document_title: Sonny Corleone

question_text: who was killed at the toll booth in the godfather

text: Sonny Corleone

text: Novel and film biography[edit]

text: In both the novel and the movie, Sonny is the eldest of Vito Corleone's five children. Unlike his soft-spoken, quietly calculating father, Sonny is brash, hot-tempered and quick to violence.

text: At age 16, Sonny committed a robbery. When Peter Clemenza, Vito's right-hand man and Sonny's godfather, informed Vito about it, Vito demanded his son explain himself. Sonny said he had witnessed Vito murder the feared "Black Hand" gangster Don Fanucci, years before, and he now wants to join the "family business". Vito sent him to Clemenza for training.

text: Sonny "made his bones" when he was 19. By his mid-20s, he was promoted to a caporegime in the Corleone family. By the end of World War II, he is his father's underboss and heir apparent, respected and feared as a merciless killer with a fiery temper. Sonny is not without a gentler side, however; at age 11, he brought home a homeless boy, Tom Hagen, demanding he be allowed to live with the family. Vito informally adopts Hagen, who eventually rises through the ranks to become Vito's consigliere. As the eldest child, Sonny acts as protector to his younger siblings and has a close relationship with his youngest brother, Michael, and only sister, Connie. He is unable to harm women, children, or anyone unable to defend themselves.

text: Sonny is married to Sandra with whom he has four children, but he has several mistresses, including Lucy Mancini, who was Connie's bridesmaid. In the novel, Sandra allows - and is grateful for - his infidelities because she is unable to tolerate his enormous penis.

text: Sonny’s life is upturned in 1945, when drug lord Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, backed by the Tattaglia family, approaches Vito with an offer to enter the narcotics trade. During the meeting, Sonny speaks out-of-turn, expressing an interest in the deal that Vito had declined. Vito later reprimands Sonny for revealing his thoughts to an outsider. Sollozzo later attempts to have Vito assassinated, believing Sonny, as his father's successor, will bring the Corleone family into the drug trade.

text: The failed assassination attempt leaves Vito near death, making Sonny acting boss of the Corleone family. Sonny orders Clemenza to execute Vito's traitorous bodyguard Paulie Gatto. Sollozzo mounts a second assassination attempt on Vito at the hospital, which Michael thwarts. Sonny then orders Bruno Tattaglia, son and underboss of Sollozzo's ally Philip Tattaglia, to be murdered. Sollozzo proposes that Michael to be sent to broker a truce. Sonny, believing it is a trick, refuses and demands that the other Mafia families hand over Sollozzo to the Corleone family or else face war. Hagen successfully convinces Sonny to wait because Captain Mark McCluskey, a corrupt NYPD captain on Sollozzo's payroll, has agreed to be Sollozzo's bodyguard. Hagen warns Sonny that killing McCluskey would violate a long-standing Mafia rule not to kill members of law enforcement and the backlash from rival Mafia families and law enforcement would be severe.

text: Michael, who had before wanted nothing to do with the family business, volunteers to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey, arguing that McCluskey is fair game because he is a corrupt cop mixed up in the drug trade. Sonny is impressed with Michael's loyalty and bravery, but doubts that his "nice college boy" brother is capable of murder. Ultimately he approves the hit. Michael meets with Sollozzo and McCluskey at an Italian restaurant in the Bronx, and kills both men. This ignites the New York underworld's first Mafia war in a decade. Sonny had arranged for Michael to flee to Sicily under the protection of Vito's friend and longtime ally Don Tommasino.

text: The war between the Five Families drags on, and Sonny, unable to break the stalemate, orders bloody raids that earn him a legendary reputation but also begins planning a plot to take out the rival Mafia bosses. Emilio Barzini, Vito's rival and the power behind Sollozzo, enlists Connie's husband, Carlo Rizzi, to help set a trap. Earlier, Sonny had severely beaten up Carlo upon learning that he had been physically abusing Connie. To draw Sonny out into the open, Carlo provokes Connie into an argument before savagely beating her. Weeping and injured, she telephones the Corleone compound asking Sonny for help. Furious, Sonny speeds towards Connie's apartment in Hell's Kitchen ahead of his bodyguards. At the Long Beach Causeway toll plaza, Barzini's men ambush Sonny and gun him down.

text: During a meeting with the Dons of the other crime families to establish peace, Vito realizes that Barzini masterminded Sonny's murder. After Michael returns from Sicily, he takes Sonny's place as Vito's heir apparent. Vito and Michael secretly continue Sonny's plot to wipe out the other New York Dons to avenge Sonny's death. The plan is successfully executed in 1955, after Vito's death from natural causes. Michael informs Carlo that the rival Dons have been killed and coerces Carlo's confession for his part in arranging Sonny's murder. Carlo admits Barzini was the mastermind. On Michael's orders, Clemenza strangles Carlo with a wire. In a single strike, the Corleones become the most powerful crime family in the country.

text: Role in Godfather sequels[edit]

text: As well as appearing in the original film, The Godfather, Sonny features in the sequel, The Godfather Part II. In this film, he briefly appears in some flashback scenes as an infant and as a young child. He makes a final appearance at the end of the story, in a scene that portrays Vito's birthday celebration in 1941. Michael announces that he has dropped out of college and enlisted to fight in World War II. Sonny is furious at the decision, and he berates his brother for risking his life "for a bunch of strangers." This flashback also reveals that Sonny introduced Carlo to Connie, and the rest of the family, which led to their marriage.

text: In The Godfather Part III, Vincent Corleone is introduced as Sonny's illegitimate son with Lucy Mancini. Vincent succeeds Michael as head of the Corleone family at the end of the film. Vincent's existence in the film contradicts the literary universe because Puzo's original novel stated that Lucy never bore a child with Sonny.

text: Family[edit]

text:
Vito Corleone—father; played by Marlon Brando and by Robert De Niro as young adult Vito Corleone
Carmela Corleone—mother; played by Morgana King
Sandra Corleone—wife; played by Julie Gregg
Tom Hagen—adoptive brother; played by Robert Duvall
Fredo Corleone—brother; played by John Cazale
Michael Corleone—brother; played by Al Pacino
Constanzia "Connie" Corleone—sister; played by Talia Shire
Mary Corleone—niece; played by Sofia Coppola
Anthony Corleone—nephew; played by Anthony Gounaris (The Godfather); played by James Gounaris (The Godfather Part II); played by Franc D'Ambrosio in The Godfather Part III
Francesca Corleone—daughter, born 1937
Kathryn Corleone—daughter, born 1937
Frank Corleone—son, born 1940
Santino Corleone Jr.—son, born 1945
Vincent Corleone—son with Lucy Mancini born 1948, played by Andy García

text: Behind the scenes[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
Coppola staged Sonny's death scene in The Godfather to be reminiscent of the final death scene of Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) in Bonnie and Clyde.[2]
Coppola had the car radio play the broadcast of the baseball playoff game won by Bobby Thomson hitting the Shot Heard Round the World. This would place Sonny's death on October 3, 1951, contradicting the novel by several years.
Among the actors auditioning for the role of Michael during casting for The Godfather, one unknown off-Broadway actor named Robert De Niro also read for Sonny's part, as well as Michael's and Carlo's, without success. Raw footage of him in the scene where Paulie Gatto offers to kill Rizzi can be seen on the DVD. Eventually, Coppola cast Caan in the role and gave De Niro the part of Paulie, but he "traded" him to the film The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight for Al Pacino, who soon got the part of Michael. Anthony Perkins not only auditioned for Sonny, but also for Tom Hagen.
Originally Caan was to be cast as the main character Michael Corleone (Sonny's youngest brother), while Carmine Caridi was signed as Sonny. However Coppola demanded that the role of Michael be played by Al Pacino instead. The studio agreed to Pacino but insisted on having Caan be cast as Sonny, so he remained in the production.[3]
Caan was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, competing with co-stars Pacino and Robert Duvall, giving the movie three entries in that category.

text: Cultural references[edit]

text:
Sonny's death scene has been parodied several times on The Simpsons, including in the final scene of "All's Fair in Oven War", an episode in which Caan lent his voice. In that episode, the tollbooth death scene is re-enacted as part of Cletus Spuckler's revenge on Caan for "stealing" his wife Brandine's heart. Sonny's death was parodied in the earlier episode "Mr. Plow", in a scene where Bart is pelted with snowballs by his schoolmates when his father Homer clears the snow in front of the school. The scene where Sonny beats Carlo Rizzi has also been parodied, in the episode "Strong Arms of the Ma".
The tollbooth scene was parodied along with the execution montage in the final scene of the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Dabba Don". In this scene the Ant Hill Mob from Wacky Races gun down Judge Mightor from their car.
Popular sportswriter Bill Simmons used to frequently compare the "Sonny Corleone move" to the "Michael Corleone move" when referring to hasty, rash decisions that end badly when a patient, reasoned approach would have been far more successful. Often, this analogy was applied to free agent signings and trades in the NBA.
Conan O'Brien also used the tollbooth scene in a parody on Conan, explaining how he was dropped from NBC.
In the HBO series The Sopranos, the fictional strip club Bada Bing is named after the catchphrase "bada bing" that Sonny uses to describe an up-close shooting.

text:
Preceded by
Vito Corleone
Acting head of the Corleone crime family
The Godfather
ca. 1945–1946
Succeeded by
Vito Corleone


document_title: Monosaccharide

question_text: the minimum number of carbon in a monosaccharide is

root

text: Monosaccharide

text: Structure and nomenclature[edit]

text: With few exceptions (e.g., deoxyribose), monosaccharide have this chemical formula: Cx(H2O)y, where conventionally x ≥ 3. Monosaccharides can be classified by the number x of carbon atoms they contain: triose (3), tetrose (4), pentose (5), hexose (6), heptose (7), and so on.

tag: p

text: The most important monosaccharide, glucose, is a hexose. Examples of heptoses include the ketoses , mannoheptulose and sedoheptulose. Monosaccharides with eight or more carbons are rarely observed as they are quite unstable. In aqueous solutions monosaccharides exist as rings if they have more than four carbons.

text: Linear-chain monosaccharides[edit]

text: Simple monosaccharides have a linear and unbranched carbon skeleton with one carbonyl (C=O) functional group, and one hydroxyl (OH) group on each of the remaining carbon atoms. Therefore, the molecular structure of a simple monosaccharide can be written as H(CHOH)n(C=O)(CHOH)mH, where n + 1 + m = x; so that its elemental formula is CxH2xOx.

text: By convention, the carbon atoms are numbered from 1 to x along the backbone, starting from the end that is closest to the C=O group. Monnosaccharides are the simplest units of carbohydrates and the simplest form of sugar.

text: If the carbonyl is at position 1 (that is, n or m is zero), the molecule begins with a formyl group H(C=O)− and is technically an aldehyde. In that case, the compound is termed an aldose. Otherwise, the molecule has a keto group, a carbonyl −(C=O)− between two carbons; then it is formally a ketone, and is termed a ketose. Ketoses of biological interest usually have the carbonyl at position 2.

text: The various classifications above can be combined, resulting in names such as "aldohexose" and "ketotriose".

text: A more general nomenclature for open-chain monosaccharides combines a Greek prefix to indicate the number of carbons (tri-, tetr-, pent-, hex-, etc.) with the suffixes "-ose" for aldoses and "-ulose" for ketoses.[2] In the latter case, if the carbonyl is not at position 2, its position is then indicated by a numeric infix. So, for example, H(C=O)(CHOH)4H is pentose, H(CHOH)(C=O)(CHOH)3H is pentulose, and H(CHOH)2(C=O)(CHOH)2H is pent-3-ulose.

text: Open-chain stereoisomers[edit]

text: Two monosaccharides with equivalent molecular graphs (same chain length and same carbonyl position) may still be distinct stereoisomers, whose molecules differ in the three-dimensional arrangement of the bonds of certain atoms. This happens only if the molecule contains a stereogenic center, specifically a carbon atom that is chiral (connected to four distinct molecular sub-structures). Those four bonds can have any of two configurations in space distinguished by their handedness. In a simple open-chain monosaccharide, every carbon is chiral except the first and the last atoms of the chain, and (in ketoses) the carbon with the keto group.

text: For example, the triketose H(CHOH)(C=O)(CHOH)H (glycerone, dihydroxyacetone) has no stereogenic center, and therefore exists as a single stereoisomer. The other triose, the aldose H(C=O)(CHOH)2H (glyceraldehyde), has one chiral carbon — the central one, number 2 — which is bonded to groups −H, −OH, −C(OH)H2, and −(C=O)H. Therefore, it exists as two stereoisomers whose molecules are mirror images of each other (like a left and a right glove). Monosaccharides with four or more carbons may contain multiple chiral carbons, so they typically have more than two stereoisomers. The number of distinct stereoisomers with the same diagram is bounded by 2c, where c is the total number of chiral carbons.

text: The Fischer projection is a systematic way of drawing the skeletal formula of an acyclic monosaccharide so that the handedness of each chiral carbon is well specified. Each stereoisomer of a simple open-chain monosaccharide can be identified by the positions (right or left) in the Fischer diagram of the chiral hydroxyls (the hydroxyls attached to the chiral carbons).

text: Most stereoisomers are themselves chiral (distinct from their mirror images). In the Fischer projection, two mirror-image isomers differ by having the positions of all chiral hydroxyls reversed right-to-left. Mirror-image isomers are chemically identical in non-chiral environments, but usually have very different biochemical properties and occurrences in nature.

text: While most stereoisomers can be arranged in pairs of mirror-image forms, there are some non-chiral stereoisomers that are identical to their mirror images, in spite of having chiral centers. This happens whenever the molecular graph is symmetrical, as in the 3-ketopentoses H(CHOH)2(CO)(CHOH)2H, and the two halves are mirror images of each other. In that case, mirroring is equivalent to a half-turn rotation. For this reason, there are only three distinct 3-ketopentose stereoisomers, even though the molecule has two chiral carbons.

text: Distinct stereoisomers that are not mirror-images of each other usually have different chemical properties, even in non-chiral environments. Therefore, each mirror pair and each non-chiral stereoisomer may be given a specific monosaccharide name. For example, there are 16 distinct aldohexose stereoisomers, but the name "glucose" means a specific pair of mirror-image aldohexoses. In the Fischer projection, one of the two glucose isomers has the hydroxyl at left on C3, and at right on C4 and C5; while the other isomer has the reversed pattern. These specific monosaccharide names have conventional three-letter abbreviations, like "Glu" for glucose and "Thr" for threose.

text: Generally, a monosaccharide with n asymmetrical carbons has 2n stereoisomers. The number of open chain stereoisomers for an aldose monosaccharide is larger by one than that of a ketose monosaccharide of the same length. Every ketose will have 2(n−3) stereoisomers where n > 2 is the number of carbons. Every aldose will have 2(n−2) stereoisomers where n > 2 is the number of carbons. These are also referred to as epimers which have the different arrangement of −OH and −H groups at the asymmetric or chiral carbon atoms (this does not apply to those carbons having the carbonyl functional group).

text: Configuration of monosaccharides[edit]

text: Like many chiral molecules, the two stereoisomers of glyceraldehyde will gradually rotate the polarization direction of linearly polarized light as it passes through it, even in solution. The two stereoisomers are identified with the prefixes D- and L-, according to the sense of rotation: D-glyceraldehyde is dextrorotatory (rotates the polarization axis clockwise), while L-glyceraldehyde is levorotatory (rotates it counterclockwise).

text: The D- and L- prefixes are also used with other monosaccharides, to distinguish two particular stereoisomers that are mirror-images of each other. For this purpose, one considers the chiral carbon that is furthest removed from the C=O group. Its four bonds must connect to −H, −OH, −C(OH)H, and the rest of the molecule. If the molecule can be rotated in space so that the directions of those four groups match those of the analog groups in D-glyceraldehyde's C2, then the isomer receives the D- prefix. Otherwise, it receives the L- prefix.

text: In the Fischer projection, the D- and L- prefixes specifies the configuration at the carbon atom that is second from bottom: D- if the hydroxyl is on the right side, and L- if it is on the left side.

text: Note that the D- and L- prefixes do not indicate the direction of rotation of polarized light, which is a combined effect of the arrangement at all chiral centers. However, the two enantiomers will always rotate the light in opposite directions, by the same amount. See also d/l system.

text: Cyclisation of Monosaccharides[edit]

text: A monosaccharide often switches from the acyclic (open-chain) form to a cyclic form, through a nucleophilic addition reaction between the carbonyl group and one of the hydroxyls of the same molecule. The reaction creates a ring of carbon atoms closed by one bridging oxygen atom. The resulting molecule has an hemiacetal or hemiketal group, depending on whether the linear form was an aldose or a ketose. The reaction is easily reversed, yielding the original open-chain form.

text: In these cyclic forms, the ring usually has 5 or 6 atoms. These forms are called furanoses and pyranoses, respectively — by analogy with furan and pyran, the simplest compounds with the same carbon-oxygen ring (although they lack the double bonds of these two molecules). For example, the aldohexose glucose may form a hemiacetal linkage between the hydroxyl on carbon 1 and the oxygen on carbon 4, yielding a molecule with a 5-membered ring, called glucofuranose. The same reaction can take place between carbons 1 and 5 to form a molecule with a 6-membered ring, called glucopyranose. Cyclic forms with a 7-atom ring (the same of oxepane), rarely encountered, are called heptoses.

text: For many monosaccharides (including glucose), the cyclic forms predominate, in the solid state and in solutions, and therefore the same name commonly is used for the open- and closed-chain isomers. Thus, for example, the term "glucose" may signify glucofuranose, glucopyranose, the open-chain form, or a mixture of the three.

text: Cyclization creates a new stereogenic center at the carbonyl-bearing carbon. The −OH group that replaces the carbonyl's oxygen may end up in two distinct positions relative to the ring's midplane. Thus each open-chain monosaccharide yields two cyclic isomers (anomers), denoted by the prefixes α- and β-. The molecule can change between these two forms by a process called mutarotation, that consists in a reversal of the ring-forming reaction followed by another ring formation.[3]

text: Haworth projection[edit]

text: The stereochemical structure of a cyclic monosaccharide can be represented in a Haworth projection. In this diagram, the α-isomer for the pyranose form of a D-aldohexose has the -OH of the anomeric carbon below the plane of the carbon atoms, while the β-isomer has the -OH of the anomeric carbon above the plane. Pyranoses typically adopt a chair conformation, similar to that of cyclohexane. In this conformation, the α-isomer has the -OH of the anomeric carbon in an axial position, whereas the β-isomer has the OH- of the anomeric carbon in equatorial position (considering D-aldohexose sugars).[4]

text:
α-D-Glucopyranose

β-D-Glucopyranose

tag: ul

text: Derivatives[edit]

text: A large number of biologically important modified monosaccharides exist:

text:
Amino sugars such as:

Galactosamine
Glucosamine
Sialic acid
N-Acetylglucosamine

Sulfosugars such as:

Sulfoquinovose

others

ascorbic acid
mannitol


document_title: Half dollar (United States coin)

question_text: when did the 50 cent coin come out

question_tokens: when did the 50 cent coin come out

text: Half dollar (United States coin)

text: Circulation[edit]

text: Half dollar coins saw heavy use, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. For many years, they were commonly used in casinos. Rolls of half dollars may still be kept on hand in cardrooms for games requiring 50-cent antes or bring-in bets, for dealers to pay winning naturals in blackjack, or where the house collects a rake in increments. Additionally, some concession vendors at sporting events distribute half dollar coins as change for convenience.

text: By the early 1960s, the rising price of silver was nearing the point where the bullion value of U.S. silver coins would exceed face value. In 1965, the U.S. introduced layered composition coins made of a copper core laminated between two cupronickel outer faces. The silver content of dimes and quarters was eliminated, but the Kennedy half dollar composition still contained silver (reduced from 90 to 40 percent) from 1965 to 1970.

text: Half dollars issued through the end of the 1960s were hoarded as the only precious metal U.S. coins remaining in production, and as the price of silver continued to rise, pre-1964 halves disappeared from circulation as well. By the time that the coin's composition was changed to match that of the clad dimes and quarters in 1971, both businesses and the public had adapted to a country in which the half dollar did not generally circulate. The quarter took over the half's role as the highest-value component of change.

text: Most coins enter circulation through the change drawers of businesses. Few businesses stock their change drawers with half dollars, and many banks do not stock them or hand them out as normal business practice, so the coins do not see much circulation. Most U.S. vending machines do not accept half dollars, nor do payphones, which further curtails their circulation; however, it is the most common denomination used for U.S. commemorative coins.[3]

text: Since 2002, half dollars have been minted only for collectors, due to large Federal Reserve and government inventories on hand of pre-2001 pieces; this is mostly due to lack of demand and large quantity returns from casino slot machines that now operate "coinless". If and when the reserve supply runs low, the mint will again fill orders for circulation half dollars.[citation needed] It took about 18 years (1981–1999) for the large inventory stockpile of a similar low-demand circulation coin, the $1 coin, to reach reserve levels low enough to again produce circulation pieces.[citation needed] Modern-date half dollars can be purchased in proof sets, mint sets, rolls, and bags from the U.S. Mint, and existing inventory circulation pieces can be ordered through most U.S. banks. All collector issues since 2001 have had much lower mintages than in previous years. Although intended only for collectors, these post-2001 half dollars sometimes find their way into circulation.[4]

text: Aspects of early history[edit]

text: On December 1, 1794, the first half dollars, approximately 5,300 pieces, were delivered. Another 18,000 were produced in January 1795 using dies of 1794, to save the expense of making new ones.[5] Another 30,000 pieces were struck by the end of 1801. The coin had the Heraldic Eagle, based on the Great Seal of the United States on the reverse.[5] 150,000 were minted in 1804 but struck with dies from 1803, so no 1804 specimens exist.[5]

text: In 1838, half dollar dies were produced in the Philadelphia Mint for the newly established New Orleans Mint, and ten test samples of the 1838 half dollars were made at the main Philadelphia mint. These samples were put into the mint safe along with other rarities like the 1804 silver dollar. The dies were then shipped to New Orleans for the regular production of 1838 half dollars. However, New Orleans production of the half dollars was delayed due to the priority of producing half dimes and dimes. The large press for half dollar production was not used in New Orleans until January 1839 to produce 1838 half dollars, but the reverse die could not be properly secured, and only ten samples were produced before the dies failed. Rufus Tyler, chief coiner of the New Orleans mint, wrote to Mint Director Patterson of the problem on February 25, 1839.[6] The Orleans mint samples all had a double stamped reverse as a result of this production problem and they also showed dramatic signs of die rust, neither of which are present on the Philadelphia produced test samples. While eight Philadelphia minted samples survive to this day, there is only one known New Orleans minted specimen with the tell-tale double stamped reverse and die rust. This is the famous coin that Rufus Tyler presented to Alexander Dallas Bache (great grandson of Benjamin Franklin) in the summer of 1839 and was later purchased in June 1894 by A. G. Heaton, the father of mint mark coin collecting.[7] The 1838 Philadelphia-produced half dollars are extremely rare, with two separate specimens having sold for $632,500 in Heritage auctions in 2005 and 2008[8] respectively. The sole surviving Orleans minted 1838 is one of the rarest of all American coins.[9][10] In 1840 this mint produced nearly 180,000 half dollars.[5]

text: In 1861, the New Orleans mint produced coins for three different governments. A total of 330,000 were struck under the United States government, 1,240,000 for the State of Louisiana after it seceded from the Union, and 962,633 after it joined the Confederacy. Since the same die was used for all strikings, the output looks identical. However the Confederate States of America actually minted four half dollars with a CSA (rather than USA) reverse and the obverse die they used had a small die crack. Thus "regular" 1861 half dollars with this crack probably were used by the Confederates for some of the mass striking.[11]

text: There are two varieties of Kennedy half dollars in the proof set issues of 1964. Initially, the die was used with accented hair, showing deeper lines than the president's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, liked. New dyes were prepared to smooth out some of the details. It is estimated that about 1 to 3% (40,000 to 100,000) of the proof halves are of the earlier type, making them somewhat more expensive for collectors.[12]

text: List of designs[edit]

text:
Silver half dollars

Flowing Hair 1794–1795[13]
Draped Bust 1796–1807

Draped Bust, Small Eagle 1796–1797[14]
Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle 1801–1807[15]

Capped Bust 1807–1839

Capped Bust (Large Size), With Motto 1807–1836[16]
Capped Bust (Small Size), No Motto 1836–1839[17]

Seated Liberty 1839–1891

Seated Liberty, No Motto 1839–1866[18]
Seated Liberty, With Motto 1866–1891[19]

Barber 1892–1915[20]
Walking Liberty 1916–1947[21]
Franklin 1948–1963[22]
Kennedy 1964 (General circulation issue)[23] (the last 90% silver half dollar for circulation, contains 0.36169 oz. net silver per coin, or 7.234 oz. silver per roll)
Kennedy 1992–present (silver proof sets available)

40% silver half dollars

Kennedy 1965–1969
Kennedy 1970 (collectors sets only)
Kennedy 1976 (only collectors sets produced with 40% silver)

Copper-nickel clad half dollars

Kennedy 1971–1974, 1977–1986, 1988–2001 (general circulation issues)
Kennedy 1987, 2002–present (collectors only)
Kennedy Bicentennial 1975–1976 (all dated 1776–1976.)

Various half dollar designs

text: List of early commemorative issues[edit]

text:
Columbian half dollar (1892–1893)
Panama–Pacific half dollar (1915)
Illinois Centennial half dollar (1918)
Maine Centennial half dollar (1920)
Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar (1920–1921)
Missouri Centennial half dollar (1921)
Alabama Centennial half dollar (1921)
Grant Memorial half dollar (1922)
Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar (1923)
Huguenot-Walloon half dollar (1924)
Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar (1925)
Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar (1925)
California Diamond Jubilee half dollar (1925)
Fort Vancouver Centennial half dollar (1925)
United States Sesquicentennial half dollar (1926)
Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar (1926–1939)
Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar (1927)
Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar (1928)
Maryland Tercentenary half dollar (1934)
Texas Centennial half dollar (1934–1938)
Daniel Boone Bicentennial half dollar (1934–1938)
Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar (1935)
Arkansas Centennial half dollar (1935–1939)
Arkansas-Robinson half dollar (1936)

Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar (1935)
California Pacific International Exposition half dollar (1935–1936)
Old Spanish Trail half dollar (1935)
Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar (1936)
Cleveland Centennial half dollar (1936)
Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar (1936)
Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar (1936)
Long Island Tercentenary half dollar (1936)
York County, Maine Tercentenary half dollar (1936)
Bridgeport, Connecticut Centennial half dollar (1936)
Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar (1936)
Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar (1936)
Albany Charter half dollar (1936)
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar (1936)
Columbia, South Carolina Sesquicentennial half dollar (1936)
Delaware Tercentenary half dollar (1936)
Battle of Gettysburg half dollar (1936)
Norfolk, Virginia Bicentennial half dollar (1936)
Roanoke Island half dollar (1937)
Battle of Antietam half dollar (1937)
New Rochelle, New York half dollar (1938)
Iowa Centennial half dollar (1946)
Booker T. Washington Memorial half dollar (1946–1954)


document_title: List of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air characters

question_text: who plays will in fresh prince of bel air

question_tokens: who plays will in fresh prince of bel air

text: List of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air characters

text: Character appearances[edit]

text:
Cast
Character Played
Seasons

1
2
3
4
5
6

Main characters

Will Smith
Will Smith
Main

James Avery
Philip Banks
Main

Janet Hubert-Whitten
Vivian Banks
Main

Daphne Maxwell Reid

Main

Alfonso Ribeiro
Carlton Banks
Main

Karyn Parsons
Hilary Banks
Main

Tatyana M. Ali
Ashley Banks
Main

Joseph Marcell
Geoffrey Butler
Main

Ross Bagley
Nicholas "Nicky" Banks

Main

Recurring characters

DJ Jazzy Jeff
Jazz
Recurring

Vernee Watson-Johnson
Viola "Vy" Smith
Recurring

Michael Weiner
Kellogg Lieberbaum
Recurring

Lisa Fuller
Toni
Recurring

Jenifer Lewis
Helen Smith

Recurring

Charlayne Woodard
Janice Smith

Recurring

Perry Moore
Tyriq "Ty" Johnson

Recurring

Brian Stokes Mitchell
Trevor Collins-Newsworthy

Recurring

Tyra Banks
Jacqueline "Jackie" Ames

Recurring

Nia Long
Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes

Recurring

text: Main characters[edit]

text: Will Smith[edit]

text:
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Master William"
Nickname by Jazz and others friends: "Prince" or "Will-man"

text: Born on July 3, 1973.

text: Philip Banks[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Uncle Phil"
Nickname by Parents: "Zeke"
Nickname by Carlton: "Big Guy"
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Sir”
Nickname by Ashley and Hilary: "Daddy"
Nickname by Vivian: "Philip"
Nickname by Ernest: "Moose"

text: Philip Banks (played by James Avery) was born on May 20, 1946 in North Carolina. Philip was raised on a farm in Yamacraw, North Carolina, where he was referred to by his parents, Hattie and Joe Banks, as "Zeke". At age 16 he moved to Baltimore.

text: In the 1960s, he became an activist for the civil rights movement. He was present at the riots in Selma in 1965 and Watts Riots, and, in the pilot episode, he also mentions he heard Malcolm X speak, and that he had read every word that he wrote. In 1963, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Princeton University, after which he went to Harvard Law School. In 1975, Philip was put on the board of the NAACP and was later awarded the Urban Spirit Award for his work in promoting civil rights. He is a conservative but runs as a Democrat against his old mentor Carl Robertson in the elections. At first glance, Will had come to Bel Air with an attitude that because he came from West Philadelphia that he was hardened against anything and was dismissive of Phil and his family as too soft, until he is sternly rebuked by Phil, who reveals his past in seeing the turmoil that happened before Will was born and that it has been his hard work that has earned him a manor in Bel-Air. Philip was also shown to have admired Ronald Reagan, namely because during the series run Reagan had retired from the presidency and moved into the same neighborhood as Philip's. Reagan was said to have declined party invitations until he appears at a traditional Christmas party of the Banks; shown to be a friend of Hilary's.

text: At the beginning of the series, Philip is a senior partner with the firm of Firth, Wynn and Meyer (which Will humorously compares to Earth, Wind & Fire in the pilot episode). In the third season, he is appointed to the judiciary; he becomes a judge after his ex-mentor, Judge Carl Robertson, who beat Philip by a landslide in the elections, dies suddenly, and the governor appoints Philip to the position. Philip later considers making a deeper foray into politics, but decides against it when his wife disapproves. In the episode "To Thine Own Self Be Blue...And Gold," it is revealed that Phil is a member of the fictional fraternity Pi Nu. After meeting and dating his future wife Vivian, he proposed to her while on live television during an episode of Soul Train. He claims to have been a lifelong fan of classical music in the episode "Bang the Drum, Ashley", though Vivian rebuffs that "When we met, you were into James Brown!", which Philip rebuts by stating it is possible to like both classical music and James Brown.

text: Philip is a somewhat strict and gruff, but he does have a softer side, as he is a loving and caring family man, as well as being an upstanding citizen. Nonetheless, his anger can get him into trouble at times, especially when he feels his image is being besmirched. Additionally, Philip can be financially greedy; he pays his butler Geoffrey a salary so low that Geoffrey quits after Philip gives him a mediocre additional annual raise, and only returns when Philip apologizes for taking him for granted and agrees to increase his salary, benefits and to hire more help during formal functions. In the series finale, when Geoffrey retires, Phil rewards him with both a large cash bonus and an expensive first class plane ticket to London, England. Similarly, while he always spoils Hilary, Philip refuses to increase the allowances of his children, although in later seasons he begins to tire of spending his hard-earned money on spoiling Hilary and becomes more gruff with Hilary to pay her own way in the world. A recurring gag is about Philip's children being afraid of his punishments because, while his anger is understandable, he can be incredibly sadistic and sociopathic in his punishments. For example, in season three's "The Best Laid Plans", in which Will tries to trick a girl he is dating (who does not believe in premarital sex) into marrying him in order to go all the way with her, Philip became severely disappointed and upset, and promises to impose the cruelest punishment that he could find (which he manages to do three years after the incident, when he read about medieval tortures and with a malicious smile in his face).

text: Despite being a miser, Philip is a very caring and loving husband and father. He makes sure that he does what is best for all his children, including Will. Despite being related to Will only by marriage (and though he sometimes grumbles about Will being a goof-off), he very much cares for him as his own son. Throughout the series, Philip has been there for his children in their time of need, which rubs off on his nephew as Will comes to see Philip as a genuine father-figure (as opposed to his true father, who left him and his mother when Will was a young child). When Will is eager to bond with his biological father Lou after he suddenly re-enters Will's life, Philip warns Will to be wary of Lou and comforts him when Lou is unable to rekindle their relationship.

text: Philip goes out of his way to make sure all of his children, including Will, make something of themselves. He also fights fiercely to protect his family: When Will and Carlton are arrested for "stealing a car" as they are driving it for his law firm partner, Philip threatens to tie the police station up in "so much litigation that [their] grandchildren are going to need lawyers". He is overprotective of Ashley and has trouble with her growing up into a young woman. A common occasion for humor on the show is Philip's portly shape and big appetite. Will commonly makes cracks about his girth, as do Geoffrey, Jazz and Vivian, and at times, even Carlton (though he is usually skittish and quick to apologize). Unfortunately, Philip's appetite has given him trouble and even caused him to suffer a heart attack in season four's "Home is Where the Heart Attack Is". Philip also reveals himself to be an amazingly adept pool player in the episode "Banks Shot", showing his skill by out-hustling the pool shark who hustled Will at the pool hall. He has a personal cue stick, that he has named "Lucille".

text: In the episode "Lucky Charm," it is said by Vivian that Philip's birthday is in January. But this causes a continuity error because in part one of the two-part series finale, Philip's birthday is celebrated, but the finale takes place in late May.

text: Vivian Banks[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Aunt Viv"
Nickname by Her children: "Mom" or "Mommy"
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Mrs. Banks" or "Madam"
Maiden Name: Smith

text: Prof. Vivian Banks (née Smith), PhD, born on October 21, 1951, was portrayed by Janet Hubert-Whitten during the first three seasons and by Daphne Maxwell Reid for the last three. She is the mother of Nicky, Ashley, Carlton and Hillary Banks; the aunt of Will Smith and the wife of Phillip Banks. She has been a retired Doctor then earned her PhD at UCLA since 1971, and in one early episode takes a temporary job as a teacher for a unit in Black History at Bel-Air Academy, the upscale preparatory high school attended by Will and Carlton, and later by Ashley. She has one older sister, Vy (Will's mother), and two younger sisters, Helen and Janice.

text: Vivian's personality and role in the show changes over the run of the series. During the Janet Hubert-Whitten years, she is a no-nonsense, vocally talented, forthright, and career-minded woman who plays a part in the show equal to her husband Philip. It is revealed in the season one episode "Love at First Fight", that Vivian dropped out of high school as a teenager and worked menial jobs, before attending night school in order to get her high school diploma and enter college to work toward her PhD.

text: After Reid took the part in 1993 and baby Nicky was added to the cast, she was reimagined as a homemaker who showed reluctance toward ambitious career moves, such as Philip's political aspirations. The Reid-played Vivian showed a less fiery demeanor than how Whitten portrayed the role. She also supported her children in whatever they wanted, even if it was wrong. An example of this permissive behavior was when she let Hilary make the decision for herself to pose naked in a Playboy pictorial in the season four episode "Fresh Prince After Dark", as well as letting Hilary get abruptly married to her news anchor boyfriend Trevor in "Where There's a Will, There's a Way," and having a seance for Trevor in the episode "Hex and the Single Guy." It seems that Janet Hubert-Whitten's Vivian would have disapproved such attitudes; however, in the episode It's a Wonderful Lie, she's at Philip's side when he severely reprimands Ashley for lying to them and having snuck off to go to a fraternity party, where she'd been caught by Will in a locked bedroom making out with a college linebacker.

text: There has been references in the series about Janet Hubert-Whitten's replacement by Daphne Maxwell Reed as Vivian. In an occasional running gag within the series, whenever a member of the family goes through old family photos, Will would occasionally comment who the mannish-looking person is in the photo, to which it is then revealed that the person in question is the Whitten-played Vivian. In a later interview, costume designer Carlo Tang commented that Smith and other cast members would jokingly refer to Hubert-Whitten's Vivian as Marcus, a fictional bodybuilder. The change between the two is the object of two humorous quotes from Jazz in which he breaks the fourth wall. One of them is in the fourth-season premiere, when he remarks: "You know, Mrs. Banks, ever since you had that baby, there's something different about you"; after this, Will stares uneasily into the camera. The other is in the fifth-season premiere when he sees the suddenly grown Nicky and asks: "So, who's playing the wife this year?".

text: Carlton Banks[edit]

text:
Nicknames by Will: "C", or "Boogaloo Shrimp" (also "Stumpy," "Squidget", "Snigglet" or basically any name pertaining to Carlton's short stature)
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Master Carlton"
Nickname by Jazz: "C-Note" (in the episode "72 Hours")

text: Carlton Banks (played by Alfonso Ribeiro), born August 4, 1974, is Vivian and Philip's eldest son and Will's pedantic maternal cousin.

text: Carlton is a quintessential preppy. Like many of his social class, Carlton aspires to attend an Ivy League university; in earlier seasons, he states he aims to get into Yale University, but later fixes a determined focus on Princeton University, his father Philip's alma mater.

text: Like his father Phillip, Carlton is a firmly conservative Republican and this often puts him at odds with Will. Although Carlton and Will often exchange insults, and Will normally refers to Carlton as a disgrace, Carlton obviously cares about Will, referring to him in the 2nd-season episode 'Vying for Attention' as "the brother I've always wanted". At first it appears there is an antagonistic relationship between Will and Carlton, but in later seasons Will significantly warms to Carlton, ultimately accepting Carlton and the other cousins as the siblings he never had. On one occasion in the season three episode "Just Say Yo", Carlton is considerate enough to cover for Will when he is admitted to the hospital after having taken speed tablets from inside Will's locker, but allows his parents to think that Will saved him. He attributes this to "still being high at the time" when asked by Will why he covered for him. This spurs Will to tearfully confess the truth to the family; although Carlton did ingest speed, Will bore responsibility as he had accepted the pills from a school friend, storing them in his locker, then absentmindedly said to Carlton he had a bottle of Vitamin E in his locker.

text: Carlton drives a silver Mercedes-Benz E-Class from the early 1990s, which is seen in a few episodes. Carlton also was a bit of a servant to sister Ashley when she hit it big on the singing charts. He held doors open for her and fanned Ashley while she tanned. His role model is talk show host Bryant Gumbel and his favorite singer is Tom Jones. His favorite actor is William Shatner, whom he annoys by making lame Star Trek references. Carlton also idolizes Macaulay Culkin, whom he once dressed up as for Halloween (Although, he looked more like Simon Phoenix, Wesley Snipes' Character from Demolition Man.) He is also a big fan of The Jeffersons and Beverly Hills, 90210, the latter of which he is confident enough to admit to others; this is unlike Will, who scoffs at the show in front of friends but confesses to Carlton that he is a secret 90210 fan as well.

text: Carlton is similar to Family Ties character Alex P. Keaton in many respects: he dresses in a preppy style, has conservative political leanings, is obsessed with college and his future career, is fairly short, and does not enjoy the popular music of most people his age (Besides Tom Jones, Carlton also likes Michael Bolton, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, and Neil Diamond.) Carlton is often called upon to do a comic, usually improvised dance routine to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" (which was inspired by a dance performed by Courteney Cox in the music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark").[1] In earlier seasons, he makes frequent references to his virginity (twice referencing that he plans on losing it at some point), and also plans to attend Princeton University. In later seasons, these arcs are both resolved: Carlton does indeed lose his virginity to a woman who is married to the Dean of Princeton, but is not initially admitted to Princeton; instead he first attends the University of Los Angeles, where he briefly manages ULA's student store, the Peacock Stop.

text: As seen in the episodes "You Bet Your Life" and "Viva Lost Wages", Carlton also seems to have a gambling problem and loses all of his money in any situation where gambling is involved and constantly imagines the gambling tables and slot machines talking to him, but seems fully aware that he is subject to compulsive gambling, and this limits his exposure to gaming. He usually declares that gambling is "evil" right before he goes all in and loses his and others' money. One exception to this was where he participated in a casino night in the season two episode "Something for Nothing", but that was done for charitable reasons and not for real money. In season five's "Bullets Over Bel-Air", Will tries to protect Carlton when they get robbed after using an automated teller machine, Will gets shot, taking a bullet for Carlton and is sent to the hospital (eventually recovering from his injuries); Carlton acquires a firearm later in the episode, as the event heightens his awareness of the need for self-defense, but later disposes of the handgun upon Will's insistence.

text: One running joke in the show involves Carlton repeatedly being slapped in the back of the head by various characters, usually in response to comments that are ridiculously self-centered (in later seasons, for example, he would often make humorous comments about gaining his father's inheritance) or due to portraying ignorance of lives other than his own. Often Will would ask to hold what Carlton is holding and once receiving it he would slap Carlton across the head with the object (e.g. a folder containing Will's testament written by Carlton, in "Ill Will"). Carlton's height is frequently made fun of, especially by Will, who, in the episode "Grumpy Young Men", jokes that Carlton is the average height for a woman.

text: He is sometimes portrayed as being extremely naïve. An example is when, in the episode Mistaken Identity, he and Will are arrested after police officers falsely believe that they stole a Mercedes-Benz belonging to Philip's law firm partner, who requested Will and Carlton drive the vehicle to Palm Springs as a favor. At the end, Carlton insists that the policemen were only doing their job, not really accepting the fact that he and Will were victims of racial profiling. However, he seems to wonder if they were wrong, as when he asks his father if he (Phil) were a policeman if he would pull over someone who was driving too slow, for which Phil answers: "I asked myself the same thing the first time I was stopped"; after that, Carlton seems in deep thought over the situation. Although he was portrayed early on as a snobby rich kid, Carlton evolved after having his view challenged when arrested for "stealing a car" and when Will is shot, Carlton is angered that the shooter will probably not face justice for harming Will.

text: He is also seen to get extremely jealous almost anytime something great happens to Will. Examples would be when, in the Season One episode "Courting Disaster" Will joins the school basketball with Carlton already on it. Will becomes the star of the team and Carlton becomes jealous and the competition between the two starts. Carlton decides to steal the ball from Will and take the game winning shot.

text: In the sixth and final season, Carlton finally gains transfer admission to Princeton University however, due to his fear of not living up to Philip's achievements, Carlton decides not to attend Princeton and briefly becomes interested in pursuing a career in bowling. However, he gets over his fear and leaves for the east coast in the series finale.

text: Hilary Banks[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Hil"
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Miss Hilary"

text: Hilary Violet Banks (played by Karyn Parsons), born May 12, 1969 (although said to be August 18th in "Love Hurts"), is Will's attractive, but dull-witted, eldest cousin, known for her notable lack of intelligence, pretentious attitude, spoiled brat behaviour, and constant dependence on Geoffrey.

text: In earlier seasons, Hilary's snobbishness is emphasized, as well as her shallow trendy environmental activism. During this time, she often claimed to hobnob with celebrities and loved being mistaken by people for Whitney Houston. Later on, Hilary is written as a self-centered airhead; she looks down on Will's upbringing and is obsessed with shopping and money (this is shown early in the series; her first line of the show is "Dad, I need $300!," which she intended to spend on a hat). However, despite her apparent shallow personality, she has a strong sense of integrity and shows obvious affection to her family members; Will gets along with her better than Carlton does, though Will is at times bewildered by Hilary's lapses of intelligence. Hilary is portrayed as a stereotypical valley girl and speaks with some strong valspeak habits, in spite of her disdain for the San Fernando Valley (as evidenced in two season three episodes: in "Asses to Ashes", when talking about what heaven and hell might be like, she describes hell to be "like, the Valley"; in "Robbing the Banks", when Will lets it slip to Hilary, Carlton and Ashley that Luther, whom Philip was coaxed into hiring to help around the house while Vivian and Geoffrey were each on vacation, spent time "in the pen", Hilary responds "The pen, please tell me that's slang for the Valley"). Hilary is pursued by Jazz and reluctantly goes on a date with him in Season 1 episode "Working it Out" in order to keep her job. The night ends with Hilary giving Jazz a kiss on the cheek.

text: During the series, Hilary attends and drops out of UCLA, after which she begins a long streak of varying luck that eventually lands her a nationally syndicated daytime talk show titled Hilary. It starts when she becomes a weather reporter at a local television station, where she meets and falls in love with the station's lead news anchor Trevor Collins (Brian Stokes Mitchell). However, Trevor dies in a bungee jumping accident while proposing marriage in the episode "Where There's a Will, There's a Way", part of an ill-conceived live televised event that Hilary and the rest of the Banks family watch at home on the living room television. At the conclusion of the series, Hilary's talk show moves to New York City, as does most of the rest of the Banks family.

text: Hilary's hair styles have changed as the series progressed; early in the series it was brown and bushy, it then became longer and curly with blonde highlights, but later it was black, straight, and shoulder-length. Hilary appeared in 145 episodes of the series.

text: Ashley Banks[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Ash"
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Miss Ashley"

text: Ashley Banks (played by Tatyana Ali) is Will's younger cousin, born on August 26, 1979. Ashley was Vivian's baby girl, and always loved being with her mom. Phillip was always trying to control Ashley's life so she did not become anything like regular teenage girls. Will's devil-may-care approach to life proved to be an exciting alternative, which makes her generally more sympathetic and understanding towards him than other members of the Banks family; with that being, Ashley looked up to Will as a big brother and spent much time following him in her younger days. In fact, Will states in the episode "Will Gets A Job" that if he had a choice to be any of Phillip's kids it would be Ashley.

text: Possibly because of Will's influence towards Ashley, she often acts rebelliously as she gets older, for which her father becomes very angry at Will. One of these moments is in the episode Father Knows Best, which reveals that she dropped out of her private school and enrolled in secret at a public high school and was planning to hide this from her parents as long as possible; though after a failed plot in which Will posed as Ashley's father when she is asked to attend a parent-teacher conference, Will eventually convinces Ashley to come clean. She also spends less time with Will and sometimes gets upset with him when he becomes overprotective like Philip to the point of showing a great deal of annoyance and contempt. She believed that she was old enough to make her own decisions when it comes to boys which neither Will nor Uncle Phil enjoyed hearing or believed. Phillip never enjoyed having Ashley grow up.

text: Ashley's age is inconsistent in the first season. She is said to be nine in a few early episodes of the season. In the episode "Deck the Halls," Will says that she is 10. But in the episode "Just Infatuation," Ashley celebrates her 12th birthday. Starting with the second season, she is 13, she turns 14 in the middle of the third season, 15 at the end of the fourth season, she is 16 by the end of season five and 17 by the end of season six.

text: Ashley matures very much in the series; she becomes a one-hit wonder with a hit song called "Make Up Your Mind" in the season five premiere "What's Will Got to Do With It?"/"The Client", however her career quickly fizzles out when her album doesn't sell because as the agent Philip hired to replace Will mentioned "kids got sick of her [song]", when it gets too much exposure.[2] Beginning in the episode "Breaking Up is Hard to Do", she also strives to become a fashion model after being discovered by the president of a modeling agency at her job at a mall food court corn dog stand.

text: In the series finale, Ashley decides to attend a performing arts school in New York City. As Hilary is also moving to New York when it is announced that her talk show is relocating there, the two sisters decide to live together; they become extremely excited about the whole idea, much to the annoyance of Phillip, who does not want to lose his daughters. In the episode "The Baby Comes Out", where her brother Nicky is born, Ashley mentions she knew how to drive since she was 12 years old. She is very musically talented as shown that she plays violin and the drums, and she can sing. Ashley appeared in 144 episodes of the series.

text: Nicky Banks[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "Little man"

text: Nicholas Andrew Michael Shawn Nathan Wanyá Banks (played first by Gregory Wheeler in Twas the Night Before Christening and then by Ross Bagley for the final two seasons) is born to Philip and Vivian on February 22, 1993, toward the end of the third season. Except for one episode, when Carlton professionally calls him "Nicholas", every member of the family calls him by his nickname, Nicky.

text: The character was primarily used as a plot device, often adding motivation for other characters, comic relief, or an emotional punch to the show's storyline. In the fifth season, Nicky grows from a newborn infant to a preschooler, which is common in television series and soap operas. In the fifth-season premiere "What's Will Got to Do With It", the first episode to feature this change, Jazz expresses amazement while Will just stares uneasily into the camera.

text: Four of his middle names are taken from the names of the members of the R&B group Boyz II Men; he was middle-named this way after they performed at his christening in the season four episode "'Twas the Night Before Christening"; however in the season three episode "The Baby Comes Out", Philip addresses Nicky's full name, with a middle name already given, as "Nicholas Andrew Banks".

text: Geoffrey Barbara Butler[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "G", "Chicken George" (Season 3, Episode 20) - "The Baby Comes Out"

text: Geoffrey Barbara Butler (played by Joseph Marcell), born in London on November 18, 1947, serves as the Banks family's cynical butler. Geoffrey is the first character that appears on screen in the pilot episode The Fresh Prince Project. He is seen going to answer the door to Will, who mistakes him for Philip.

text: In addition to four years at Oxford University and a long career working for British aristocrats, Geoffrey was an Olympic runner several years before being hired by the Banks family (as revealed in the episode "It's Better to Have Loved and Lost It..." from the fourth season, when Geoffrey shows the Banks family a videotape of a documentary called Shame of a Nation), but fled his home country in shame after being exposed for cheating while participating in the men's marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, winning the Gold Medal only because he had taken a cab ride to the stadium parking lot (shortly after receiving his medal, Queen Elizabeth II, who apparently presented the medals, got word of Geoffrey's cheating, pushing aside the bronze medalist to hit Geoffrey with her purse and rip the medal off his neck: Geoffrey then ran from the stadium in shame.) In the 1970s, he was a butler for the band Led Zeppelin. In the early 1980s, Geoffrey was sparring butler for Chuck Norris. In the episode Nice Lady, he reveals having practiced Greco-Roman wrestling in his youth.

text: Geoffrey's character changes over the series: in early episodes, he is very dutiful and gentlemanly, whereas he becomes very cynical in later episodes. Joseph Marcell explains that he began by playing Geoffrey as stereotypically English but then felt that the American audience was not accustomed to seeing Black Englishmen.[3] Geoffrey's favorite television program (as revealed in the pilot episode) is Masterpiece Theatre, which he routinely watches when he goes off duty at 9 pm

text: Geoffrey always refers to Will as "Master William" (except once in part two of the series finale "I, Done", at Will's request) and the other Banks children as "Master Carlton", "Miss Hilary", "Miss Ashley", and "Master Nicky". Known for his sarcasm, he is the voice of caustic humor on the show, often commenting on Philip's weight, his own low pay, his lack of a social or romantic life, the overall laziness of the family, or Will's goofiness. However, Geoffrey did seem to impress women by having the confidence to be himself, such as when he was set up on a blind date with a Black English woman (played by Naomi Campbell).

text: In early episodes, he has an interest in classical music and is often hinted at as leading a vibrant private life. Although a stickler for tradition, he incorrectly tells Will it is proper to refer to a butler by his first name, although this is possibly because his surname and job title are the same.[4] He considers himself to be part of the English working-class, despite speaking the Queen's English and, in one episode, being wary of a relationship with a rich woman.

text: He becomes the godfather of Nicky Banks in the fourth-season episode "Twas the Night Before Christening", after Vivian tires of the bickering amongst her sisters Vy and Helen and noted that no one has been more devoted to her youngest son than Geoffrey has. Midway into the sixth season, Geoffrey discovers he has a son he never knew about, named Frederick, born to a former lover. During the same episode, it is also revealed that his middle name is "Barbara", which he explains is a "family name". In the series finale "I, Done", Geoffrey leaves to be with his son in London; however, in the fourth-season episode "'Twas the Night Before Christening", a sequence set in 1998 (two years after the ending of the series) portrays him as still being the Banks family's butler.

text: There are two running gags centered around Geoffrey. One is that he is often compared to or confused with Benson, from the series with the same name. The other, which is more common is that whenever the doorbell rings, everyone continues with what they were previously doing, or look to Geoffrey, prompting Geoffrey to say "oh, please, will you let me get it this time?" or some variation, in a sarcastic tone. Niles, from The Nanny is very similar to him, as they are both British butlers, both went to Oxford, and both have the same sarcastic personality. Geoffrey appeared in 143 episodes of the series.

text: Jazz[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Jazz, man" (also "J", Jazzy Jazzerzon, The Jazzmeister, JazzZ, Jazzertron 3000 and Jazzeroonie)
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Mr. Jazz"

text: Jazz was portrayed by Will Smith's musical partner Jeffrey A. Townes, popularly known as DJ Jazzy Jeff. Jazz was born on May 20, 1971 and is Will's ill-mannered and dim-witted best friend who lives in the inner-city community of Compton, California. He has had a long-standing crush on Hilary Banks, and almost every time his advances are rejected. Jazz eventually marries a prison inmate named Jewel who had appeared on an episode of COPS, in which she bites the arm of a police officer (this is not shown, although the officer is heard calling for police backup because of it). In the season four episode "Mother's Day", Jewel reveals that she and Jazz are expecting a baby though no other mention of their child is ever made after that point. Jazz divorces her shortly afterward, realizing he knows nothing about her, finding out that she cheated on him with several men and that her real name is not even Jewel (it is Hortense). Jazz is almost completely tactless, and succeeds in insulting or irritating Philip almost every time they are together. He knows how to play the drums very well, and once gave Ashley a lesson in the episode his character is introduced "Bang the Drum, Ashley". Jazz wears sunglasses in nearly every episode he is seen. While in an early episode of season one, Jazz wears regular glasses for the entire episode instead of his trademark sunglasses, the show's writers had initially intended for the character to be blind.[5] This is evidenced throughout early episodes, as Jazz is rarely looking directly at other characters. However, by the second season, in the episode "Cased Up", Hilary asks her boyfriend (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) to take off his glasses; thinking she was speaking to him, Jazz charmingly removes his glasses, revealing his eyes.

text: In a running gag throughout the series, Jazz usually ends up being literally thrown, or, as it was referred to the first time, drop kicked out of the house. This is usually done by Philip, although sometimes Hilary, Geoffrey, Vivian, and even Will (the only character other than Philip to do it more than once) throw him out. Whenever Jazz is thrown out of the house, he is usually wearing the same clothes; it was decided to use the same clip of Jazz being thrown out the front door as often as possible rather than returning to the exterior location each time (the reuse of the clip is evidenced by the sudden noise of a sprinkler whenever Jazz is thrown out). Will was once on the receiving end of this punishment after making egregious changes to Philip's political campaign tape in "A Night at the Oprah", and in similar jokes was thrown out of a nightclub by a bouncer while trying to dance with Geoffrey's blind date in "Kiss My Butler", and out of Jay Leno's studio in "Will's Up the Dirt Road," after trying to hog the show after apologizing to Leno. In one instance, in the third-season premiere "How I Spent My Summer Vacation", Will was even thrown out of Jazz's apartment by Jazz himself after he tried to guilt Jazz into letting him stay over after a fight with his relatives despite Jazz mentioning he already had company over. In this same episode, it is briefly mentioned by Geoffrey that Philip did also throw Will out of the house onto the front lawn when he was leaving the house, but was never shown. During the 1993 Halloween episode "Hex and the Single Guy", Jazz got revenge by throwing Philip out instead, as the main plot to the story was that misfortune-plagued the Banks family following a so-called "hex" from a con psychic communicator. This was later shown to be in a dream Will was having, though when he woke up, the dream appeared to be a premonition, and it was implied that the whole ordeal may truly happen indeed. There was also an instance (Season 2, in the episode "Cased Up") where Jazz was standing outside of the house, taunting Philip because he was already standing outside; as a result, Philip throws him inside the house. In another episode, Jazz was thrown out in the backyard along with a cardboard cutout of Bill Cosby that he was lugging around. There was a time when Vivian threw Jazz out through the back door for saying that he would bring a stripper to Will's birthday party. In another episode Jazz gets a pillow for the Banks' newborn baby until Will finds a tag saying "Wendy Beth" on the back meaning that Jazz had stolen the pillow. Jazz then thinks "it's the thought that counts" only ending up with Will throwing Jazz out through the backdoor with the pillow. At the beginning of the episode "Cased Up," a nighttime version of the shot is used, with crickets as a sound effect (though the actual video of Jazz getting thrown out is simply darkened for effect).

text: It was show that Jazz enjoys being thrown out sometimes. In one episode, after Jazz and Will made up over a fight, Jazz asked Will to throw him out "like the good ol' times." In another episode, to taunt a guy for trying to walk to his car, Jazz purposely insulted Phil just so he can throw him out.

text: Jazz's last appearance was in the first part of the series finale "I, Done", in which he gave Philip his grandmother's teeth as a gift for Philip's 50th birthday, because Jazz thought Philip was getting old. Thus, Philip was once again angry and threw Jazz out of the house (it is actually mentioned that Philip broke his previous record in tossing him). After the house had been sold in the second part of the episode and Will had found an apartment, Philip was the only person to mention Jazz when asking when he was coming by to help Will pack, to which Will responded, "As soon as you leave." Philip was not surprised, but he did want to wish Jazz luck in the future.

text: Recurring characters[edit]

text: Vy Smith-Wilkes[edit]

text:
Nickname by Will: "Mom"
Nickname by Carlton, Ashley, Nicky & Hilary: "Aunt Vy"
Nickname by Geoffrey: "Mrs. Smith"

text: Viola "Vy" Smith-Wilkes, portrayed by Vernee Watson-Johnson, is Vivian's oldest sister and Will's loving mother. She is a stern, no-nonsense disciplinarian who is not afraid to challenge anyone who gets in her way. It was her idea that Will should go to Bel Air to get a good education and avoid a life of violence in their West Philadelphia neighborhood. Vy works as a supervisor at the post office. It was due to this she opposed the decision when Janice decides to marry Frank, a white man. Though by their next encounter she is more accepting. Vy eventually decides to marry Lisa Wilkes' father after Will and Lisa call off their second wedding attempt. However, it is unknown whether or not they married, since in Vy's next appearance, Mr. Wilkes is not seen or mentioned. Her maiden name and married name were previously the same, as Will's father was named Lou Smith.

text: Kellogg Lieberbaum[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "Cornflake"

text: Kellogg Lieberbaum (played by Michael Weiner) was a classmate and friend of Will and Carlton at Bel-Air Academy. Most of his appearances were in the first season, but he makes two appearances in the second season as well. As a pun on Kellogg's Corn Flakes, he is nicknamed "Cornflake" by Will. Much of the humor of his character comes from the dissonance of an unassuming Jewish preppie using such phrases as "She is one fly sister" and "Power to the people – say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud!"

text: Toni[edit]

text: Toni (portrayed by Lisa Fuller) is Hilary's friend who only appeared in Season 1. She appears to be a dumb blonde. Her first appearance was in "Clubba Hubba" and her last was in "It Had to Be You". Her other appearances were "Def Poet's Society" and "Knowledge is Power".

text: Helen Smith[edit]

text: Helen Smith, portrayed by Jenifer Lewis, is Vivian's loud-mouthed younger sister. She has frequent marriage difficulties with her husband Lester (Felton Perry), whom she finally divorces after he cheats on her with "a cute little home wrecker", leaving him with custody over their delinquent son Bobby (Ahmad Stoner).

text: Janice Smith[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "Aunt J"

text: Janice Smith, played by Charlayne Woodard, is the youngest of the Smith sisters, flighty according to Vivian, and married to a white man named Frank (portrayed by Diedrich Bader in Season 2, Robert Torti in one episode in Season 3), a marriage older sister Vy initially objects to. She also appears in the series with a baby son.

text: Tyriq Johnson[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "Ty"

text: Tyriq Johnson, portrayed by Perry Moore, is one of Will's close friends in Bel-Air, who appears frequently in season 2. He is described in the episode "Eyes on the Prize" (wherein he and Jazz compete against Will and Carlton on a televised game show) as "Bel-Air's oldest tenth grader," a lover of frozen pizza, and a fan of Laverne and Shirley reruns.

text: Trevor Collins-Newsworthy[edit]

text: Trevor (portrayed by Brian Stokes Mitchell) was Hilary's news anchor fiancé back in 1992 and co-worker at the television station. Trevor often gave himself compliments. Also, he always left the air and the Banks' mansion by saying, "Goodnight and Godspeed." He was originally referred to as "Trevor Collins", but later episodes established his surname as "Newsworthy." He eventually proposes to Hilary, but she insists that he officially proposes on live television later that day. Trevor then proposes to her on television while bungee jumping, and dies during the stunt when something goes wrong with the jump and he hits the ground. Hilary mourns his death by bringing back what she presumes to be Trevor's ashes in an urn, but later learns that Trevor was not cremated, and that she grabbed a stranger's urn. His death continues to haunt Hilary for the next few episodes and his memory, unlike almost everything else (including Trevor's very name), never leaves her mind.

text: Jackie Ames[edit]

text: Jacqueline "Jackie" Ames, portrayed by Tyra Banks, was introduced in "Where There's A Will, There's a Way (Part 1)" in season four. At first, Carlton believed that Jackie was "the girl of his dreams" after she told off some people who were making fun of his peacock costume (Carlton participated in football games as ULA's mascot, the peacock). Later that night, at a party, Will discovers that this girl Carlton was talking about was Jackie, a girl he had known but did not keep in touch with back in Philly. She is initially upset that he did not attempt to contact her but eventually forgives him. As manager of The Peacock Stop, Jackie is the object of Will's affection and frequent come-ons but continually spurns his advances, deeming him too immature. The two were old childhood friends from Philadelphia but she feels Will has not grown up since those days. There are certain innuendos indicating she still has feelings for Will. Jackie seems to warm more to Carlton, arguably because she sees him as more mature and stable than Will, although she is not as keen on dancing to Bobby Vinton as is Carlton. However, Jackie cuts all ties to Will for good when Will challenges a jock to a drinking game while at the jock's birthday party. After being rebuffed by both Will and the football player when she tries to stop them, she has Carlton drive her home and is never seen again.

text: Lisa Wilkes[edit]

text: Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes , portrayed by Nia Long, was introduced in the fifth-season episode, "Will's Misery," as the girlfriend who tames Will into forsaking his womanizing ways. The two fall deeply in love and are engaged to be married, going so far as the ceremonies twice but never actually tie the knot. The first time, they elope to Las Vegas and try a Shaft-themed wedding but walk out on the ceremony after being interrupted so many times and realizing they were not ready. The second time they try to get married, Will starts feeling some doubts, especially when he notices that, like Jazz, he also knows very little about Lisa, culminating in him asking if Lisa is her real first name, upon which she reveals it's actually Beulah. Will manages to overcome these doubts but Lisa reveals that she is also having doubts and the two decide not to marry. She is never seen again. The night before the wedding, a rivalry flared up between Will's mother and Lisa's father. In order to help them work out their differences before their wedding, Lisa and Will send them to a restaurant to get to know each other and work things out. However, the plan backfires when they get along too well and Will catches them in bed together. Ultimately the two end up getting married at the same ceremony, resulting in Will and Lisa becoming step-siblings.

text: Guest stars[edit]

text: Judge Carl Robertson[edit]

text: Judge Carl Robertson was played by Sherman Hemsley. This man was a cunning lawyer and a one-time mentor to Phil. Judge Robertson visits a few times during the show and is known for being odd and mischievous. He also appears to have become greatly absent-minded but makes up for this with his boundless charisma. Philip begins to question the competence of his mentor and runs against him in the race for Superior Court judge and loses, largely due to Robertson's outrageous smear campaign against Phil. However, at the victory party where he is confronted by Will, Judge Robertson suffers a fatal heart attack, although it appeared that he suddenly died at the "voice" of Will who inadvertently told him to drop dead. The incident leaves Will guilt-ridden but at the funeral it's shown that quite a few people who knew the judge are quite happy to see him gone. They revealed that he was quite promiscuous and corrupt, for he wrongly convicted innocent people that he prosecuted and most of them attended just to make sure he was dead, actually applauding Will for his act. The Governor then appoints Phillip to take Judge Robertson's seat. Though Robertson dies in the third season, Hemsley played his other character George Jefferson from The Jeffersons in the series later. Hemsley as Jefferson appeared in the Season five episode "Will is from Mars", where he is with his wife (Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson) at counseling with Will and Lisa. George Jefferson also appears in "I Done, Part 2", having bought the Banks' mansion.

text: Hattie Banks[edit]

text: Nicknames by Will: "Granny" or "DJ Granny"

text: Hattie Banks, played by Virginia Capers, is Philip's mother, having appeared in six episodes over the series' run. She forms a close affinity with Will (to the point where he sees her as his own grandmother) and even falls for some of his pranks, much to Philip's irritation. She embarrasses Philip by telling stories of his humble origins and refers to him by his childhood name "Zeke."

text: Joe Banks[edit]

text: Nickname by Will: "Grandpa"

text: Joseph "Joe" Banks, played by Gilbert Lewis, was Philip's father, having appeared in only one episode, "Not With My Pig, You Don't". His death sometime later (offscreen) left Phillip and Hattie feeling lost.

text: Lou Smith[edit]

text: Lou Smith (played by Ben Vereen) was a one-time character, appearing only in the episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse." He is Will's father, and a trucker. Lou abandoned his family (Will and Viola "Vy" Smith) when Will was 3 years-old, and explains his motives for leaving by saying he wasn't ready for fatherhood, that he "started feeling trapped" and that he was scared.

text: Lou drops in unannounced at the Peacock café where Will and Carlton work. Will invites Lou to the Banks' residence but when he arrives, the family gives him the cold shoulder, especially Philip, who goes as far as to even skip dinner, shocking Geoffery (with the exception of Carlton and Hilary, who are excited to see their long lost Uncle and Ashley who's meeting him for the first time since her infancy). Will and his father go to a carnival where Lou explains to him his motives for leaving and asks for Will's forgiveness, telling Will he's a changed man and is ready to make up for his "selfish and cowardly" mistake to him. Will agrees, and calls him "Dad" for the first time after playing basketball. When they return to the house, Lou announces that Will is joining him for the summer on a nationwide trip in Lou's truck. Philip objects to this. Lou tries to convince Philip, but Philip subtly disses Lou by telling him to stay out of their "family discussion." After Lou leaves the mansion to go to the pool house, Will and Philip get into a heated argument; Will calls out Philip for dissing Lou, causing Philip to finally blow up; he knows that Lou has not had a change of heart, noticing his behavior shows no sign of guilt or acknowledgment of his past actions. Will believes not everybody is perfect and asks why he won't give him a chance; Philip responds that he's not seeing Will for his sake, but for his own selfish intentions. Vivian tries to ease the conflict, but Will officially announces he's going on the trip anyway. Philip once again objects, but Will hollers he doesn't care, as he isn't his biological father. Shocked and hurt by Will's words, Philip begins wondering if he's a good father. The next day, Philip is still contemplating, believing that with Lou back in Will's life, Will no longer appreciates what Philip has done for him over the years. Expressing his concerns to Vivian, he eventually goes on to accuse Will of being selfish for wanting to be with Lou again, despite playing a larger role in his life. Vivian turns it around on Philip as he was the selfish one by not letting Will reconnect with Lou. As Will packs up, the two of them make amends; Will appreciates everything Philip had done for him over the years, but he still needs this trip. Although Philip meant what he said, he admits to stepping out of line, and wishes him the best. As Philip leaves, Will reminds him that he's only going to be gone for the summer.

text: After a while, Vivian and Philip are still waiting for Lou to return, being an hour late. Philip begins to suspect him running off again. Although Lou eventually shows up, he tells them he has found a "big" new job in Maine that can't afford enough space in his truck for Will. Philip then offers to buy a plane ticket to fly Will to Maine to meet up with him and continue their trip from there, but Lou refuses the offer, saying this Maine job might lead to more job opportunities for him. Vivian expresses concern for Will's reaction, which Lou requests that they tell for him instead. Finally provoked, Philip requests Vivian to leave the room, but not before she tells Lou to stay out of Will's life if he leaves again. An irate Philip bluntly reminds him of his responsibility to Will; that Will isn't some come-and-go object that he can use whenever he feels and that Lou is supposed to be there for Will, not the other way around. Lou reacts defensively; that he didn't want this job opportunity to happen and uses his same excuse on Philip as to why he left Will to begin with. However, Philip tells him to stop because fatherhood scared him too but he never let that cause him to leave his family and explains that being there for his family is what a man does. However, an annoyed Lou still refuses to listen, admitting Philip to being a better man than himself. Will then walks in before Lou can duck out again. Lou tells Will that he can't take him along because of his job. He promises that the trip is only going to be "put on hold for just a couple weeks" and promises to "call him next week to iron out the details". Knowing he's just trying to weasel out easy and is never going to do any of those things, Will realizes that Philip was right. When Lou says goodbye to Will, Will closes the bridge by addressing him as "Lou" instead of "Dad." In a state of awkwardness, Lou leaves. Will is in denial about any feelings of hurt and betrayal, claiming he doesn't need him. He starts by talking about he's managed to go through life without him but then starts turning into angry rants about how he's going to successfully finish life without him, before breaking down in tears, asking Philip why Lou doesn't want to be there for him. Having seen his father abandon him a second time, Will finally realizes that Philip is the closest thing to a father that he has.

text: Although Lou never reappeared after this, Will was so hurt by the incident that he developed a deep resentment towards his father whenever he was mentioned. It is unknown if Lou ever reappeared after this, but if he did, he was most likely angrily thrown out by the Banks for his previous actions. In a later episode, during a heated argument with Carlton, Carlton insulted Will by comparing him to his father. Shaking with anger, he calmly but clearly stated, "I am nothing like my father." In an earlier episode before Lou's appearance, when Phil suffers a heart attack and Carlton is in denial, Will confronts Carlton to go visit Phil in the hospital. Will wins the argument using reverse psychology by reminding Carlton he has a father who is always there for his children when Will asks Carlton "Do you know where my father is"? When Carlton answers in the negative, Will rebuts "Neither do I". In the finale episode, Will states that Uncle Phil is the only father he ever had and Philip says, "You are my son, end of story."

text: Other guest stars[edit]

text:
Mark Burch
Antonio Fargas
Michael Clarke Duncan
Marc Thompson
John Amos
Vivica A. Fox
Cree Summer
Phil LaMarr
Bernie Kopell
Pat Morita
Kadeem Hardison
Queen Latifah*
Jasmine Guy
Glenn Shadix
Richard Roundtree*
Bo Jackson
Doctor Dré
Quincy Jones
Heavy D
Whoopi Goldberg
Tony Longo
Chris Rock
D.L. Hughley
Sherrié Austin
John Witherspoon
Don Cheadle
Vanessa Williams
Malcolm-Jamal Warner*
Milton Berle
Evander Holyfield
Tom Lister, Jr.
Nancy Cartwright
Miguel A. Núñez, Jr.
Brandon Quintin Adams*
Darryl Sivad*
Robert Costanzo
Jaleel White
Garcelle Beauvais*
Jim Meskimen*
Nicole Bilderback
Morgan Nagler
Tom Devanney
Conrad Bain
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Adrienne-Joi Johnson
Daryl "Chill" Mitchell
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bell Biv DeVoe
Boyz II Men
Ben Vereen
Don Yesso
Kim Fields
Tyra Banks
Raven-Symoné
Zachery Ty Bryan
Robin Givens
Brad Garrett
Isiah Thomas
Olivia Brown
Nia Long
Jenifer Lewis
Donald Trump
Dick Clark
Susan Powter
Regis Philbin
Robert Guillaume
Sherman Hemsley
Isabel Sanford
Marla Gibbs
Tevin Campbell
Victoria Rowell
Oprah Winfrey
Branford Marsalis
Bree Walker
Reno Wilson
Hill Harper
Pam Grier
Tempestt Bledsoe
Phil Morris
Monica Allison
Craig Kirkwood
Tatiana Thumbtzen
Leeza Gibbons
Lark Voorhies
Riddick Bowe
Isaac Hayes
William Shatner
Anna Maria Horsford
Tom Jones
Joan Van Ark
B.B. King
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Genesis P-Orridge
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Hugh Hefner
Naomi Campbell
Wayne Newton
Bob Eubanks
Jay Leno
Stacey Dash
Al B. Sure!
Gary Coleman
Tim Russ
Allen Payne
Kathy Griffin
Robert Hooks
Milo Ventimiglia
Dante Basco
Karen Malina White
Elise Neal
Don Cornelius
Keith Hamilton Cobb
Leann Hunley
Arthel Neville
Ajai Sanders
Tamala Jones
Kathie Lee Gifford
Stephen Lang (Uncredited)
Naya Rivera
Michole Briana White
Bumper Robinson


document_title: Coming to America

question_text: who played the white guy in the barbershop in coming to america

text: Coming to America

text: Plot

text: In the fictional African nation of Zamunda, crown prince Akeem lives a pampered life, but he wishes to do more for himself. When his parents, King Jaffe and Queen Aeoleon, present him with an arranged bride-to-be, Akeem takes action. Seeking an independent woman who loves him for himself, not his social status, Akeem and his best friend/personal aide, Semmi, travel to the New York City borough of Queens and rent a squalid tenement in the neighborhood of Long Island City under the guise of poor foreign students. Beginning their search for Akeem's bride, they end up invited by some locals to a rally that is raising money for the inner city. During the rally, Akeem encounters Lisa McDowell, who possesses all the qualities he is looking for, and upon his insistence he and Semmi get entry-level jobs working at the local fast food restaurant called McDowell's — an obvious ripoff of McDonald's — owned by widower Cleo McDowell, Lisa's father.

text: Akeem's attempts to win Lisa's love are complicated by Lisa's lazy and obnoxious boyfriend, Darryl Jenks (Eriq La Salle), whose father owns Soul Glo (a Jheri curl–like hairstyling aid). After Darryl announces their engagement — without Lisa's consent — to their families, she starts dating Akeem, who claims that he comes from a family of poor goat herders. Meanwhile, although Akeem thrives on hard work and learning how commoners live, Semmi is not comfortable with living in such meager conditions. After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a jacuzzi and other luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to two homeless men. Semmi wires a telegraph to King Jaffe for more money, prompting Akeem's parents to travel to Queens and expose his identity as a prince.

text: Mr. McDowell, initially disapproving of Akeem as he did not want to see his daughter with a poor man, is ecstatic that he is actually an extremely wealthy prince. Lisa, however, becomes angry and confused that Akeem lied to her about his identity. Akeem explains that he wanted her to love him for who, not what he is, even offering to renounce his throne; but Lisa, still hurt and angry, refuses to marry him. Despondent, Akeem resigns himself to the arranged marriage, but as they leave, King Jaffe is reprimanded by Queen Aeoleon for clinging to out-dated traditions instead of thinking of his son's happiness.

text: At the wedding procession, a still-heartbroken Akeem waits at the altar as his veiled bride-to-be makes her way down the aisle, but when Akeem lifts the veil to kiss her, he finds Lisa in the wedding gown. Following the ceremony, they ride happily in a carriage to the cheers of Zamundans. Witnessing such splendor, Lisa is both surprised and touched by the fact that Akeem would have given it up just for her. Akeem offers again to abdicate if she doesn't want this life, but Lisa playfully declines.

text: Cast

text:
Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem Joffer, the prince of Zamunda; Randy Watson, a soul singer with the fictional band Sexual Chocolate.[3] Eddie Murphy also plays Saul, the Jewish barbershop customer, as well as Clarence, the owner of the barber shop.[4][5]
Arsenio Hall as Semmi, Akeem's friend; Reverend Brown;[6] Morris the barber; and an unattractive clubgoer.[7][8]
James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, Akeem's father and King of Zamunda.[9]
John Amos as Cleo McDowell, Akeem's employer and Lisa's father.
Madge Sinclair as Queen Aeoleon, Akeem's mother and the Queen of Zamunda.
Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell, Cleo's oldest daughter and Akeem's love interest.
Paul Bates as Oha, a royal servant.
Eriq La Salle as Darryl Jenks, Lisa's boyfriend whom she eventually breaks up with.

text: The cast also includes: Frankie Faison[10] as Mr. Townsend, Akeem and Semmi's landlord in Queens; Vanessa Bell as Imani Izzi, Akeem's arranged wife, and Calvin Lockhart as Colonel Izzi, her father; Louie Anderson as Maurice, a McDowell's employee; Allison Dean as Patrice McDowell, Cleo's youngest daughter and Lisa's sister; Samuel L. Jackson as a robber; Vondie Curtis-Hall as the Basketball game vendor; Garcelle Beauvais as a rose bearer; Victoria Dillard as one of Akeem's Zamundan attendants, and Clint Smith as Sweets. Cuba Gooding Jr. made his film debut as a barber shop customer (he was credited as Boy Getting Haircut). Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy reprise their roles as, respectively, Mortimer and Randolph Duke from Landis' 1983 Murphy-starring comedy film Trading Places.[11] A segment of the Trading Places score can be heard during their scene. The Dukes' limo driver from that film also cameos as the driver of Akeem and Semmi's limo.[citation needed]

text: Coming to America features Murphy and Hall in several different roles, which, following the success of this film, became a Murphy staple.[12] Hall plays Reverend Brown, who introduces Randy Watson (Murphy).[13] Murphy and Hall play elderly barbers Clarence and Morris respectively, who engage in debate with Saul, the old Jewish man (Murphy). Hall also plays a woman (credited as Extremely Ugly Girl) who flirts with Akeem and Semmi.

text: Production

text: Coming to America reunited star Eddie Murphy with director John Landis. The two had previously worked together on the comedy hit Trading Places (1983); however, Landis later recalled the differences in working with Murphy on the two movies: "The guy on Trading Places was young and full of energy and curious and funny and fresh and great. The guy on Coming to America was the pig of the world... But I still think he's wonderful in the movie."[14]

text: "We had a tussling confrontation… We didn't come to blows. Personalities didn't mesh. I grabbed him, and he thought I was playing. So he tried to grab my balls and I pushed him away. But I wasn't kidding. He was doing some silly shit that made me mad. He directed me in Trading Places when I was just starting out as a kid, but he was still treating me like a kid five years later during Coming to America. And I hired him to direct the movie! I was gonna direct Coming to America myself, but I knew that Landis had just done three fucked-up pictures in a row and that his career was hanging by a thread after the Twilight Zone trial. I figured the guy was nice to me when I did Trading Places, so I'd give him a shot… I was going out of my way to help this guy, and he fucked me over. Now he's got a hit picture on his resumé, a movie that made over $200 million, as opposed to him coming off a couple of fucked-up movies – which is where I'd rather see him be right now (laughs)." – Eddie Murphy[15]

text: Despite the experience, Landis and Murphy collaborated again six years later on Beverly Hills Cop III.

text: South African chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings Mbube during the opening sequence (the song also known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight). The group has gone on to record several different versions of Mbube; however, the version heard in Coming to America had not been released on its soundtrack or on CD as of 2006.

text: Landis' calling card/easter egg, "See You Next Wednesday", appears on a science-fiction movie poster in the subway station after Lisa storms off the train.

text: A promotional song for the film, also titled "Coming to America", was written and performed by The System.

text: Release

text: Paramount cancelled press screenings of the film, after initial negative reactions to a press screening in New York.[16]

text: Box office

text: Released on June 29, 1988, by Paramount Pictures in the United States, it was a commercial box-office success, both domestically and worldwide.[17][18] The film debuted at number one with $21,404,420 from 2,064 screens, for a five-day total of $28,409,497. The film made $128,152,301 in the United States and ended up with a worldwide total of $288,752,301.[19] It was the highest earning film that year for the studio and the third-highest-grossing film at the United States box office.[20]

text: It opened a month later in the UK and earned $7,712,622 during its seven-week run. It opened on September 2 in West Germany, where it debuted at number one with $3,715,791 from 297 screens. It ended its run after 13 weeks with $15,743,447.

text: Reception

text: Coming To America received positive reviews upon release. Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 68%, based on reviews from 37 critics.[21]

text: Sheila Benson in the Los Angeles Times called it a "hollow and wearying Eddie Murphy fairy tale" and bemoans, "That an Eddie Murphy movie would come to this."[22] Vincent Canby in The New York Times was also critical of the writing, calling it a "possibly funny idea" but suggesting the screenplay had escaped before it was ready. Canby viewed the film as essentially a romantic comedy but said the romantic elements fell flat, and the film instead goes for broad slapstick.[23] Siskel & Ebert had mixed opinions on the film. Siskel enjoyed the acting from Murphy and Hall but Ebert was disappointed that Murphy did not bring his usual more lively performance, and Ebert was also critical of the unoriginal script.[24]

text: Awards

text: The film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis and Best Makeup by Rick Baker,[25] who designed the makeup effects for both Murphy's and Arsenio Hall's multiple supporting characters.[26]

text: Lawsuit

text: The film was the subject of the Buchwald v. Paramount civil suit, which the humorist Art Buchwald filed in 1990 against the film's producers on the grounds that the film's idea was stolen from his 1982 script treatment about a rich, despotic African potentate who comes to America for a state visit. Paramount had optioned the treatment from Buchwald, and John Landis was attached as director and Eddie Murphy as the lead, but after two years of development hell Paramount abandoned the project in March 1985. In 1987, Paramount began working on Coming to America based on a story by Eddie Murphy.[27][28] Buchwald won the breach of contract action and the court ordered monetary damages. The parties later settled the case out-of-court prior to an appeal going to trial.[29]

text: Soundtrack

text:
Coming to America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by Various artists

Released
July 1988

Genre
Pop

Length
40:16

Label
Atco Records

Singles from Coming to America

"Coming to America"
"Come into My Life"
"That's the Way It Is"
"Better Late Than Never"

text: The soundtrack to the film was released on LP, cassette and CD. The songs "Coming to America" by The System, "Better Late Than Never" by The Cover Girls and "Come into My Life" by Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito were released as singles from the album. "That's The Way It Is" by Mel & Kim had been released as a single in the UK, prior to the film's release, in February 1988, and became a top ten hit. It was released as a single in the USA at the time of the film's release.

text:
"Coming to America" — The System (3:49)
"Better Late Than Never" — The Cover Girls (4:02)
"All Dressed Up (Ready to Hit the Town)" — Chico DeBarge (4:50)
"I Like It Like That" — Michael Rodgers (4:01)
"That's the Way It Is" — Mel and Kim (3:25)

tag: ol

text:
"Addicted to You" — LeVert (3:54)
"Comin' Correct" — J.J. Fad (3:56)
"Livin' the Good Life" — Sister Sledge (3:46)
"Transparent" — Nona Hendryx (3:50)
"Come into My Life" — Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito (4:39)

text: Legacy

text: Television pilot

text: A television pilot of a weekly sitcom version of the film was produced for CBS, following the film's success, starring Tommy Davidson as Prince Tariq, and Paul Bates reprising his role as Oha. The pilot went unsold, but was televised on July 4, 1989 as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse pilot anthology series.[30][2]

text: Movie remakes

text: A Tamil movie, My Dear Marthandan, was produced based on the plot of Coming to America. A Hong Kong movie, The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon, also has the same plot.

text: Influences in music

text: The melody heard in the bathroom scene, where Prince Akeem is being washed by female servants, was sampled in Snoop Dogg's 2006 song "That's That" featuring R. Kelly; a remix of the song featuring rapper Nas includes a woman's voice saying "the royal penis is clean your highness", a line taken from the same scene. Also, the music videos for Busta Rhymes' 1997 single "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and Action Bronson's 2015 single "Baby Blue" are loosely based on the film. The song "Coming 2 America" by Ludacris from the album Word of Mouf features samples[31] and lyrics[32] referencing the film.

text: Planned sequel

text: In early 2017, an announcement was publicized which addressed the impending production of a sequel to the film. Kevin Misher was named as producer, and Sheffield and Blaustein, the original screenwriters, were also attached to the project. However, a possible participation of lead actors Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall was left undefined.[33][34] According to several public accounts, Murphy himself apparently posted an announcement regarding the film project a month prior on Facebook, but later claimed that his account had been hacked and completely deleted it.[33]