If you grew up in the 80s, you probably spent your Tuesday nights watching a black-and-grey GMC Vandura fly through the air in slow motion. You know the drill. "In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit." It’s iconic. But while the cast of the A-Team TV show looked like a band of brothers on screen, the reality of what went on when the cameras stopped rolling was a lot more complicated—and a lot less friendly—than the cigars and "I love it when a plan comes together" vibes suggested.
The Alpha: George Peppard as Hannibal Smith
George Peppard was the anchor. Before he was Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, he was a genuine silver-screen movie star, most famous for playing opposite Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. He brought a certain "old Hollywood" gravitas to the show, but he also brought a massive ego.
Peppard was a method actor who took the work seriously. He insisted on wearing the black leather gloves and chomping on real cigars, which actually caused some issues with the network. But the biggest problem? He hated being upstaged. When the show premiered in 1983, it became clear very quickly that the break-out star wasn't the seasoned veteran Peppard—it was a guy with a mohawk and 40 pounds of gold chains.
The Friction Between Hannibal and B.A.
It’s no secret now, but for years, NBC tried to bury the fact that George Peppard and Mr. T absolutely couldn't stand each other. Peppard was reportedly furious that Mr. T, a former bouncer with relatively little acting experience, was the face of the show’s merchandise and, more importantly, was getting paid more than him.
Things got so bad that they basically stopped speaking. They’d do their scenes, and then Peppard would use a "messenger" (often the poor production assistants) to communicate with Mr. T. Peppard once famously called Mr. T "the worst actor I've ever worked with," which is a pretty stinging barb coming from a guy who’d worked with some of the greats.
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The Faceman Swap You Might Have Missed
If you go back and watch the pilot episode, "Mexican Slayride," you’ll notice something weird. Templeton "Face" Peck isn't played by Dirk Benedict.
Instead, the role was originally held by an actor named Tim Dunigan. He was tall, handsome, and fit the "con man" mold perfectly on paper. However, after the pilot was filmed, the producers realized Dunigan looked way too young to be a Vietnam veteran. He was 20-something and looked like he’d just finished high school, whereas the rest of the cast of the A-Team TV show actually looked like they’d seen some combat.
Enter Dirk Benedict. Fresh off Battlestar Galactica, Benedict brought a "scoundrel with a heart of gold" energy that defined the character for the next five seasons. He was the guy who could "scrounge" anything from a helicopter to a tuxedo in the middle of a desert.
What happened to Dirk Benedict?
Post-A-Team, Benedict mostly stepped away from the massive Hollywood spotlight. He did some theater, wrote a couple of books (one about his macrobiotic diet and surviving prostate cancer), and eventually made a cameo in the 2010 A-Team movie. Honestly, he seems like the most chill member of the original group.
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The Chaos Agent: Dwight Schultz as Murdock
Dwight Schultz played Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, the team’s pilot who lived in a VA psych ward. Murdock was the comic relief, but Schultz played him with a frantic, brilliant energy that was actually quite difficult to pull off.
Interesting bit of trivia: Murdock was almost written out of the show after the first few episodes. The network thought he was "too much." But once the test audiences saw him, they went nuts. He was the fan-favorite.
Schultz is also one of the few cast members who stayed busy in a big way after the show ended in 1987. If you're a "Trekkie," you know him as the awkward but lovable Lieutenant Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager. He also became a massive name in voice acting, lending his voice to everything from Ben 10 to Call of Duty.
The Powerhouse: Mr. T as B.A. Baracus
You can’t talk about the cast of the A-Team TV show without talking about Laurence Tureaud, better known as Mr. T. He was a cultural phenomenon. His character, Bosco "Bad Attitude" Baracus, was the muscle and the mechanic. He had a fear of flying that became one of the show’s best running gags—usually involving the team drugging his milk or knocking him out so they could get him on a plane.
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Mr. T’s life after the show was a roller coaster:
- Professional Wrestling: He was a huge part of the first WrestleMania, teaming with Hulk Hogan.
- Health Struggles: In 1995, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. He joked that he had "cancer with his name on it," and he eventually beat it.
- The Gold: He famously stopped wearing his signature gold chains after seeing the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, saying it would be insensitive to people who had lost everything.
The Forgotten Members
People always remember the core four, but the team had some helpers along the way.
- Melinda Culea (Amy Allen): She was the reporter who joined them in Season 1. She was eventually written out because George Peppard reportedly felt the show didn't need a female lead. It was a "guy's show," in his words.
- Marla Heasley (Tawnia Baker): She replaced Melinda but only lasted about a season.
- Eddie Velez (Frankie Santana): Added in the final season (Season 5) to try and boost sagging ratings. He played a special effects expert.
- Robert Vaughn (General Stockwell): Also a Season 5 addition. The show tried to shift to a more "spy thriller" vibe where the team actually worked for the government. It didn't really work, and the show was canceled shortly after.
Why the Show Still Holds Up
Despite the backstage bickering and the fact that 50,000 rounds of ammunition were fired per episode without a single person ever getting killed, The A-Team works because of the chemistry. Even if they hated each other off-camera, Peppard, Mr. T, Benedict, and Schultz had a rhythm that was lightning in a bottle.
If you’re looking to dive back into the world of 80s action, here is what you should do next:
- Watch the Season 4 finale, "The Sound of Thunder": It’s one of the few episodes that actually deals with their Vietnam backstory in a serious way.
- Track down the 2010 Movie: It stars Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper. It’s actually better than people give it credit for, and look for the cameos by Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict after the credits.
- Check out Dwight Schultz’s voice work: If you play video games, listen closely to characters in Fallout or Mass Effect—you’ll hear "Murdock" more often than you think.
The A-Team wasn't just a show; it was a vibe. It was about the idea that if the system fails you, you can still find a family of misfits to have your back. Even if you have to drug your mechanic to get him on a plane.