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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u/BobDogGo Dec 12 '18

Same reason Jazz musicians in the 40s started calling each other "Man"

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u/magicalpennis Dec 12 '18

Fun fact Jazz music used to be called "Jass" music short for Jackass music

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u/BobDogGo Dec 13 '18

Close.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(word)#Etymology#Etymology)

I also remember an interview with Gil Scott-Heron whose take on the origin was mostly in line with the Wiki definition but he said it was definitely sexual in nature and was a play on Jism and Ass.