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Emotional Will Smith pays tribute to James Avery during Fresh Prince reunion

Will Smith paid an emotional tribute to his Fresh Prince Of Bel Air co-star James Avery during a virtual reunion with the rest of the cast.

He was joined by Tatyana Ali, Alfonso Ribeiro, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Karyn Parsons, Daphne Reid and Joseph Marcell on his Snapchat series Will From Home to remember Avery, who played the Banks family patriarch Uncle Phil.

He died in 2014 due to complications from open heart surgery.

During the reunion, the group watched a montage of footage of Avery from the hit sitcom and Smith wiped his eyes as he said: “That just makes me teary.”

Posting a clip from the reunion on Instagram, Smith wrote: “Our show wouldn’t have been HALF what it was without the talent and light that was James Avery.

“We all love and miss you, James.

During the reunion, Jazzy Jeff, real name Jeffrey Allen Townes, also discussed his battle with suspected coronavirus.

Ribeiro told him: “You had us all scared, and Townes replied: “Not as scared as I was. It was a little rough but I’m definitely happy to be on the other side.”

The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air ran from 1990 to 1996.