Lake Forest’s reputation as “Tree City, USA” took a serious hit in 1987 not long after Lawrence “Mr. T” Tureaud moved to town.

Born in 1952, Tureaud grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. His early career had many twists and turns, including time in the Army, as an athlete, and as a bouncer and bodyguard, before finding success as a television and movie actor.

The Hollywood star of “Rocky III” and “The A-Team” fame purchased the former Laurance Armour estate at 395 Green Bay Road in the late 1980s. Changes he made to the property ruffled feathers in Lake Forest, including a white stockade fence that did not fit within zoning codes.

The real uproar came in May 1987, when, claiming allergy problems, Tureaud picked up a chain saw, joined a landscape crew he hired, and got to the root of things. Before he was through, over 100 trees—mostly oak—had been cut down on the seven-acre property surrounding the English Tudor house. The story drew national media attention, dubbing it the “Lake Forest Chain Saw Massacre.”

Mr. T no longer lives here, but left this legacy: Tighter municipal ordinances regarding removal of trees.