Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? actor James

‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ actor James
Avery dies at 68
on january 02, 2014 at 11:04 am in entertainment
This June 3, 2009 file photo shows US actor James
Avery arriving at the Palm Pre Launch Event to
Benefit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
held at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles, California.
AFP Photo
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – US actor James Avery, most
famous as Uncle Phil in hit 1990s sitcom “The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” died on New Year’s Eve
aged 68, his publicist said Wednesday.
With a deep baritone voice, Avery regularly played
judges, professors or doctors in TV shows in the
1980s and 90s, as well as extensive voice work,
including on animated projects.
His first big-screen role was an uncredited part in
1980s classic “The Blues Brothers,” and he enjoyed
a prolific TV and movie career stretching over three
decades.
But the role most people will remember him for is
as Philip Banks on the 1990s NBC series, who
played a role model to the young Will Smith’s
character, a fictionalized rapper version of himself.
“I’m deeply saddened to say James Avery has
passed away,” his “Fresh Prince” co-star Alfonso
Ribeiro tweeted. “He was a second father to me. I
will miss him greatly.”
Born James LaRue Avery in Virginia and raised in
New Jersey, he had worked until September,
shooting the film “Wish I Was Here” directed by
Zach Braff, which will premiere at the Sundance
Film Festival this month.
Avery died late Tuesday in hospital in Glendale,
outside Los Angeles, “due to complications from
open heart surgery,” his publicist Cynthia Snyder
told AFP in an email.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Barbara
Avery, his mother Florence Avery, and his stepson
Kevin Waters. Plans are being made for a memorial
service, the spokeswoman said.