Stars pay tribute to Fresh Prince star James Avery
By Tribute News on January 2, 2014 | 7 Comments
Several stars have paid tribute to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor James Avery after he passed away. The 65-year-old star, who played Uncle Phil in the popular 1990s sitcom, died in hospital in Los Angeles on Tuesday from complications following open heart surgery. James' co-star Alfonso Ribeiro, who portrayed his son Carlton Banks in the show, took to his Facebook page to break the news and praised the late actor. He wrote: ''The world has lost a truly special man. I am very saddened to say that James Avery has passed. Even though he played my father on TV, he was a wonderful father figure to me in life. He will be deeply missed.''
Although Will Smith, who played the main character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has yet to comment publicly on the devastating news, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith paid tribute to the actor on her Facebook page. She wrote: ''Happy New Year everyone! I was hoping to start the new year differently but we have lost yet another friend. James Avery who we all lovingly know as Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince has passed. Our condolences to aunt Florence (his mother), Miss Barbara (his wife) and all those who loved him. Rest in peace James.'' James leaves behind wife Barbara, who is said to have been visiting her husband at the hospital in Glendale when he died, but she had left the room for a short period only to return later to find out he had passed away. Tatyana Ali, who played James' daughter Ashley Banks in The Fresh Prince, also paid tribute to the late star for being her ''protector.'' She wrote on Twitter: ''James was my teacher my protector & the most magnificent actor. We're feeling his loss very deeply. He'll always be apart of me #JamesAvery."
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Sad news. I liked him in the show better than Will. And what happened to the first actress who played his wife? It was just weird when she wasn’t around anymore.
Janet Hubert (formerly Whitten) is NOT DEAD.
http://www.tmz.com/2011/12/27/fresh-prince-will-smith-aunt-vivian/
Yet another inaccuracy. Avery was 68, not 65.
I didn’t say she was dead. But she wasn’t on the show for the entire run. The way I remember it, there was no Aunt Viv for a few episodes, and then suddenly there was a different actress. Very jarring. I stopped watching at that point, I hate when shows do things like that.
Hi Lou: Although many reports of his death said he was 68, our sources say James Avery was born November 27, 1948. That means he was 65 at the time of his death. If you have information that says otherwise, please let us know. Thanks for your input!
Let’s not forget that every day the world loses special men. James Avery playing Uncle Phil and the voice of Shredder doesn’t mean his death is worse than any other man’s death. I am sorry for the people who knew him personally and were close to him. But everybody needs to remember that actors lives are not more important than us regular people.
What character did James Avery play on Greys Anatomy?