James Avery (actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
| James Avery | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | James L. Avery November 27, 1948 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Avery (1988-Present) |
James L. Avery, Sr. (born November 27, 1948), is an American TV actor best known for providing the voice of Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and 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."
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
James Avery joined the United States Navy shortly after high school graduation and served in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969. [1] After Avery left the military, he relocated to San Diego, and began to write 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. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater and Literature at the university and graduated in 1976. [2]
[edit] Career
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 credited as James Avery) 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 currently plays LA coroner, 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.
[edit] 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. [3]
He is 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 "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air".
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Divine Intervention | Rev. Matthews | |
| Who's Your Caddy? | Caddy Mack | ||
| 2006 | Danika | Neighbour | Direct-to-DVD Release |
| Think Tank | Uncle John | ||
| Restraining Order | Judge Sanerson | ||
| 2005 | A Christmas Wish | Saint | |
| The Third Wish | George | ||
| Lethal Eviction | Gus | ||
| 2004 | Hair Show | Seymour Gold | |
| Raise Your Voice | Mr. Gantry | ||
| 2002 | Wheelmen | Vice-President | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Eldon | |
| Honeybee | Larry Dukes | ||
| Chasing Sunsets | Mr. Burken | ||
| 1999 | After Romeo | ||
| Out in Fifty | Cappy | ||
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt | Overseer | |
| 12 Bucks | Slow | ||
| 1996 | Spirit Lost | Dr. Glidden | |
| 1995 | The Brady Bunch Movie | Mr. Steve Yeager | |
| 1993 | Simple Justice | Charles H. Houston | |
| Little Miss Millions | Agent Noah Hollander | ||
| 1991 | The Linguini Incident | Phil | |
| Shout | Midnight Rider | ||
| Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time | Lt. Coberly | ||
| 1988 | License to Drive | Les's DMV Examiner | |
| 1987 | Nightflyers | Darryl | |
| Three for the Road | Clarence | ||
| Deadly Daphne's Revenge | Police Detective | ||
| Jake's M.O. | Abel Barnes | ||
| Body Count | |||
| 1986 | Extremities | Security Guard | |
| Stoogemania | Gulch | ||
| The Ladies Club | Joe | ||
| 8 Million Ways to Die | Deputy D.A. | ||
| Fist of the North Star | Fang | ||
| 1985 | Appointment With Fear | Connors | |
| Fletch | Detective #2 |
[edit] Television
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- James Avery at the Voice Chasers Database
- James Avery at the Internet Movie Database
- James Avery at Allmovie
- James Avery at TV.com
- James Avery article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- The HistoryMakers Biography, photos and video clips
