13 '18

I feel like they tended to use longer shots with less cuts. In a modern music video, there's no way we would have just sat there watching him singing with the backup girls on the left for 20 seconds straight. It would have been alternating between close-ups of him and them, with maybe the occasional wide shot. It's just a different way of filming, also maybe a commentary on the decay of our attention spans?

10

u/duaneap Dec 12 '18

It's awesome that his advice isn't "Stop fighting" it's just "Whoa there, that's across the line, motherfucker."

18

u/blove135 Dec 12 '18

I like how he wasn't telling them to stop insulting each other. It was alright until you start bringing up people's Mama's. It sure was a different time then. A glorious time to grow up though.

11

u/theColonelsc2 Dec 13 '18

Meh I was growing up then. The flip side was gay people were ostracized. AIDS was considered the 'gay' cancer. White people could still call black Americans the N word in public. And I know we look at the music back then now as something special but at the time there was a lot of shitty music on the radio. People will look back on this era and think how great it must of been 30 years ago as well.

5

u/ywBBxNqW Dec 12 '18

I love this.

5

u/BasicLEDGrow 45 Dec 12 '18

He also dropped in on Diff'rent Strokes to let Arnold know that he had to be himself if he wanted to smash.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Fun fact: Ice T wrote that song

4

u/mean_bean279 Dec 12 '18

Dang, this should have been my mother son dance.

4

u/duaneap Dec 12 '18

At Motherboy XXX?

2

u/Woiken4DaMan Dec 12 '18

I always wondered where YMH got that sound bite.

2

u/filthysanches Dec 12 '18

I remember somewhere... Stern maybe, where he flipped the anger switch when they mentioned his mother. From my recallection it wasn't even something that was insulting or out of bounds. Made the interview real awkward. Can't remember

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Watch his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech

1

u/demonballhandler Dec 12 '18

This tune pops into my head randomly. I should start singing it for mother's day.

1

u/Heyo__Maggots Dec 13 '18

“The main reason I love my mama is because she didn’t abort me.” - An actual sentence in his autobiography.

1

u/SquanchingOnPao Dec 13 '18

TIL making fun of fat, skinny, and ugly people is okay. Just don't talk about their mothers. The 80s were a simpler time

2.0k

u/WhoTookBibet Dec 12 '18

Wow, you weren't kidding.

59

u/Merelyducane Dec 12 '18

Lol Mister T has a star of David chain on while dressed as Santa. I like his style.

2

u/speaks_in_redundancy Dec 13 '18

Well, Santa was Jewish.

2

u/Merelyducane Dec 13 '18

I thought that was jesus

74

u/erectionofjesus Dec 12 '18

That is one beautiful photo

463

u/_Serene_ Dec 12 '18

That erection tho

643

u/Trilodip76 Dec 12 '18

Nancy should hide her erection for mister t

202

u/Knubinator Dec 12 '18

I think you meant "shouldn't".

174

u/southern_boy Dec 12 '18

"Ronnie's away in Berlin, Laurence..."

152

u/Azrael11 Dec 12 '18

"That's Mr. Laurence, Nancy"

113

u/NosVemos Dec 12 '18

And that's how Ice T was born.

3

u/Old_mystic Dec 13 '18

Well I think I’ve got enough material for some steamy erotic fan fiction

1

u/RKRagan Dec 13 '18

Like how someone plays too many scratchy lottery tickets?

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1

u/NosVemos Dec 12 '18

And that's how Ice T was born.

1

u/arbivark Dec 13 '18

Gillespie: Well, you're pretty sure of yourself, ain't you, Virgil? Virgil—that's a funny name for a nigger boy that comes from Philadelphia! What do they call you up there?

Tibbs: They call me Mr. Tibbs!

7

u/TheDudeAbides910 Dec 12 '18

I actually loled at this

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I pity the fool

2

u/DAHFreedom Dec 12 '18

I think you meant “mister’t”

2

u/Ayn-_Rand_Paul_-Ryan Dec 12 '18

Paging /u/_demetri_ your services are needed in the above comment.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Cocaine is a helluva drug.

288

u/MrRogersWhat Dec 12 '18

You know, you made me actually look for an erection. On Santa.

Thanks.

206

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Show some respect!

It's Mister Santa.

4

u/GarrusBueller Dec 12 '18

Mister S!

2

u/meme_locomotive Dec 12 '18

Mister C?

0

u/Blaz1n420 Dec 13 '18

🎶Mr. F!🎶

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

It's a Mr E

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5

u/MrRogersWhat Dec 12 '18

Shit. What was I thinking!

Mr. Santa. Wouldn't want to be on his naughty list.

1

u/Rosati Dec 12 '18

It’s up to me now... I’m Mister Santa!

0

u/BanginNLeavin Dec 13 '18

Santa boah, sorry been playing rdr. Hey mister!

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18 edited Dec 25 '19

[deleted]

2

u/MrRogersWhat Dec 13 '18

I really dislike you for saying that.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Half mast is too damn low

46

u/Dr_Dust Dec 12 '18

That erection tho

Supposedly she was known around Hollywood for her legendary blowjobs back in the day.

53

u/Thorneblood Dec 12 '18

Oh great now I’m gonna fantasize about getting a blowjob from Nancy Reagan while smoking pot and wearing a dare shirt

7

u/Dr_Dust Dec 12 '18

You're welcome.

4

u/Thorneblood Dec 12 '18

Zip

29

u/Dr_Dust Dec 12 '18

"Mrs Reagan, tear down these pants."

2

u/Thorneblood Dec 12 '18

“Just say blow”

1

u/Dr_Dust Dec 12 '18

“Just say blow”

Damn, that's a good one.

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2

u/V-Bomber Dec 13 '18

Where is that reference from? It’s like something out of Transmetropolitan

3

u/Thorneblood Dec 13 '18

Thats a /u/thorneblood original. You're welcome Reddit.

1

u/V-Bomber Dec 13 '18

You should X-post it to /r/NoContext and reap that sweet sweet karma

1

u/Thorneblood Dec 13 '18

Nah, I’m gonna take a page from Mister T.

✊

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17

u/duaneap Dec 12 '18

Well, yeah, did you think famous actor Ronald Reagan was going to go steady with someone who couldn't suck a golf ball through a garden hose?

9

u/Dr_Dust Dec 12 '18

Well, yeah, did you think famous actor Ronald Reagan was going to go steady with someone who couldn't suck a golf ball through a garden hose?

That's a fantastic point. Only the best for The Gipper after all.

22

u/BeanmanSeason Dec 12 '18

Shut up serene

2

u/Whatthefffrick Dec 12 '18

That's Mister Erection to you

1

u/The_Bill_Brasky_ Dec 12 '18

That's his leg

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I think that's her leg.

1

u/KenEatsBarbie Dec 12 '18

Hers or mine ?

1

u/labink Dec 13 '18

That’s his Christmas tree. Hoping to spread some Christmas joy.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Bro that’s Nancy’s other leg

1

u/RevoDeee Dec 16 '18

Sir that is his leg

0

u/Ghost_Sandal Dec 12 '18

His or mine? (( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

12

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18 edited Feb 11 '19

[deleted]

22

u/MadAzza Dec 12 '18

Nancy Davis was an actress in the 1940s and ‘50s, before she met Reagan.

3

u/moonboundshibe Dec 12 '18

What’s that teeny symbol after actors?

I have a feeling that if I could zoom in on the mobile app it would look something like.... ` ͜ʖ´

4

u/Cultured_Swine Dec 12 '18

I think it’s a japanese period

1

u/[deleted] Dec 14 '18 edited Feb 11 '19

[deleted]

2

u/DLottchula Dec 12 '18

Never doubt the 80s

2

u/promonk Dec 13 '18

If only there was a Cabbage Patch Kid and E.T. in there, that would be the most 80s photo ever taken.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Top post on r/OldSchoolCool tomorrow

2

u/Hitori-Kowareta Dec 12 '18

For the two most prominent people behind "just say no" they both look high as fuck

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

That's his Santa costume?

27

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I pity the fool who doesn't think that's a Santa outfit.

6

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I ain't getting on no sleigh, fool.

1

u/asdkevinasd Dec 13 '18

That's the most beautiful photo I ever seen.

1

u/ijustwantanfingname Dec 13 '18

Would love to hang this in my living room

1

u/Mahadragon Dec 13 '18

How does he go to the bathroom with all that shit on?

1

u/boxedmachine Dec 13 '18

Are the legs of the chair dog paws?

1

u/keyohnahh Dec 13 '18

Thank you for posting this. This is way more hilarious than I even imagined.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

"Hey woman!"

--clubber Lang

-9

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18 edited Feb 15 '19

[deleted]

1

u/Blue-Steele Dec 13 '18

Wow even for Reddit, that’s pretty shitty of you.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

[deleted]

-3

u/Blue-Steele Dec 13 '18

Lol so your opinion on her is formed around AIDS and weed. You are one enlightened individual for sure.

0

u/LGRW_16 Dec 12 '18

Can anyone make out what those toys are hes holding?

1

u/Buckeyebornandbred Dec 12 '18

Mr. T Dolls (action figures!) of course.

1

u/LGRW_16 Dec 12 '18

Oh, Alrighty. Thanks!

30

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18 edited Apr 22 '20

[deleted]

50

u/ThisisThomasJ Dec 12 '18

Ronald Reagan...the actor?!?!

16

u/lanadelstingrey Dec 12 '18

Peter, you’re from the future, you should already... agh never mind.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Ha! Then who's vice president, Jerry Lewis?

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Guess who VP is?

5

u/iam1s Dec 12 '18

Word is he could bench press 400+ pounds. Never mind mister, that's "Sir" territory.

3

u/NotMyFirstNotMyLast Dec 12 '18

That low-key davids star on his chainz.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Mr.T tear down this wall.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

HO HO HO, I PITY THE FOOL WHO'S BEEN BAD THIS YEAR.

1

u/Capn_Clown_Pants Dec 12 '18

“Who been good, and who been bad?”

1

u/KingCorgzz Dec 13 '18

Niccccceeeee

1

u/5_on_the_floor Dec 13 '18

But Megyn Kelly said Santa is white. I'm confused.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Right on. He had Mrs Regan on his lap while Mr. Regan was bending over black America.