Actress, Daphne Maxwell Reid was a guest on SiriusXM Urban View’s “The Karen Hunter Show” and spoke with host Karen Hunter and co-host Lamont King about the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reunion special which debuts today via HBO Max.
During Maxwell Reid’s interview, she noted that she’s never met the original Aunt Vivian Banks, who was played by Janet Hubert. Maxwell-Reid also notes that we can expect to see some love, some laughter, some crying.
“Janet is one of the surprise guests,” she noted.
Additionally, Maxwell Reid calls the late, James Avery, who played the role of Uncle Phillip Banks a ‘big teddy bear.’
“He loved jazz and he was a collector of black memorabilia,” she said.
“And he was a consummate Shakespearian actor. He was the epitome of what black men strive to be in the acting world. He was so talented and so warm and loving and fun. And we used to dance down the hall before every show. He was a great dancer. We danced all the time.”
See the rest of the transcript below:
Host, Karen Hunter: So, November 19th, 30 years. And the original Aunt Viv, and you, are both going to be there, right? I read that.
Daphne Maxwell Reid: I just saw a clip today. So according to the clip. Yeah, she shows up.
Host, Karen Hunter: How is that? What should we expect? Should we expect something good?
Co-host, Lamont King: You said you never met her?
Daphne Maxwell Reid: I had never met her before so, you can expect to see some love, some laughter, some crying. And Janet is one of the surprise guests.
Host, Karen Hunter:Tell me something we don’t know about James Avery, Uncle Phil, because he was everybody’s uncle and I’ve talked to many people and they said he was the dad that they never had. He was that person that held a standard.
Daphne Maxwell Reid: And he never had children of his own. He had stepchildren, but he never had children of his own, but he was a big huggy teddy bear. He loved jazz and he was a collector of black memorabilia and he was a consummate Shakespearian actor. He was the epitome of what black men strive to be in the acting world. He was so talented and so warm and loving and fun. And we used to dance down the hall before every show. He was a great dancer..We danced all the time.