Not many of you probably know this gentleman. He was a superb actor (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) on TV and on stage. More importantly (to me) was that he was a shipmate with me, on the U.S.S. Shelton, DD-790.

We sailed together (both Radarmen) on 3 WesPac cruises; shore bombarding off the Vietnam coast back in the '60's. Our old "tin can" chased several suspect sanpans up "the river". We were/are "Shellbacks", having crossed the equator on more than a couple of occasions. Great sailor and a good man. I will miss him.

Rest In Peace my friend.

From the Internet:

 

James La Rue Avery, Sr. (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the patriarch and attorney (later judge) Philip Banks, Will Smith's character's uncle, in the TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This character was ranked #34 in TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time." He also provided the voice of Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series, as well as War Machine in the animated series Iron Man and Junkyard Dog in Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. He also played Michael Kelso's commanding officer at the police academy late in the series run of the popular sitcom That '70s Show.

RIP General K'Vagh

 

He was a good actor.

A good actor, indeed. RIP.

Not many of you probably know this gentleman. He was a superb actor (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) on TV and on stage. More importantly (to me) was that he was a shipmate with me, on the U.S.S. Shelton, DD-790.

We sailed together (both Radarmen) on 3 WesPac cruises; shore bombarding off the Vietnam coast back in the '60's. Our old "tin can" chased several suspect sanpans up "the river". We were/are "Shellbacks", having crossed the equator on more than a couple of occasions. Great sailor and a good man. I will miss him.

Rest In Peace my friend.

 

We didn't watch the 'Fresh Prince' all that much, but I enjoyed James Avery more than Will Smith, James was excellent.

 

Roger

May he RIP.

It doesn't take long for the list of celebs who passed on to continue on. This year of 2013 the celebs who passed on the list was pretty big. Bill