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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 09
Monday, October 9, 2006
Mr. T lends his hand in new ‘reali-T’ show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mr. T said he was offered a spot three years ago on WB’s “The Surreal Life,” featuring the likes of MC Hammer and Corey Feldman.
“Everybody on there, their careers were over,” Mr. T told Buzz recently by phone. “Sure, I hadn’t been on TV for a long time. But I do personal appearances. I did a London play. It insulted me to get me on that show.” So he just said no.
But when TVLand pitched the idea of “I Pity the Fool,” in which Mr. T does his own version of Dr. Phil to help out businesses such as a family farm and a dance studio, he didn’t jibba jabba. He said yes to his own “reali-T” show, as it’s called.
In the hilarious first episode, which debuts Wednesday, the seemingly ageless Mohawked man from “The A-Team” revs up a car dealership. Dressed in a business suit, he plays up his nonstop need to “teach fools my basic rules.”
“As old folks say, this is right up my alley,” Mr. T said. “It’s not negative. It’s positive. This is my thing. It’s about inspiring people, motivating them. This fame game has allowed me to do that with kids, with prisoners, with the homeless.”
After Hurricane Katrina, he ditched his signature gold chains, feeling that opulent displays of wealth were inappropriate. “I’ll never wear them again,” Mr. T declared. “I only have a heart of gold.” And even better, he noted, “I don’t have to be hassled at the airport.”
As for the title of the new show, he said he doesn’t mind folks coming up to him and intoning his signature line “I pity the fool!” to his face. “It’s only in fun,” he said. “It’s in love. I say to kids, ‘I pity the fools who don’t stay in school or learn the Golden Rule.’ If I couldn’t read, I wouldn’t be on TV. You don’t get on TV cursing and grabbing your crotch.”
Well, at least that’s not how Mr. T does it, fool!
Brad, Angelina turn back
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, in India to shoot scenes for a movie about slain journalist Daniel Pearl, went on an auto-rickshaw ride with their 5-year-old son, Maddox, on Sunday. The celebrity couple were chased by photographers, cameramen and reporters, forcing them to turn back after a 20-minute ride in Pune, in western India.
Several traffic signals slowed the short rickshaw ride. At every red light, security men traveling in a rickshaw behind them jumped out and surrounded the three-wheeler to prevent the media from snapping pictures of Pitt and Jolie.
Security for the star couple has been tight since their arrival Thursday in Pune by private jet along with their children Maddox, 18-month-old Zahara and 4-month-old Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.
Brawny, sensitive house calls
Brawny Man is the kind of guy who can throw hatchets, split wood and still whip up a tasty meal for the woman he loves. He’s tough but sensitive, just like the paper towel with his likeness on the front.
This summer, Brawny Man, brought to three-dimensional life by Navy pilot turned actor John Brennan, took eight former slobs to boot camp in a California redwood forest, teaching them how real men can also cook, dance and bring on the romance. The adventures of these real-life Joes were documented on the BrawnyAcademy Web site (www.BrawnyAcademy.com), in a sort of reality television ad that was at once a winking ironic put-on, elaborate product placement and oddly touching.
Brennan sends his pupils back to their wives and girlfriends newly sensitized. “At the end they’re breaking down and telling their girlfriends and wives how much they care for them; that’s not acting,” Brennan told Buzz on Friday.
And now you can send your husband to a personalized Brawny makeover. On eBay, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific is offering a one-day training session with its spokes-lumberjack. He’ll travel to the home of the high bidder and teach the man of the house how to put the toilet lid down, presumably. To bid, go to www.ebay.com, Specialty Services, and search for “Brawny.”
Shanice: I’m finally me
Nineteen years in the business, and R&B singer Shanice still hasn’t had the string of drug arrests, bankruptcies or breakdowns to merit a VH1 “Behind the Music” special. What kind of former teen star is she?
Actually, the kind that made her debut at age 14, made a name for herself with the 1991 hit single “I Love Your Smile,” had a quick stint at Atlanta’s now-closed LaFace Records, became a wife (to TV star Flex Alexander) and mother and, yes, is still singing.
Her latest independent record release is titled “Every Woman Dreams,” and she’ll perform from it Oct. 13 at Center Stage. (Eric Benét, Halle Berry’s ex, will headline.)
“This is the best time I’ve ever had in my whole career,” Shanice told Buzz. “I feel I can finally be me. I co-wrote 12 songs. Co-produced. I A&R’d the whole project, meaning I determined what my direction should be.”
Not that she doesn’t appreciate having others weigh in on her music. “It’s funny,” Shanice said. “I’ve been doing a lot of radio dates recently, and at first I didn’t include
‘I Love Your Smile’ in my show. I was thinking, ‘Come on, that was the early ’90s. No one wants to hear that now.’ And people were angry. So now I do it — without that little corny rap, though. I can’t believe no one in my family, none of my friends, didn’t tell me not to do that!”
Celebrity birthdays
Trent Lott, Republican senator from Mississippi, is 65. Reality television mate Sharon Osbourne is 54. Actor Scott Bakula (“Quantum Leap”) is 52. Musician and famous son Sean Lennon is 31.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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