Will Smith Shares Tribute To ‘Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’ Producer Quincy Jones: “A Mentor, A Father And A Friend”
“Day Damn One” Episode 114 — Pictured: (l-r) Quincy Jones (executive producer), Will Smith as William ‘Will’ Smith
Mike Ansell/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Will Smith shared a touching tribute to Quincy Jones after confirmation of the latter’s passing.
On social media, the 56-year-old spoke from the heart, writing out what the legendary founder of VIBE Magazine means to him on a personal level.
“Quincy Jones is the true definition of a Mentor, a Father and a Friend,” started the post. The image uploaded by Smith in the digital memorial is a black-and-white image of the two men on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, one of Jones’ many iconic productions. Beyond executive producing the series and bringing Smith on to star, he is also the taxi driver in the opening credits and made a guest appearance in season four.
“He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”
– Pictured: (l-r) Quincy Jones (executive producer), Will Smith as William ‘Will’ Smith —
Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank
In a 2021 Vanity Fair piece, Smith reflected on his unorthodox audition for the role during a party thrown by Jones at his Bel-Air mansion.
“It all felt surreal, a little head-spinny. I had flown by myself, which was uncommon and uncomfortable, and now, as traffic backed up on the 405, I had a moment to contemplate, Why the hell am I driving to Quincy Jones’s house?” he wrote.
After explaining himself as a Philadelphia native, the acclaimed actor remembered a loud Jones who “had clearly been tastin’ a little bit,” call over Brandon Tartikoff, then head of NBC, to “come [and] meet the Fresh Prince,” and announcing “We gon’ have a audition. Clear the furniture out the living room!”
Quincy Jones and Will Sith work as presenters during the International Jazz Day concert at the Alicia Alonso Theater in Havana on April 30, 2017.
YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images
Smith continued to explain how he did not realize the spotlight was on him.
“Reality took hold. Quincy Jones was asking me to do an impromptu audition in front of some of the biggest icons, present and past, in all of entertainment, not to mention the top brass at the National Broadcasting Company, home to The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, and Seinfeld. My knees buckled. Couches were being moved and someone handed me a script.”
Actor Joseph Marcell, actor James Avery, actor Alfonso Ribeiro, singer Tyler Collins, actor Kadeem Hardison, actor Will Smith, music/television producer Quincy Jones, singer Al B. Sure!, actress Tatyana Ali, actress Janet Hubert and actress Karyn Parsons break from filming “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” on October 20, 1990 at Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, California.
Getty Images/Ron Galella Archive
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed the 91-year-old died on Sunday (Nov. 3).
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” relayed the family. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
View Will Smith’s tribute below.
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