The Fresh Prince of Bel Air -Facts About Will & Co-

[natured]

It was one of my favorite sitcom staple of the 1990s, and if you're a 90's child like me, this is the one show where you know all the words to the theme.

But did you know these facts about our amazing Will and the show?

1. Mr. Will Smith Only Joined For Financial Reasons

He only agreed to star in the show because he was in serious debt to the IRS, it's bad to say but, I'm actually happy he had those debts because HE WAS born to be the Prince of Bel Air. Could you imagine being it somebody else? So basically 70% of his salary over the first three seasons of "Fresh Prince went to the government ... poor Willy.

2. He met his wife JADA in the show

Will and Jada Pinkett actually first met during auditions for "Fresh Prince." She was trying out for Smith's on-screen girlfriend, but instead became his actual Wife off-screen in 1997. They are an amazing couple though <3

3. Carlton's Dance Inspirations

Carlton's unique dance became a fan favorite motif from the show, and my favorite dance in that period, I remember every kid trying to dance like him Carltong a.k.a. Alfonso Ribeiro explained that we really have Courteney Cox and Eddie Murphy to thank for Carlton's hilarious footwork. "Carlton" said he basically tried to combine Cox's dancing from the Bruce Springsteen video "Dancing in the Dark" with a skit Eddie Murphy did of how white people dance to create Carlton's dance move.

Tadaaa this is how the Carlton dance move was born ... basically making fun of us White folks LOL <3 amazing

4. Will Smith Chose His Character Name To Be Remembered

Will Smith and Carlton .. excuse me, I mean Alfonso Ribeiro were allowed to choose their own character names for the "Fresh Prince." Ribeiro warned Will to be careful when picking a name, because if the show got successful than that's what he might always be known by. Will Smith being a smart ass and genius, named his character Will Smith.... Meanwhile, Alfonso Ribeiro is still mostly known as Carlton.

.. Nice move there Willy.

5.But wait a minute

The actor's name is short for William, while the character's name is short for Willard.

So ...

6.Geoffrey

The Banks's butler, Geoffrey, I absolutely adored him, he was almost never referred to by his full name, although you've actually heard his last name a lot more often than you realized. His full name is Geoffrey Barbara Butler.

HOW CUTE <3

7. Guantanamo Bay

The inmates at the U.S. military prison of Guantanamo Bay love love love the "Fresh Prince," as evidenced by the fact that it recently surpassed "Harry Potter" movies as the entertainment of choice in the detention center in this military prison. I found this fact to by funny and cute don't judge lol :P

8. The Banks House Isn't actually In Bel-Air

The Banks house is actually located in Brentwood, not Bel-Air. The address is 251 N. Bristol Avenue, if you wanted to stop by and see it in person.

.. I would probably even ring the bell and see if Mr.Phill comes out (may his soul rest in peace) -cry-

9. Carton & Will - Not Just Actors

Will & Carlton did more than just act on the "Fresh Prince" they also worked behind the camera. Smith wrote one of the episodes in season three, and Carlton directed an episode in season five. What an amazing duo ...

10. The show was nearly canceled after the fourth season.

During the last season, Will returns to Philly to visit his mom and he decides to stay. Fresh Prince fans were so outraged by the show’s cancellation that NBC brought it back for two additional seasons.

YAY

11. Will never acted before

Will Smith had no acting experience before "Fresh Prince". He actually said that looking back he’s embarrassed by his acting in some of the earlier episodes.

But I think he was amazing, and maybe that's why the show was a WIN, because he was so natural and he was being HIMSELF ...

12. DJ Jazzy Jeff

He plays Will’s BFF Jazz on the show is always wearing the same shirt when Uncle Phil throws him out of the house.

And you know why? Because they shot the scene only once since they ACTUALLY REALLY THREW HIM to make it seem real ... Ouch.

Even though it’s been 25 years since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered, Will Smith is still capturing our hearts as the homeboy from West Philadelphia who arrived in Bel-Air, and turned his Aunt and Uncle’s mansion upside down.

For six years, viewers were captivated by Will’s charm and his ability to get himself and his cousin Carlton into all varieties of mischief. And honestly, I think I will watch a few series this weekend ...

Before I close this MyTake, I wanted to dedicate a second to our amazing Uncle Phill - James LaRue Avery who passed away in December 31, 2013 I think the whole Prince of Bell Air show would be so boring without his amazing and glorious presence ..

May your amazing soul rest in Peace sir <3

Hope you enjoyed

Natured <3

[dolemite68]

I love that u wrote this 😄 Cool facts, did u ever hear the back story about why they replaced the actress that played Vivian? She was apparently a super diva that acted crazy and demanded higher pay so they let her go lol

[natured]

Wow, no I didn't really know about that, well maybe because I didn't even look up stuff about Vivian because I never really liked her :P I just loved all the MEN actors in this show LOL :P

[SuitAndTie]

I thought she left because she didn't like Will Smith anymore because he started to act arrogant and superior?

[dolemite68]

@SuitAndTie thats what she said and it might partly be true but i saw this behind the scenes thing on the show that she started making all these salary demands like the show depended on her but she was apparently replaceable

[SuitAndTie]

Ahh ok. That's too bad. The first Vivian was way better than the second one. The second one couldn't act at all.

[dolemite68]

@SuitAndTie i agree but if she was being a nightmare i didn't mind the 2nd one that much lol

[dolemite68]

thanks for mho lovely :)

[TyroneTerminator2229]

The Fresh Prince was my favorite, I own all the episodes.

Some of my favorite moments are

Carlton Dance of corse, but I really liked this one, when he thinks he's home alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ8

Uncle Phil Earth Quake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPddq5YY6c

When Lisa knew martial arts and will accidently throwing a bowling ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAiBW5XUO9o

Will beating up a real robber when he thought it was a fake (LOL at Carlton scream)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFJ-Vjhxrco

The Puppet Beatbox Apology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhGtyv7Vrw

Will Crying And Doing The "AShleyyy Noooo" and that little in and out thing with his arms and legs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLkNvitdyuY

They meet Donald Trump (I'll admit I completely forgot about this scene)
He even says "everyone is always blaming me for everything"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu1gj010oa8

My favorite emotion scene hands down is this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3M1SC8BPhA

But honestly as much as I love the Fresh Prince, and it's one of my favorite shows of all time, I don't like the last season and how it ended. I wasn't a fan of Will and Lisa breaking up the wedding but their parents marrying each other and basically Will goes back to being his own self again. I wasn't a fan of that, I kinda liked all that character development how he went from a player to a guy who actually cared about 1 woman, and I don't know if you know what I mean haha

[JDavid25]

I used to love Fresh Prince... Now I think it's cool.. Still funny but not like it was.. Like the sitcom "Martin" with Martin Lawrence, "Black" shows in the 90's had a tendency on "doin too much".. Like the jive over acting.. Which is kinda why I can see that it was Will's first time acting.. Fresh Prince was the better of some other "Black" 90's sitcoms in that aspect.. Fresh Prince did it in moderation which is why I liked it more.. I remember when I had a big crush on Hilary because of a dream I had.. LOL..

[UnknownReflection]

Nice dedication! Very interesting facts.

According to this fact i would say this show opened up many opportunities for Will Smith.

-The very first acting experience
-A successful show. Fame and the spotlight
-IRS got paid
-Met his future wife

I assume accepting to star on the show been one of the best decisions he ever made in his life!

[Yalyublyutyebya]

I have never seen this show. might do now after reading... :D I think someone was watching it when I was at their house but i may be getting it and Hitch mixed up. :D

[natured]

:D well you should, you are not a 90's kid, but if you watch it trust me, you will love it <3

[Yalyublyutyebya]

OK. I love discovering new fun things to watch, this sounds like my next thing.

[natured]

You will love it <3 !!!

[Yalyublyutyebya]

I did yesterday. I did quite like it! It was a lot of fun. I just showed it to my sister who did not like the sound of it, she laughed through the whole thing and when I left her, I came back to find she had not only finished episode 1, but had watched several others and had missed her piano lesson! oops.

[natured]

Oh shoot, now I feel guilty >.<

[Yalyublyutyebya]

haha, I just managed to get the computer off her, she was like, "PLEEEEEEEEEEASE! PLEASE! Just ONE more?"

[natured]

i'm so happy she likes it <3 Well Prince of Bel Air is very addicting

[Hans222]

I did not dislike it but for me Al Bundy was far better :D
Maybe it's because I'm not married with children haha!

[natured]

I made a MyTake about 90s shows and I put Married with children on that list too, I adore Al Bundy and Peggy screaming his name "AAAL" is just amazing.. I hope you imagined her screaming his name in your hear... now you have that squeeking sound stuck in your head right?

[Hans222]

I was seeing those images of him sitting on the couch and feeding the dog who would only stand up when there was a peace of hamburger to score 8) :o
And his girl making love with just anyone. The acress was Christina Applegate but I don't remember the name of the misses in the series...

[UnknownXYZ]

www.court-records.net/.../bratworth-aha(d).gif

Will Smith is an amazing actor. The show was fucking epic!

[coolbreeze]

Nice mytake and you taught me some stuff I didn't know about the show. You go girl.😃

Yeah it's sad the show didn't last long as it did and it's sad the uncle phil died. 😥

[Sonjita]

I love this show. Poor Jazz lol
Good job. Funny and interesting facts. <3

[CT_CD]

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[apexalpha]

It will never get old for me.00`s kid missed out.
Fun fact-I once rejected a girl because of the Fresh Prince turned out we don`t have the same humor.
RIP uncle phil

[Anonymous]

I am a huge fan i remember I was always sitting on front of the TV and crying whenever the show ended.. THank you so much for this mYTake

[OrionH]

I still watch it comes on every day

[Blitzkrieger]

I always loved the fresh prince of bell air. These are mny things i didn't know. Great mytake 👍

[LastNightmare]

Loved it. Memories We cherish. Trillions of human born and died but best are 90s kids.

[max_spy]

I've never watched it. But great take! I love comedy :)

[OrionH]

Thank for the invite :V He did join for finical reason did not know that one.
And Nice Mytake

[SuitAndTie]

Best show ever! Still watch it till this day. So happy they finally put innon Netflix.

[SuitAndTie]

Just another fact, maybe you know it. The reason why there was a new Vivian is because the previous one got fed up of Will Smith's attitude because apparently he got really cocky and arrogant as he became more successful.

[madhatters4]

one of my favorite shows.

[Waffles731]

i've never seen it

[ThisDudeHere]

They never air the show here.

[Sampan2017]

I haven't.. But would love to watch...