‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ was a TV series that stared Will Smith, a well-known actor. Uncle Phil (Philip Banks) played by the actor, James Avery, is the wealthy uncle of Will Smith. Uncle Phil began as a lawyer and eventually became a judge. Will was sent from West Philadelphia to Uncle Phil’s mansion.

Will Smith lived with his uncle Phil, Vivian, his aunt, along with his cousins, Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley, to escape from bullies from his home town.

Uncle Phil was very influential on Will. Although he was very stern, it was out of the kindness from his heart.

Although Uncle Phil was a very modest character in ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, James Avery is nothing less in real life. He is described by his mother, Florence Avery, 89, to be “just a nice person whose great passion in life was reading.”

On December 31, 2013 tragic news hit the media. Avery died at the age of 68. His death was said to be from complications following an open heart surgery in a Los Angeles suburb hospital.

Avery is survived by his mom, Florance, his wife, Barbara Avery, and his step son Kevin Waters. Avery has no biological children of his own.

After his death, Carlton, whose real life name is Alfonso Ribeiro, tweeted, ‘I’m deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly.’

Twitter went viral with his death. Many took to social media to express their grief and shock on Avery’s sudden death.

Avery, was in fact a great man. After graduating high school, he served in the Vietnam War as a member of the U.S. Navy from 1968–1969. He is known as a hero in ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ along with his everyday life.

Although, Avery was known for his role in ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, he had much guest appearance in many different shows. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Proud Family, My Wife and Kids, Grey’s Anatomy, That’s So Raven, Star Trek: Enterprise, are just a couple of the TV shows that Avery has made a guest appearance in.

Tatiana Ali, who played Avery’s daughter on ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ mournfully stated, “James was my teacher, my protector, and the most magnificent actor. We’re feeling his loss very deeply. He’ll always be a part of me.”