Beloved TV actor James Avery, who rose to fame from his role of Will Smith’s astute and rich Uncle Philip Banks in 90’s TV show "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", has passed away on New Year’s Eve in LA hospital at the age of 68. His associates and family members confirmed the news of his demise to a number of reliable media sources. The co-star Alfonso Ribeiro, who played his son Carlton, had also broke the news through twitter, saying "I'm deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly." Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith also paid tribute to Jamed through the social media platform.
Avery had currently gone through open heart surgery and apparently passed away due to problems during the operation, as per his representative Cynthia Snyder. His mother Florence Avery, 89, told the media that his wife Barbara Avery was “practically living” at the hospital before his demise and summoned her a day before yesterday with what looked as if a good news.
“It seemed like he was doing better. I heard him say something in the background. Barbara planned to spend the night at the hospital but said she had to run some errands first. When she came back, she called me to say he was gone”, she said.
Brilliant actor and poet James Avery spent most of his life in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with his mother. He got training and performed a number of duties in the Navy during the Vietnam War (from 1968 to 1969) and then got his debut role in the 80’s movie "The Blues Brothers". He voiced characters in several animated shows, prominently for 80’s "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Iron Man". He was also known for famous TV shows like “Gray's Anatomy”, “The Closer”, “L.A. Law” and “Star Trek: Enterprise”. In addition, he also wrote scripts of many movies and TV shows.
Avery and his wife Barbara, who is currently a head of Occidental College in LA, lived a happy 26 years long marriage life. Sadly, James never had his biological children, but have a stepson of age 49. Prior to his death, he worked on Zach Braff’s film “Wish I Was Here” that is set to first screening at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of this month.
His representatives told that plans are being made for actor’s memorial and funeral services.
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