Burly African-American character player of TV with a richly resonant voice. Avery has been a familiar face since the mid-1980s as a frequent TV guest star usually playing a cop, judge or clergyman. He had recurring roles on shows as diverse as "L.A. Law", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Amen". Avery is best known as Phillip Banks, the uncle of Will Smith on the hit sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96). His character was a proud self-made success story who skillfully walks the delicate line between being a positive role model as a strong Black father figure and the butt of humor as a pompous windbag. After the show's demise, Avery once again portrayed a patriarch, this time as the father in a family of lawyers who served an inner-city community on the UPN sitcom "Sparks" (1996-98).
Avery honed his acting skills as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland before segueing to commercials and TV. He worked on several cartoons ("Going Bananas"; "Hulk Hogan's Rock'N'Wrestling"; "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") before landing a stint as a primetime series regular on the sitcom "FM". Even here his voice was an integral part of his role as he played a radio personality who hosted two shows--one as a polished classical host and the other as a funky reggae deejay. Avery has also had small roles in several features beginning with "The Stunt Man" (1980) and continuing with films including "Three for the Road" (1987) and "License to Drive" (1988).
Education
-
University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California, drama and literature, BA
-
Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, London, England
Milestones
-
1968 Served in Vietnam
-
1980 Feature debut, "The Stunt Man"
-
1984 TV series debut, a voice on the animated children's series "Going Bananas"
-
1985 TV miniseries debut, "James A. Michener's 'Space'"
-
1985 TV-movie debut, "Kicks"
-
1986 Provided a voice for the animated "Rambo" series
-
1987 Returned to features for his second screen credit, "Three for the Road"
-
1988 Played a recurring role on the CBS fantasy romance series, "Beauty and the Beast"
-
1991 Provided the voice of Midnight Rider for the failed John Travolta rock'n'roll vehicle, "Shout"
-
1991 Reprised the role of Shredder for the animated special, "Planet of the Turtleoids"
-
1994 Did narration for "Midnight Ramble", a documentary special on PBS's "The American Experience" about the African-American independent film movement between 1910 and 1940
-
1998 Hosted the PBS series "Going Places"
-
After graduating from college, awarded a fellowship to study in London
-
Attended high school in his native Atlantic City, New Jersey
-
Awarded scholarship to the University of California at San Diego, where he intended to study philosophy and English literature
-
Cast as Phillip Banks, a regular on the popular NBC sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"
-
Debut as a live-action TV series regular, "FM", an NBC sitcom in which he played the role of Quentin Lamoreaux
-
Enlisted in the Navy upon graduation
-
Moved to L.A.
-
Moved to Oregon; worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland
-
Played a recurring role on the NBC drama series, "L.A. Law"
-
Played the recurring role of Reverend Crawford on the NBC sitcom, "Amen"
-
Provided a voice for "Scooby's Mystery Funhouse"
-
Provided the voice of Junkyard Dog for "Hulk Hogan's Rock'N' Wrestling" cartoon series
-
Settled in San Diego
-
Starred as patriarch of a family of lawyers on the UPN sitcom "Sparks"
-
Tried out for a school play on the suggestion of an English teacher
-
Voiced the villainous Shredder on the popular syndicated cartoon series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
-
Wrote poetry and TV scripts for public TV