James Avery (actor)

James LaRue Avery was an American actor. He played patriarch Philip Banks in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of BelAir . This character was rankedin TV Guide s 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time. He also provided the voice of Shredder in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series, as well as War Machine in the animated series Iron Man and Junkyard Dog in Hulk Hogans Rock n Wrestling . He also played Michael Kelsos commanding officer at the police academy late in the series run of That 70s Show .

Avery was born in 1945 in Pughsville, Hampton Roads, Virginia, and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He served in the Vietnam War as a member of the U.S. Navy from 19681969, after graduating high school. Later on, he moved to San Diego, California, where he began to write poetry and TV scripts.

Source: Wikipedia