The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The A-Team Series
It's been nearly forty years, but people still remember "The A-Team." The action adventure series went on for five seasons, but stuck around in the public consciousness for much, much longer. People still remember the theme song, the cartoonish violence, the catchphrases. But although many viewers throughout the 2000s wanted a revival of the show, the TV series itself never came back.
Instead, we got a feature film in 2010 starring an updated A-Team, with the characters being veterans of the Iraq War instead of veterans of Vietnam. The film underperformed at the box office, however, and they never made a sequel. Unlike "21 Jump Street," a franchise where the later movies have now long-since overshadowed the TV show for most younger viewers, when people of all ages today think of "The A-Team," they're still almost certainly thinking of the show.
So what have the cast members been up to since the show's been off the air? Unfortunately some of the cast have left us already, including George Peppard, who played John "Hannibal" Smith. Peppard died of pneumonia in 1994 at 65 years old. Meanwhile Lance Legault, who played recurring villain Col. Roderick Decker, died in 2012 from heart failure at age 75. Most of the other major cast members are still alive, however, so let's check in to see how they're doing.
Mr. T (Bosco Albert 'B.A.' Baracus)
After the series ended in 1987, Mr. T (yes, that's his legal name) continued his wrestling career, to the point where in 2014 the WWE inducted him into its Hall of Fame for its celebrity wing. He also continued his acting career, starring in movies throughout the '90s and '00s like "Freaked," "Spy Hard," "Inspector Gadget," "Not Another Teen Movie," "Judgment," and "Cloudy With a Chance Meatballs." In television, he often appeared as himself in comedy shows like "Out of This World," "Blossom," "The Simpsons," and "Johnny Bravo."
Most recently he was a contestant on season 24 of "Dancing With the Stars," which aired in 2017. He was eliminated in the fourth round, placing tenth overall. Were the judges being fair in their ruling? You can watch and decide for yourself here.
Outside of the entertainment industry, Mr. T has battled with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in 1995. In 2000 when he was in remission, he joked about the experience, saying, "Can you imagine that?! Cancer with my name on it — personalized cancer." He's still going strong 23 years later, serving as an inspiration to many. "I have grown into a cancer fighter. I am a soldier, a veteran at that," Mr. T told Survivor Net. "Cancer wants to fight me again. I am not afraid this time. Fighting cancer for the third time, can I still believe in God? Yes, I can, and stronger than before."
Dwight Schultz (H.M. 'Howling Mad' Murdock)
Dwight Schultz had his first major film role post-"The A-Team" when he played famous physicist Robert J. Oppenheimer in the 1989 historical drama "Fat Man and Little Boy." He went on to star in "The Long Walk Home" in 1990, "The Temp" in 1993, and "Star Trek: First Contact" in 1996. He also appeared in plenty of other TV shows over the years, like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "The Outer Limits," although he rarely had as major a role as he did in "The A-Team."
In the political sphere, Schultz has been a major voice in conservative talk-radio, hosting his own podcast ("Howling Mad Radio") in the 2000s, and since guest-hosting on other shows like "The Save Nation," "The Jerry Doyle Show," and "The Rusty Humphries Show." He was also a semi-regular contributor to the right-wing publication Breitbart throughout 2009, with no shortage of criticisms for then-President Barack Obama.
Though Schultz has mostly retired from live-action performances lately, he's had a successful career in voice acting over the years, playing major characters in animated movies and TV shows like "Ben 10," "CatDog," "Chowder," and "The Animatrix." He's also starred in plenty of videogames; he's played The Vulture in multiple "Spider-Man" titles, as well as Papu Papu in the "Crash Bandicoot" series.
Dirk Benedict (Templeton 'Faceman' Peck)
After "The A-Team" ended, Dirk Benedict continued his film career with 1991's "Blue Tornado," and 1992's "Shadow Force." On the TV side of things, he went on to guest star in shows like "Murder, She Wrote," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Baywatch," and "Walker, Texas Ranger." He also appeared in the 2007 UK reality competition series "Celebrity Big Brother 5," where he placed third.
Benedict stirred up some controversy in 2006 with his essay "Lost in Castration," where he criticized the reboot of "Battlestar Galactica" for taking his role (Lieutenant Starbuck, back in the 1978 TV show and movie) and gender-flipping it. "The war against masculinity has been won," he lamented. "There was a time — I know I was there — when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll."
Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, Benedict has taken a fairly low profile. He starred in a British stage production of "Prescription: Murder" in 2010, and in 2019 starred in the low-budget movie "Space Ninjas." His most famous role continues to be as Faceman in "The A-Team," and he's still very much proud of the show's success. "It tapped into a sort of fundamental, universal morality, it was kind of a morality show," Benedict said in a 2005 interview. "There was good and there was bad. It was a non-violent show, it was kind of a cartoon show. It was very entertaining so people could watch it with their families."
Melinda Culea (Amy Amanda 'Triple A' Allen)
Although her character was dropped in the second season and has often been ignored in discussions about the show's legacy, many "A-Team" fans still remember Amy "Triple A" Allen fondly. After leaving the show, Culea had a lead role in the 1984 series "Glitter," and continued to play memorable characters in shows like "Knots Landing," "St. Elsewhere," "Beverly Hills, 90210," and "Murder, She Wrote." She also had some fun guest appearances on sci-fi shows like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1992 and "The X-Files" in 1999.
In recent decades, she seems to have moved away from film and TV in general. In 2016 she published a mystery novel, "Wondago," but has otherwise seemed to have settled down into a quiet family life with her husband Peter Markle, a film director who worked with Culea in the 1994 movie "Wagons East." They've raised two kids, and are still together today.