The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Licensed postcard

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1990 to 1996. Starring Will Smith as a Philadelphia teenager sent to live with his relatives in Bel Air, the show dealt with the difficulties of a street-smart teenager adjusting to a more affluent lifestyle in a comical manner. Although not a critical success, the series was awarded a few honors, including multiple Image Awards.

Muppet Mentions

• In the second season episode, "Something for Nothing," Philip Banks tells his daughter, Ashley, that he would get her a stuffed Miss Piggy doll.
• In the sixth season episode, "Get a Job," Carlton dresses up Will in a bright yellow costume for a commercial for a chicken restaurant, and calls him Big Bird.

References

• On the first episode of Muppets Tonight, Gonzo looks over the new KMUP evening line-up. One of the shows on the schedule is Frog Prince of Belair.
• An image of Kermit as the "Frog Prince of Bel Air" appeared on a licensed Muppet postcard.
• The show's theme song was parodied in a 2018 Sesame Street web video, where Bert and Ernie tell the story of how they became roommates. (YouTube)
• The Muppet Babies episode "Animal and the Magic Mummy" includes a visually inspired rap sequence by the characters' band Muppet Rocksplosion.

Connections

• Tatyana Ali played Ashley Banks
• Hank Azaria played a bigot cop in "Mistaken Identity" (1990)
• Rosalind Cash played Mrs. Bassin in "Six Degrees of Graduation" (1993)
• Dick Clark appeared as himself in two episodes
• Kim Fields played Monique in "The Best Laid Plans" (1993), and appeared as herself
• Brad Garrett played John "Fingers" O'Neill in "Fresh Prince: The Movie" (1994)
• Tom Jones appeared as himself in "The Alma Matter" (1993)
• B. B. King played Pappy in "Bourgie Sings the Blues" (1995)
• Queen Latifah played Marissa Redman in "Working It Out" and Dee Dee in "She Ain't Heavy"
• Jay Leno appeared as himself in two episodes
• Joseph Marcell played Geoffrey
• Branford Marsalis played Duane, and appeared as himself
• Brian Stokes Mitchell played Trevor Collins-Newsworthy
• Pat Morita played Mr Yoshi in "Love Hurts" (1994)
• Karyn Parsons played Hilary Banks
• Regis Philbin appeared as himself in "I, Stank Hole in One" (1996)
• Alfonso Ribeiro played Carlton Banks
• Little Richard appeared as himself in "The Client" (1994)
• Chris Rock played Maurice/Jasmine in "Get a Job" (1995)
• William Shatner appeared as himself in "Eye, Tooth" (1996)
• Raven-Symoné played Claudia in "Vying for Attention" (1992)
• Jack Tate played Mitchell in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams" (1994)
• Ben Vereen played Lou Smith in "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" (1994)
• Malcolm-Jamal Warner played himself in "Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect: Part 2" and Eric Sanders in "Cased up"
• Vanessa Williams played Danny Mitchell in " A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Home from the Forum" (1992)
• Oprah Winfrey appeared as herself in "A Night at the Oprah" (1992)

External links

• IMDb