Will!!!!! We all remember that signature yell by the beloved Uncle Phil. The cast from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire reunited this Saturday to say their goodbyes to James Avery. Madamenoire.com reports that the entire cast was present except Will Smith and Janet Hubert (1st Aunt Viv).
Alfonso Ribeiro hosted the Memorial Ceremony and said this on twitter, “We said goodbye to the amazing James Avery last night. I was honored to host the memorial for Barbara Avery. It was a wonderful tribute and celebration of his life. He will be deeply missed.”
Avery suffered from many ailments including heart disease, end stage kidney disease and type-2 diabetes. He had heart surgery late last year after having a heart attack.
Phil Avery was born in Virginia and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He joined the Navy after high school and served in the Vietnam War. He was an accomplished actor and voice actor for many animated series. He was married in 1988 and survived by his wife Barbara and mother Florence. Avery’s wife is the Dean of Students at Occidental College in Los Angeles. His other well known roles were in “The Closer”, “Dr. Doolittle”,” Grey’s Anatomy” and “That 70’s Show.”
Fresh Prince’s uncle and a father to his own television children as Uncle Phil was one of his most famous roles. TV Guide ranked Avery as #34 of “50 Greatest TV Dads of all Time.” The cast members that attended the memorial were Daphne Reid, Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons and Joseph Marcell. Will Smith is reportedly in Dubai.
James Avery was cremated and his ashes spread in the Pacific Ocean. Some of his ashes will also be spread in his hometown his mother said. Florence Avery told the New York Daily News, “The thought that I won’t see him again really bothers me, but I know he’s in a better place. He was very sick,” Florence said Monday. “When you can’t do the little things for yourself anymore, you lose the determination to hang on. You want to live your life your way.”
We’ll all miss Uncle Phil.
(Via Your Black World)
