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| Uncle Phil, we hardly knew you... |
I admit, when growing up... much like anyone did in the 90's, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had a cultural impact on my life. And while we had our Carl Winslows, and our Our Danny Tanners, Uncle Phil was in a class all by himself. Recently, James Avery died from complications during open heart surgery. To have not even reached the age of 70, it makes one stop and think. True, we have had people die long before they reached 70, and personally I don't think I'm going to reach 70... but then again, I've never touched the hearts of America in a way James Avery has.
I've never met this man. I didn't know his personality outside of the characters he has portrayed. I never spoken to him, or even seen him in person. I don't know his politics, I didn't know whether he had a religion. I don't even know if he was a good man in reality. I only knew that he was a man who seemed to love his job, and I only knew how sincere his performances were. And while James Avery had played many characters, and many roles in his life. The two that sticks out to me are Uncle Phil, and the Shredder.
Together these two were cornerstones of my childhood, and every night, I would always hope that someday the Shredder would at least gain some measure of vengeance, and "dine on turtle soup." Which... sounds like it would taste nasty. But, at the time, I thought the Shredder was the coolest villain. Certainly a step of from Mum-rah, and Cobra Commander. Perhaps even Skeletor. Shredder would get things done, and unfortunately his help was... less than helpful, Shredder at least tried his best to get things done. And James Avery's voice provided just the right amount of menace to make him seem convincing enough.
I could probably go on and on about James Avery and the many characters he has done. But what will really go on is his legacy. James Avery... a class act.
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