![]() He played the father of Ribeiro's Carlton and uncle of the title character Will Smith, played by rapper-turned-actor Will Smith. The most famous role for Avery was as lawyer-turned-judge Philip Banks on the six seasons series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He voiced Haroud Hazi Bin for The Walt Disney Company's series Aladdin. He and Harewood would both play Sir Bryant on the animated series The Legend of Prince Valiant based on the comic strip. As part of the show, he went to places including Turkey, Bali, Madrid, and Yellowstone National Park. In 1990, Avery got to travel around the world as the host of PBS's Going Places. In 1988, he played Les' DMV Examiner in the film License to Drive.Īvery married his wife Barbara in 1988 and stayed together until his death. He played the role for seven seasons, with fellow Iron Man actors Harewood and Jim Cummings filling in some episodes before being replaced with Townsend Coleman. The series was much lighter in tone as compared to the comics, but helped propel the franchise into mainstream consciousness. His longest role was as the main villain Shredder in the 1987 series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In 1987, Avery auditioned for the part of and was a finalist for the Klingon Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but lost the role to Michael Dorn. He had a recurring role as Winslow in the series Beauty and the Beast along with Ron Perlman. He voiced main character Turbo in the animated series Rambo: The Force of Freedom.Īvery played a detective in the police comedy Fletch. He made several appearances in the police drama Hill Street Blues. ![]() He would appear in a single episode of The Jeffersons, which his sitcom would later reference frequently. His first film role was a dancing man in the film The Blues Brothers. He played judges on 1983's Webster, 1984's Night Court, 1986's L.A. for the San Diego Community College.īecause of his large size, he was six feet and five inches tall, and deep voice Avery was frequently cast in professional roles such as judges, professors, and doctors. His first acting role came when he played God in the play J.B. In 1969, Avery received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the Virginia State University. He eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Literature. He eventually won a scholarship to attend the University of California, San Diego. He wrote an Emmy Award winning production titled Ameda Speaks: Poet James Avery. He began writing for PBS making poetry and television scripts. Following the war, James moved to San Diego, California. ![]() ![]() He served during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969. He left home at the age of eighteen because, as he said, "I had too good a time." Education Īfter graduated from high school, he joined the Navy. He loved the arts and wanted to be a writer but got involved in theater. He wanted to be like the author Richard Wright living in Paris, but his life took a different turn. Īt some point, he began suffering from diabetes. He was raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Avery was born in Pughsville, Virginia on November 27th, 1945. ![]()
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