'The A-Team' Cast: Then & Now

No show better encapsulates '80s action adventure TV than "The A-Team." The series, which first aired in 1983 and ran for five seasons, starred a commando fighting force out of Vietnam, "sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit." The men promptly escaped and survived in Los Angeles as underground heroes for hire, able to construct weapons from spare parts and sidestep any real physical harm amid a barrage of cartoon-like violence. The revolving door of cameo appearances by the cheesiest of '80s mega-stars, such as Hulk Hogan and Boy George, only enhanced the show's campy appeal. In honor of Mr. T's 57th birthday today, check out the members of that crack "A-Team," then and now.

Mr. T (Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus): Then
Born Laurence Tureaud on May 21, 1952, he really did go by the first name "Mr.," middle name "period," and last name "T." Sylvester Stallone discovered the Army vet-turned-bouncer-turned-wrestler-turned-bodyguard to the stars (including Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen, and Michael Jackson) on the "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition and cast him as Clubber Lang in "Rocky III." "The A-Team" was created as a vehicle for the up-and-coming actor with the trademark mohawk, gold chains, and unforgettable catch phrase, "I pity the fool" -- which ultimately went from sound bite to motivational reality show. Really. Mr. T: Now Mr. T has never found the level of success he once enjoyed on the "A-Team." When the hit show ended, he went on to star in the series "T. and T." as a former boxer who teams up with a public defender to solve crimes. The series lasted just over two seasons, and health problems since then have prevented him from taking on more time-intensive roles (he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in 1995). These days he mostly sticks to starring in commercials and hawking his Mr. T Flavorwave Oven… move over George Foreman.

George Peppard (Col. John "Hannibal" Smith) "A-Team" fans might not believe this, but George Peppard was a legitimate film actor. If you've never seen the classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn and George, you should check it out. But be forewarned: it's a sensitive movie – nothing blows up. Peppard spent most of his career making war movies, including "The Blue Max" and "The Bravos," before becoming a TV sensation at age 55 as the cigar-chomping leader on the "A-Team." After the series ended, Peppard made a few TV and movie appearances (his final one on an episode of "Matlock") before died in 1994.

Dwight Schultz (Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock): Then Producers were concerned about the unbalanced character of H.M "Howling Mad" Murdock before the "A-Team" premiered, so they planned to cut the part after the first episode. But audiences took to the unpredictable pilot, and he stayed for the run of the series. Dwight Schultz: Now All you Trekkies out there will recognize Dwight Schultz as the equally quirky (but in a much more nerdy way) Lt. Reginald "Reg" Barclay from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Voyager," and the flick "Star Trek: First Contact." But these days you're more likely to just hear his voice as characters in animated series and games, including "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows," "FusionFall," and "Terminator Salvation: The Video Game."
Dirk Benedict (Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck): Then As an actor, you're lucky if you ever grab the brass ring and win a starring role in a hit TV series. Dirk Benedict was able to latch onto two of them: first as Lt. Starbuck on the original "Battlestar Galactica" and then as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck on "The A-Team." Dirk Benedict: Now Dirk shifted gears after leaving the "Team" and played Hamlet at the Abbey Theater. Perhaps not surprisingly, the response from audiences and critics was negative, so he went back to TV roles on such shows as "The Commish" and "Walker, Texas Ranger." When an updated "Battlestar Galactica" was announced in 2004, Dirk waged a public protest, calling the new, much darker series an "un-imagining" rather than a "re-imaging." Maybe he was just upset that Lt. Starbuck had become a woman in the new "Galactica" (a character he referred to as "Stardoe"). His most high-profile role in recent years was his third-place showing on the U.K. version of "Celebrity Big Brother." He made his entrance "A-Team"-style in the signature van, theme music blaring, with a suitcase full of cigars.

The "A-Team" Van: Then The fifth member of the team, of course, is the iconic black 1983 GMC G-Series (G-15) van, belonging to "B.A." Baracus. If you have a crime-fighting team (especially one that includes a guy the size of Mr. T), some fancy-schmancy muscle car just isn’t going to cut it when you're hunting down bad guys, so B.A.'s ride had some special modifications, including a custom red rear spoiler, white bucket seats, shag carpet, sunroof, and, of course, weapon storage case. The "A-Team" Van: Now Many vans were filmed throughout the show's run, several of which were wrecked during "The A-Team's" signature stunts, which featured jumps, crashes, explosions, and gun fights. Two pristine models, used for close-ups with the cast, were kept by producer Stephen J. Cannell after the series ended; in 1992 Cannell sold one of the pair to the Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick, England, where it's now on display.