In Memory of James Avery (Uncle Phil on 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'): 9 Years After His Tragic Death

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It's been nine years since beloved actor James Avery died due to complications from open-heart surgery in a Glendale, CA hospital. Best known as Judge Philip "Uncle Phil" Banks on Will Smith's hit 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC, 1990-1996), Avery was only 68 years old. This is his tragic story.

A Closer Look

A Shakespearean-trained actor and poet, James Avery grew up the son of a single mother in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and made his screen debut as an uncredited dancer in The Blues Brothers (1980).

Following his military duty, Avery relocated to San Diego, where he began penning teleplays and poetry for PBS. As he noted during an interview for the TV series “Unscripted, "I loved the arts...I wanted to be a writer, but the theater was something I had been involved in before.”

Avery made several television guest appearances on shows like CSI, That ’70s Show, The Closer, and many episodes as a judge on L.A. Law.

Avery also found success as a voiceover artist lending his timber to animated roles like Shredder in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the 1990s cartooned adaptation of Iron Man.

In 1997, the esteemed actor was the core host of the popular PBS travel and adventure series Going Places.

Just before his demise, Avery made the movie, Wish I Was Here.

He Was an Uncle of a Prince (and vice-versa)

However, it was James Avery's role as Uncle Phil on TV's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that became his breakout performance.

In the series, which was produced by music maestro Quincy Jones, a young Will Smith played a Philadelphia teen rapper who's sent to live with well-to-do family members in L.A.

Avery's judge Uncle Phil was a former civil rights activist and Harvard Law-trained attorney; the ideal role model to help Smith's somewhat outlandish TV persona tame his periodic overzealous ways.

The Big Picture

James Avery, who was married for 26 years to Barbara, the Dean of Student Life at California's Loyola Marymount University. He had one stepson, Kevin, a positive view of life, and a loyal fan base, which continues until this day.