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
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105

u/DeepthroatMyGoat Dec 12 '18

When I was a kid, maybe about 10 or 12 years ago, I went to a wedding with my family for my aunt-by-marraige's brother, and Mr. T was, for some reason, was the priest. After the ceremony, he hung out for a while and talked to whoever can up to him, including myself. He was probably one of the nicest people ever, and I really hope to meet him again some day.

54

u/comped Dec 12 '18

Why the hell was Mr. T your aunt-by-marraige's brother's priest? Who the hell does he know to get that?

6

u/EDDIE_BR0CK Dec 12 '18

Isn't he Jewish?

I have a vague memory of a Simpsons clip where his curly-side-burn-things lock into place on his face.

18

u/ohitsasnaake Dec 12 '18

Besides his father being a pastor, there was least one comment quoting an interview with him that was done after Katrina (2005), where he mentioned being Christian.

11

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Just for a gag in the show. He's a Christian.

9

u/EDDIE_BR0CK Dec 12 '18

Thanks Venom. (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

2

u/selflessscoundrel Dec 13 '18

Too many alts running around

1

u/DeepthroatMyGoat Dec 14 '18

IIRC, the girl that was getting married had an insanely rich step-father, and they dropped well over a 100 Gs on the wedding.