Mr. T, a popular actor, who rose to fame as Clubber Lang in Rocky III and later as B.A. Baracus in the television series The A-Team, came to the Forest Park Mall in 1984. The Mall, at Roosevelt and Desplaines, was helping to promote his first record album, Mr. T’s Commandments. Despite his “one bad dude” persona, he was acclaimed as a humanitarian. His album stressed social issues — anti-drug, anti-hate, respect for one’s parents and the importance of getting an education.
A year after his Forest Park Mall appearance, he became Hulk Hogan’s tag-team partner at the World Wrestling Federation’s WrestleMania, and won the match. His well-known phrases, worthy of memes today, included “I pity the fool,” “Quit your jibba-jabba,” and “Shut up, fool!”
Jill Wagner
