James LaRue Avery (November 27, 1945-December 31, 2013) was an American actor, voice actor, writer, television personality and poet.
Having been active for over three decades, his most famous roles were as lovable patriarch Philip Banks on the popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and as the (first) voice of the Ninja Turtles' arch nemesis Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987).
He has has a few things in common with fellow actor and voice actor Tony Jay: they both appeared on Beauty and the Beast (1987) in their own separate story arcs, they both voiced the Big Bad on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and they both were exceptionally tall.
Selected Film Roles:
- The Blues Brothers
- Fletch
- 8 Million Ways to Die
- License to Drive
- The Brady Bunch Movie
- Dr. Doolittle 2
- Raise Your Voice
- Who's Your Caddy?
Selected Television Roles:
- Newhart
- The Jeffersons
- Hill Street Blues
- Webster
- St. Elsewhere
- Moonlighting
- Beauty and the Beast (1987)
- Amen
- L.A. Law
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Roc
- In The House
- Family Law
- Sparks
- The Division
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
- Star Trek: Enterprise
- The Closer
Selected Voice Acting Roles:
- Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling
- Rambo: The Force of Freedom
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
- The Real Ghostbusters
- Iron Man: The Animated Series
- The Legend of Prince Valiant
- Gargoyles
- The Nightmare Room
- Fist of the North Star (The English dub of the 1986 film, notably his only role in anime)
Tropes associated with his work:
- Evil Sounds Deep: As Shredder, his voice had a deep, menacing and raspy tone to it that virtually none of his subsequent voiceovers could replicate.
- Gentle Giant: Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) described him as such in tribute.
