James Avery, who played the character of Uncle Phil in hit 90s television show Fresh Prince of Bel Air, has passed away at the age of 68 following complications from open heart surgery.
And it was only fitting that news of the actor's death was broken by his co-star and on-screen son Alfonso Ribeiro, who recently appeared on the UK version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Alfonso wrote on his Facebook page: "The world has lost a truly special man. I am very saddened to say that James Avery has passed.
"Even though he played by father on TV, he was a wonderful father figure to me in life. He will be deeply missed."
And, while Will Smith has yet to officially comment on the loss of his former screen star and friend (he has retweeted the news of James' death from his Twitter account), wife Jada Pinkett-Smith has taken to Facebook to pay her respects.
"I was hoping to start the new year differently but we have lost yet another friend. James Avery who we all lovingly know as Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince has passed.
"Our condolences to aunt Florence (his mother), Miss Barbara (his wife) and all those who loved him.
"Rest in peace James."
James worked until September 2013, shooting the Zach Braff-directed, Kickstarter-funded comedy Wish I Was Here, which will premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival later this month.
Our thoughts are with his wife Barbara Avery, his mother Florence Avery and his step-son Kevin Waters.