James Avery (actor)

James L. Avery, Sr. (born November 27, 1948, died December 31, 2013) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the patriarch and attorney (later judge) Philip Banks in the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, whom Will Smith's character affectionately called "Uncle Phil". This character was ranked #34 in TV Guide 's "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time". He also provided the voice of Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series, as well as War Machine in the animated series Spider-Man. He also played Michael Kelso's officer at the police academy late in the series run of the popular sitcom That '70s Show.

Early life
Avery was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He joined the United States Navy shortly after high school graduation and served in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969. After he left the military, Avery moved to San Diego and began writing TV scripts and poetry for PBS. He won an Emmy Award for his production during his term at PBS and was awarded a scholarship to University of California, San Diego. Avery earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater and Literature at the university and graduated in 1976.

Career
An imposing figure standing at 6'4" (1.95 m), he often plays characters in legal or high-level professional fields. In addition to his fame in sitcoms, he did voice acting for many animated series, most notably the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series (as the voice of The Shredder) and James Rhodes in the 1990s Iron Man series. He has been the primary host of Going Places, a popular travel and adventure series on PBS. He also guest starred in That '70s Show as Officer Kennedy. In 2000, he guest starred in the "Unfriendly Skies" episode of CSI as Preston Cash, a legally-blind witness to a murder who assists the CSI team with a near-flawless verbal account of what he heard onboard the flight. Avery recently played a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Dr. Crippen, (who has recently appeared in a wheelchair), on the TNT series The Closer. In 2004, he guest starred on the television series That's So Raven where he played an entrepreneur. He also appeared in a 2005 episode of My Wife and Kids as Jay's reluctant professor. He was cast in the new sitcom Sherri, starring Sherri Shepherd playing her father.

Personal life
Avery's wife Barbara, whom he married in 1988, is the Dean of Students at Occidental College in California. He has one stepson and two foster children.

He was frequently mistaken for fellow actor Reginald VelJohnson and vice versa, a joke that was played out on episodes of VelJohnson's sitcom Family Matters as well as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

He was confirmed to voice the Aerialbot Silverbolt in Transformers: The Dark of the Moon.

Death
On December 31, 2013, Avery died at the age of 68 at Glendale Memorial Medical Center.

Avery's publicist, Cynthia Snyder, told the Associated Press that Avery died following complications from open heart surgery.

Janet Hubert, who portrayed his on-screen wife Vivian on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for the first three seasons, said after his death "RIP James, all the world is a stage, and we are all merely players in this production called LIFE." Will Smith commented on Avery's death, saying, "Some of my greatest lessons in acting, living, and being a respectable human being came through James Avery. Every young man needs an Uncle Phil. Rest in peace." Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey) called Avery a "gentle giant."

Avery's remains were cremated and scattered near the Pacific Ocean.

In April 2020, Will Smith reunited the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on a video conference honoring Avery's best moments on the show.