Page 44 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

Will Smith
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Smith was hired right away. He went back to Philadelphia
to pack up the rest of his belongings. It was not easy to say
good-bye to family and friends. Still, there would be another
advantage to living in Los Angeles. He would be closer to his
girlfriend, Tanya Moore, who had by now graduated from
college. After Smith settled into an apartment near the NBC
studios, Tanya left San Diego and moved in with him.
In a way, Smith would be playing himself in the new show.
His character was even named Will Smith. Soon, the rest of the
cast was hired. James Avery, a veteran actor of television and
movies, was cast as Will’s uncle, Judge Philip Banks. An actress
with experience on Broadway and in movies, Janet Hubert-
Whitten, was chosen to play Uncle Phil’s wife, Aunt Vivian.
The Banks children, Will’s first cousins in the show,
included a spoiled teenage girl named Hilary, played by
Karyn Parsons; a conservative and proper teenage boy named
Carlton, played by Alfonso Ribeiro; and twelve-year-old
Ashley, played by Tatyana M. Ali. The Banks family lived in a
fancy mansion with a swimming pool and tennis courts. The
Bankses even had their own butler, Geoffrey, who was also
African-American, played by the British actor JosephMarcell.
Two principal scriptwriters, Andy and Susan Borowitz,
were hired to create the episodes. The Borowitzes had
written for several television shows. Their biggest success
was Family Ties , the 1980s situation comedy that had made
Michael J. Fox a star. The Borowitzes, who knew little
about rap music, had to give themselves a quick education.
Susan Borowitz said, “I listened to rap for the first time