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Model T

The look has changed - all those gold chains are gone - but the energy hasn't, as Mr. T helps people improve their lives on his new reality TV show.

By ERIC DEGGANS
Published October 9, 2006

I like to call it the Tao of T.

It's that sense that, even though he might not know exactly how to do something himself, Mr. T can still help you figure out how to do it better.

Heck, if a guy with a Mohawk and 10 pounds of gold chains can turn himself into a world-famous celebrity, he must know something, right?

At least, that seems to be the reasoning behind TV Land's I Pity the Fool, a new reality show in which T puts his legendary energy to work "teaching fools some basic rules" on how to succeed in whatever the heck it is they're trying to do

This is T's life post-A-Team - traveling the country as a motivational speaker, helping people perform better in jobs he doesn't really understand. The debut episode centers on his visit to a family-owned car dealership in New York whose owners are clearly hoping the former Wrestlemania star will juice walk-in sales. T puts on a suit and sweet-talks customers while intimidating salesmen into giving them better deals.

The first few episodes suggest a better title might be I Pity the Viewers. But you can't help but like the one-time bodyguard to the stars. At 54, he's aiming for a George Foreman-style reinvention as a good-natured tough guy.

One change is obvious: The gold is gone. T hasn't worn it since he was in

New Orleans helping with Hurricane Katrina relief, and decided he couldn't wear all that gold when so many people had lost everything.

And T rarely stops talking - in rhyme. For example: "I tell the kids, I spend time in the library because I cain't teach what I don't know; I cain't lead where I don't go."

Here are some edited samples of his wit and wisdom, from a recent phone interview. To really capture the spirit, try reading his responses in the gruff baritone you remember from The A-Team. Need a refresher? Yes, TV Land is still showing reruns.

Is a guy with a Mohawk and an anger management problem really the best person to coach people on success? And can you help people sell cars better when you've never really done it yourself?

There's a first time for everything. You can do anything that you want to do if you put your heart into it. The owner of the car company, he called me in because his salespeople wasn't motivated. They wasn't inspired. I told them - like it is in my life - you guys are not just selling cars, you're selling yourself. If it's a good car, people got the money, they gonna buy it. The question is, they gonna buy it from this guy, or are they gonna buy it from the other guy?

You talk a lot about being a nice guy now, but when you first got famous, you seemed a little mean.

I explain to people - there's a difference between bad and tough. I'm a tough guy, not a bad guy. That's what the T stands for. To the women and children, it stands for tender. To the bad guys and thugs, it stands for tough. So when I first came on the scene, sure I'm mean - I'm the white man's worst nightmare. I'm an angry black man. But you check my history, I never beat up nobody . . . Beneath the tough and the rough exterior is a nice guy. And that's what makes it special.

I remember a time when you went on David Letterman's show, though, when nobody could tell if you were kidding when you said you might beat him up.

"Yeah! Back in 1982, we were promoting Rocky III and he asked me what was my real name. And I showed him my driver's license and I said, 'Would you ask Pope John Paul II his real name? John Wayne wasn't born John Wayne.' He said, 'What's your first name?' I said, my first name is 'Mr.', middle name 'period' and last name is 'T' . . . I told him I was holding a red ball, and if I squeeze it 10 times you in trouble. He asked, 'What number are you on right now?' I said, 'I'm on number seven.'

I tell you the truth, I look at some of those interviews and I say - maybe I was too mean on Letterman."

Are we seeing a George Foreman-style reinvention with you here - a guy who used to be bad trying to look good?

Well, George really was mean. But the business part of him took over . . . he came with the smile and whatnot and he smiled himself to millions of dollars with the Foreman Grill. But for me, on Letterman, that was about the only really, really mean interview. Other than that, I loosened up and warmed up. After a while, I wasn't promoting Rocky no more - we were promoting The A-Team. So I didn't have to be as mean.

On I Pity the Fool we see you without your trademark gold chains. You took them off for good after helping refugees from Hurricane Katrina, right?

As a Christian, I don't even want to wear the gold again. I told you the reason why I took it off, let me tell you the reason why I put it on. When Jesus was born . . . (he received a gift of gold) and I say if its good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. Second reason I wore the gold is because I could afford it. Don't buy the gold if your kid's not fed and needs shoes. And the third reason I wore the gold was because it was symbolic of my African heritage. When my black ancestors was brought over here from Africa, they were shackled by their neck, their wrist and their ankles in steel chains. So I turned those steel chains to gold to symbolize the fact that I'm still a slave, but my price tag is higher. (laughs)

You also were one of the first celebrities to sport a Mohawk, right?

It's not really a Mohawk. I started wearing it in 1979, and I was studying on it. I was looking in National Geographic magazine, and I saw this warrior, with a shield and a spear with feathers around his knees and his ankle. He was from the country called Mali, he was called a Mandinka warrior. They had their hair in the Mohawk form. And I say that's cool. No disrespect to the Mohawk Indians, but there is a tribe in Africa who wears their hair that way, too."

Do you feel like a follicle pioneer?

That's the way it is when you stick with something. I remember when I first cut my Mohawk to this way. Girls didn't want to date me - they said I'm not going out with that crazy looking fool. But then that crazy looking fool started bringing in the money . . . If I change my hair now, I'll be like any other sucker. Trying to change to fit in . . . it makes you look cheap. Be for real. That's why I like Don King; he ain't changed his hair in years.

Do you pity the next person who says "I pity the fool" to you?

No! It's a love thing when fans see me. I am honored that the fans . . . they allowed my catch phrase to have legs. To be here this long. Any other catch phrase, they came and went. It's not me; it's the people who fell in love with me, got to know who I am . . . heard my story and they like me.

Wikipedia says you've been elected student body president at New College in Sarasota three times as a write-in candidate. Will you take office?

I'm going to have to come down there and make a speech! Man, I'm honored. You tell those kids to keep on studying, and maybe I'm going to appear there one of these days.

Eric Deggans can be reached at deggans@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8521. His blog is at blogs. tampabay.com/media.

I Pity the Fool debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday on TV Land. Grade: C

[Last modified October 9, 2006, 09:21:07]