James Avery, star of fresh prince of Bel-Air; dies at 68

James Avery, the veteran TV actor who portrayed Uncle Phil on the sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air,” has died. He was reportedly 68 years old. Avery’s publicist told The Associated Press that the
actor died Tuesday in Glendale, Calif., in the wake
of complications from open heart surgery. On “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which helped
launch rapper-actor Will Smith to superstardom, Avery played Philip Banks, the rich relation who
provides a stable home environment to Smith’s
rapping, puckish character–and who must also
endure his constant hijinks. The show ran from
1990-1996, and is fondly remembered for bringing
hip-hop culture (or at least an easygoing version of it) to prime time, and for its jaunty rap theme song. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Avery also
appeared on such TV shows as “L.A. Law” and “The
Closer.” While “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” took the form of
a traditional sitcom, from a social standpoint it was
also breakthrough television. Smith became one of
the first rap stars to achieve acting success on a hit
television show, and went on to become a movie
star as well. The Banks family was also one of the few wealthy African-American families ever to be
featured on television.  Uncle Phil lives in a
mansion, and is law firm partner and later becomes
a judge. The program, by showing a wide range of
black characters and capturing wide mainstream
viewership while doing so, opened the door to richer, more diverse portrait of black life on TV. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Avery’s son on
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” had a note posted on
his Twitter page reading “I’m deeply saddened to
say that James Avery has passed away. He was a
second father to me. I will miss him greatly.”