In his own words, Oct 2006:
"T stands for being nice. T stands for manners. ... T stands for working hard. T stands for loving thy neighbor. You know, T stands for feeding the hungry, you know. T stands for just working, working, working, being happy on the set, you know, lifting everybody's spirits. T stands for just a nice guy."
Mr. T told the critics he finally put away his 35 pounds of gold chains after the sadness of Hurricane Katrina, that the gold is now in his heart. He has lost about 40 pounds since his tough-man days. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1995. It has been in remission for years, but he continues to take medication.
There is no Mrs. T. "I'm not married or nothing like that," said Mr. T, "because ... it's hard for me to find a woman that has the qualities of my mother. They always say, you know, 'Just when you find a woman that cooks like your mother, she looks like your mother.' "