There have been many cartoons that have been based on real people, but one of the most successful and memorable is Mister T inspired by the super popular ’80s pop culture superstar. Mister T (real name: Lawrence Tureaud) was a larger-than-life figure with his gruff, wrestler-like bravado who skyrocketed in popularity thanks to his role as Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III followed by his starring on the massive ratings hit, NBC’s The A-Team. His most famous catchphrase was “I pity the fool!” He also had a striking look, with a mohawk hairstyle and a love for jewelry, usually shown wearing tons of gold necklaces, rings, and feather earrings.
Because of Mister T’s pop culture ubiquity, he had a large following among children, and in 1983, NBC brought him to Saturday mornings in his own eponymous animated show. The Mister T series cast the star as the coach of a team of teenage gymnasts. They traveled the world and in each episode, found themselves embroiled in a criminal scheme or mystery to solve.
Mister T voiced his own character and also appeared in live-action at the beginning and end of each episode, to deliver the weekly educational message. The animation was provided by Ruby-Spears Productions, and ultimately, the show lasted for three seasons and 30 episodes (13 in the first, 11 in the second, and 6 in the last). It was developed by Ruby-Spears regulars Steve Gerber and Martin Pasko, who both served as writers. Other writers included Flint Dille, Buzz Dixon, Paul Dini, and Matt Ultz.
Mister T was aided by Ms. Priscilla Bisby (voiced by Takayo Fischer), an older woman who helped chaperone the teens and drove their tour bus. Voice acting great Phil LaMarr (Green Lantern on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Static on Static Shock!, Samurai Jack, and more) got his first voice acting role on Mister T as Woody Daniels, who joins the gymnastics team in the first episode. The other major gymnasts were cocky Caucasian Jeff Harris (Shawn Lieber), adventure-loving redhead Robin O’Neill (Amy Linker), and brainy Japanese-American Kim Nakamura (Siu Ming Carson).
They are accompanied by Robin’s little brother, Spike (Teddy Field III), Mister T’s #1 fan who dresses and talks like his idol, and Dozer, his dog who happens to sport a mohawk.
Other gymnasts who didn’t appear in every episode include Native American Skye Redfern (Cathy Cavadini), Latino Garcia Lopez, Italian American Vince D’Amato, and African American Courtney Howard.
The Mister T cartoon was popular enough to spawn some merchandising including a lunchbox, board game, and a comic book that was only released in Europe. But the most famous piece of merchandising was the Quaker breakfast cereal. It was essentially Captain Crunch but in the shape of T’s. Each box came with a sheet of stickers featuring the characters from the show. Mister T cereal was immortalized when it was shown in the movie Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
Mister T was acquired when Warner Brothers bought the Ruby-Spears library. Following its original run on NBC Saturday mornings, Mister T aired on the USA Cartoon Express in the late 80s and early 90s, then on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. It is available on DVD-on-demand via Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from Amazon.
Do you recall the Mister T cartoon? What about the breakfast cereal?
