Editing George Peppard (section)

===''The A-Team''===
In 1982, Peppard auditioned for and won the role of Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in the television action adventure series ''[[The A-Team]]'', acting alongside [[Mr. T]], [[Dirk Benedict]] and [[Dwight Schultz]]. In the series, the A-Team was a team of renegade commandos on the run from the military for "a crime they did not commit" while serving in the [[Vietnam War]]. The A-Team members made their collective living as [[Mercenary|soldiers of fortune]], but they helped only people who came to them with justified grievances.

As "Hannibal" Smith, Peppard played the leader of the A-Team, distinguished by his cigar smoking, confident smirk, black leather gloves, disguises, and distinctive catchphrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Peppard was attracted to the role partly because Smith was a master of disguise enabling Peppard to play a variety of characters. "I love the character of Hannibal," he said. "It inspires my fantasy. And, frankly, I need the money."<ref>{{cite news| title=It's got guns and bombs, but no blood| last=Davis| first=Ivor| newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]| location=Toronto| date=February 26, 1983| page=10}}</ref>

"I wanted to change from leading man to character actor for years now but have never been given the chance before", he added.<ref name="george"/>

The show started filming in late 1982 and premiered in January 1983.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 4, 1982 |title=NBC's 'A Team' Filming in Mexico |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-nbcs-a-team-fil/171314591/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=G9 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> It was an instant ratings success, going straight into the top ten most watched shows in the country. The series, which ran for five seasons on [[NBC]] from 1983 to 1987, made Peppard known to a new generation and is arguably his best-known role.<ref>{{cite news |last=Margulies |first=Lee |date=March 21, 1983 |title=Unresolved Dilemma of 'Bulletin' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-unresolved-dilemma/171314612/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=H8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> His fee was reportedly $50,000 an episode.<ref>{{cite news |last=McAuley |first=P. C. |date=October 30, 1983 |title=Peppard: Dynasty's Loss Is The A-Team's Gain |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-peppard-dynastys/171314651/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=Z3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> This went up to $65,000, making him one of the best paid stars on television.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shister |first=Gall |last2=Walsted |first2=David |date=1985-04-10 |title=Poindexter finds a tougher pace following Polillo |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-poindexter-fin/171314702/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |page=11D |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

Peppard said "the first year of the show "it was kind of like ''[[Monty Python]]'' – absolutely ridiculous. It was fresh, it was fun, it was silly – building an airplane out of a lawn-mower engine – fun stuff done very straight." After that, though "it became very boring to me and not very good."<ref name="king">{{Cite news |last=Keating |first=Douglas J. |date=1992-01-12 |title=From 'A-Team' honcho to king |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-from-a-team/171314754/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |page=I1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

The role was reportedly written originally with [[James Coburn]] in mind, but Coburn declined, and thus it went to Peppard. It was reported that Peppard was annoyed by Mr. T upstaging him in his public image, and at one point in their relationship, refused to speak directly to Mr. T. Instead, he sent messages through intermediaries (including at times fellow cast members, particularly Dirk Benedict), and for this, Peppard was occasionally portrayed by the press as not a team player.<ref>{{cite news| first=Steve| last=Pratt| title=Not really a team player| work=[[The Northern Echo]]| url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2006/05/24/770111.Not_really_a_team_player/| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150118193927/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2006/05/24/770111.Not_really_a_team_player/| url-status=dead| archive-date=January 18, 2015| date=May 19, 2006| page=15| location=[[Darlington]]| access-date=January 16, 2015}}</ref> [[Melinda Culea]] claimed it was Peppard who got her fired after the first season.<ref>{{cite news| title=Chatterbox| last=Stewart| first=Susan| newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News| date=January 20, 1984| page=40}}</ref>

"It's the first time I ever had money in the bank", Peppard said later. "Four California divorces and 25 years of alimony will see to it you have no money in the bank. It was a giant boost to my career, and made me a viable actor for other roles."<ref name="cane"/>

During the series' run Peppard guest starred on the ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)|Tales of the Unexpected]]'' episode "The Dirty Detail" (1983).