Remembering James Avery: Uncle Phil and The Shredder, Two Pop-Culture Pillars of the 90s [VIDEOS]
Ward Cleaver. Mike Brady. Cliff Huxtable.
Every generation has its TV dad. Mine was undoubtedly the honorable Judge Phillip Banks -- Uncle Phil as we'd come to know the talented Mr. James Avery.
Avery, 65, died Tuesday in Los Angeles.
During those six memorable seasons of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' Mr. Banks provided a young Will Smith with more than just a home after his mom got scared and sent him to move in with his uncle and auntie in Bel Air. From the moment Will pulled up to the house about 7 or 8, Uncle Phil became the stern yet lovable father figure the Fresh Prince never knew previously.
If you doubt the father-son dynamic the two cultivated during the course of the show, I present to you the following clip. Watch it without crying. I dare you.
Up until recently, I thought that was Avery's greatest role. And then...I discovered this:
Mind = Blown.
Uncle Phil and The Shredder. Two pop-culture pillars of the 90's. Gone but certainly never forgotten.
Thank you, James. For everything.