Will Smith and the cast of the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air share a tear-filled tribute to Uncle Phil

Will Smith gathered the cast of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in an epic virtual reunion for the finale of his Snapchat series, Will at Home, and together the group shared an emotional tribute to one of their late colleagues.

Getting the group back together for the first time in decades for the two-part finale was a delight for fans of the long-running nineties sitcom, however there was something missing – Uncle Phil.

Actor James Avery, who played the larger-than-life, sometimes short tempered but ultimately loving wealthy uncle of Will’s character, died in 2013.

During the Snapchat episode, Will played a tribute video for the cast dedicated to Avery which included a mashup of some of his best moments on the show. 

While the video played on half of the screen, fans were able to watch each of the cast members react to the clips in real time on the other half.

Clearly beloved and deeply missed, each of the actors welled up with tears and even enjoyed a few laughs as they watched clips of Avery with fondness.

When the video concluded Will said: ‘That just makes me teary…James Avery, James Avery, James Avery.’

With tears in her eyes, Daphne Reid, who played James’ on screen wife Aunt Viv added: ‘I loved that man.’

The entire cast who was on the digital call, Tatyana Ali, Alfonso RIbiero, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Karyn Parsons and Joseph Marcell each shed some tears while the video remembrance played.

Smith shared the tribute clip on Instagram with the caption: ‘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.’

On New Year’s Eve 2013, at the age of 68, Avery passed away suddenly due to complications from open-heart surgery.

At the time, Smith had taken to his Facebook page to express his deep sadness at the loss writing: ‘Some of my greatest lessons in Acting, Living and being a respectable human being came through James Avery. Every young man needs an Uncle Phil. Rest in Peace’ 

The two parts of the Will at Home finale dropped this Wednesday and Thursday and feature a nostalgic walk down memory lane for Smith as he reminisces with his old cast-mates about his star-making role.

At one point, Will recalled that it was because of Alfonso’s advice that he decided to use his real name Will Smith for his character on the program.

It was such a deep insight that you had,’ said Will. ‘You said: “Because people are going to call you that for the rest of your life.”‘ 

Meanwhile DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will looked back with a laugh on the famous handshake they greeted each other with on the show.

‘Any of you have a problem feeling stuck in the world expecting you to be your character?’ Will asked his guests.

‘I got really, really annoyed that everybody wanted to do the handshake,’ said Jeff prompting a huge laugh from Will.

‘You would see in people’s eyes when they were about to sneak the handshake and I would just grab their hand and hold it, so besides that I’m good,’ Jeff shared.

The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air ran for 148 episodes across six seasons on NBC from 1990 through 1996 and turned Will into a major star. 

Will’s guests on his Snapchat series have ranged from supermodel Tyra Banks to Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases.