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321 - RIP James Avery

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First I wanna apologise for taking too long to get to this. I sadly had the 2013 Recap to do and get the ground work for HGD-R ready. That and.... work related problems.


Anyway. 2013 ended with the tragic passing of a television actor that honestly left an impact on all of us. James Avery will probably be best remembered for his portrayal of Will Smith's Uncle, Phillip Banks in the Fresh Prince of Bel-air. However I think I'll always remember him for the very first thing I saw him in. As a child of the 80's (the rear end of it mind you) I grew up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Shredder was the first villain many of us knew growing up, next to King Koopa, Megatron or Skeletor.

Something about Avery's take on Oroku Saki always made me smile. It was that over the top, almost pantomime villain voice (only rivalled by AOSTH's Robotnik) that made this possibly intimidating martial arts master.... seem like a bumbling clown, and we loved every minute of it.

Every character has an iconic quote that when the fans hear it, it gets a standing ovation. I think Shredder's quote is a line not from the original source material but the 1980's campy cartoon series. Where he told the Turtles in a sinister tone.

Quote.
"Tonight I dine on Turtle Soup"
End Quote.

Avery played other roles, including War Machine in the Iron Man cartoon series, Junk Yard Dog in Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling and featured in that 70's Show.


Yet I think Shredder and Uncle Phil are the two characters we'll all remember him for. Mainly due to the iconic status they've gained from millions of fans around the world.


Thank you for the memories James Avery.

May you dine on Turtle Soup in Heaven.
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BillysBadLuckHat's avatar
It really sucks that such a shitty year had to come to such a shitty conclusion.  James Avery excelled at being hilarious, over-the-top, but also down-to-earth and sympathetic.  The dude left behind a great legacy, and that's something that no one can take away from him.  His wife, family, and cast members for all the shows he was on have my condolences.

Just to let you know, he also briefly dived into anime by playing Kibo Daioh/Boss Fang in the English dub of the Fist of the North Star movie.
His character turns an army of soldiers into a bloodbath, all while Avery is joyously hamming it up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U1UzL…