James Avery dies: Uncle Phil of Fresh Prince of Bel Air passes away

James Avery, who played the character of Uncle Phil in American television show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, has passed away at the age of 65.

News of the actor's death was broken by his co-star Alfonso Ribeiro who recently appeared on the UK version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Alfonso, who played on-screen son Carlton Banks in the 1990s hit sitcom, wrote on his Facebook page: "The world has lost a truly special man. I am very saddened to say that James Avery has passed.
"Even though he played my father on TV, he was a wonderful father figure to me in life. He will be deeply missed."
The actor passed away having recently undergone open heart surgery at a Los Angeles hospital with his wife Barbara by his side, according to TMZ.
In addition to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the actor appeared in a number of other popular shows including Grey's Anatomy, The Young and the Restless, Charmed and That '70s show among many others.