Fresh Prince's original show decided to use Will Smith's real name because Smith already had name recognition from his music career, plus Smith and Carlton actor Alfonso Ribeiro realized they would be called by their characters' names for eternity if the show became a hit.
Smith was given the nickname “Prince Charming” in high school, which he adapted to “Fresh Prince” in order to reflect a more hip-hop sound when he began his musical career.
Smith. The television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which began in 1990, was loosely based on Smith's real-life persona. It ran on NBC for six successful seasons, ending at the star's request, and during its run Smith garnered two Golden Globe Award nominations and served as an executive…
How did Will Smith get the part in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
So as fate would have it, in December 1989, Quincy Jones was throwing a birthday party for himself at his home. Will Smith and Benny Medina conversed even more while at the shindig and, as the actor explained during The Fresh Prince Reunion in 2020, that's where Medina formally pitched the show to him.
Was Jada Pinkett Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
Will and Jada first met in 1994 when a then 19-year-old Jada auditioned to play Will's girlfriend on NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In 2017, Jada told "Extra" that she wasn't cast because they told her she was "too short to play Will's girlfriend" — she's 5-foot and he's 6-foot-2.
How I Became The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | STORYTIME
Did Will Smith audition for Fresh Prince?
Will Smith Auditioned For The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air At A Quincy Jones House Party. Far from being just another '90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" not only dealt with serious themes, it helped take hip-hop culture mainstream.
'" Pinkett Smith told Stern that their relationship was purely platonic, saying that there was "no physical chemistry between us at all," and the one time they attempted a kiss, it was "disgusting." While their love may not have been romantic, it's one many people still talk about to this day.
This is the highest-rated episode of the series. Will Smith considers it the most emotional episode because of his feelings about his father, both on the show and in reality. His real-life father was there for him growing up (despite being separated from his mother), but many of his friends never knew their fathers.
Lou then shows up in the final episode of season one, and it's revealed that he didn't actually abandon his family — he was serving time in prison and didn't want Will to see him behind bars. However, his reunion with Will doesn't have a happy ending.
Born in 1968, Smith was 22 years old when the series first aired in 1990, potentially 21 if his September birthday hadn't yet arrived (and likely 21 when filming began). By definition, then, he was already an adult and much older than the high school-aged teenager he was purporting to be.
How much money did Will Smith make from Fresh Prince?
Smith made $2.8 million for the first three seasons of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, but he hardly saw a dime of it because he owed money in back taxes from his rap career.
In an interview with Deadline last year, Smith praised the series before it premiered. “The pilot for Bel-Air is all the nostalgia you're going to want, but there are parts where you're going to stand up and cheer and hold your mouth. It's such a perfect balance and a reimagining of this world.
Lou abandoned his family (Will and Viola "Vy" Smith) when Will was five years old and explains his motives for leaving by saying he was scared to be a father and started to feel trapped. Sometime during the 14-year period that he was absent from Will's life, he became a trucker.
But some reckon they've worked out the meaning behind the names, and it's left them stunned. They theorised on X that the names are actually a clever gender-swapped variations of their parents. So Willow is named after her father Will and Jaden is named after his mother Jada.
During his conversation with Speedy Morman, Smith laughed off a question about his net worth reportedly being $350 million. "I don't even know, man. I don't discuss such things," he said.
The King Richard star has three kids: sons Trey, 31, and Jaden, 25, plus daughter Willow, 23. All three of them have followed in his footsteps, pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. Smith welcomed his first son, Trey, in 1992 with then-wife Sheree Zampino.
In this version, Lou (Marlon Wayans, in a surprise guest appearance) didn't abandon Will (Jabari Banks) by choice. He instead spent 13 years in prison — which, for better or for worse, was kept a secret from Will his entire life.
But Peacock's Bel-Air — like it's already demonstrated in its first 10 episodes — is nothing like the '90s sitcom that starred Will Smith in the title role. In the season one finale of the drama, Marlon Wayans shows up as Lou, the long lost father of Will (Jabari Banks).
Fan reaction and letters to Will Smith and NBC persuaded them to renew the show. It ran for two more seasons and ended when Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey the Butler) said he intended to quit his role and return to the UK, prompting the rest of the cast to quit their roles and end the series.
How old was Will Smith when he finished Fresh Prince?
Filming for the final episode of the series wrapped up on March 21, 1996 and aired on May 20, 1996. With that being said, Will Smith was between the ages of 21 and 27 when he starred in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” TV show.
Fans of the show have long believed that Smith improvised that final scene in which his character builds to an emotional crescendo, loudly proclaiming all the milestones he got through without Lou, but “every word was written by Bill and I,” Zuckerman said.
Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as producer, as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box.
In April 1996, Shakur said that he, Morrissette, Snoop Dogg, and Suge Knight were planning to open a restaurant together. On April 29, 1995, Shakur married his then girlfriend Keisha Morris, a pre-law student.
Hence the day he got on my last nerve about the possibility of being more than friends, and I dared him to kiss me. Without hesitation, Pac grabbed me in his arms and did just that. The kiss lasted a few seconds before we both pulled away in mutual disgust.
