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Informant
Uncle Phil from
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Was Shredder
Uncle Phil from
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, played by James Avery, was known for being a strict man, but only in a sitcom would a "strict man" put up with all the shenanigans caused by Will Smith's character (played by an annoying wannabe rapper called "Will Smith").
Any real person would have sent Will back to Philadelphia (and certain death) after like two weeks. In truth, Uncle Phil was a kind, patient and understanding man who came to represent the father figure Will never had.
But he was also ...
The same actor also voiced Shredder from the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
That's right, for over 100 episodes, the man best known for playing a dull, conservative judge/socialite also lent his voice to an Asian ninja master best known for living inside a giant mechanical eyeball and hanging out with a hideous man-hog and a disembodied brain. Also, for being a
huge jerk. If you grew up in the 90s, this is the closest thing to finding out your grandpa and that bully from school were actually the same person all along.
My favorites dungeons and dragons Dogtanian and the three muskehounds and battle of the planets
Loved dungeons and dragons
and battle of the planets was ok dont know what is muskehounds
Grandpa Huxtable Was a Thundercat
You know him best as ...
Between 1984 and 1992,
Earle Hyman played Bill Cosby's father in The Cosby Show, despite being only 11 years older than the star (the conception could have been a touching flashback episode, right?). Grandpa Russell "Slide" Huxtable was a trombone player, a proud graduate of Hillman College and a really bad buyer of sweaters.
But he was also ...
Panthro from the Thundercats. At the very same time he was playing Russell Huxtable, Earle Hyman was also moonlighting in animation as a humanoid warrior feline from outer space.
Panthro was the resident mechanic in the Thundercats and also the least clothed one after Snarf. We have no idea what it is with aging African-American male actors playing martial artists on cartoons in the 1980s, but this does raise an interesting question: Who would win in a nunchaku throwdown -- Uncle Phil or Grandpa Huxtable?
We will never be able to watch Panthro in action again without imagining Cosby's dad in the same situation:
Jerry Orbach Was the Candlestick from
Beauty and the Beast
You know him best as ...
Detective Lennie Briscoe was probably the most recognizable face of Law & Order, having starred in 11 seasons of the show, plus several guest spots in the interminable list of spin-offs. As Briscoe, Orbach played the classic detective with the obligatory alcohol addiction and the messed up dysfunctional family. Because of his alcoholism, his daughter grew up to be a meth addict and was murdered by a drug dealer. Of course, you could probably tell all that stuff just by looking at the permanent "Goddammit, son" expression on Orbach's face.
But he was also ...
Lumiere, the talking candlestick from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. They even look alike:
And yes, this means that was Detective Briscoe's singing voice in some of those musical numbers (sometimes as the lead singer), like the one where the whole dining room sings "Be Our Guest" to Belle
In fact, before he even starred in Law & Order, Orbach was already an accomplished Broadway actor. He won a Tony award for Promises, Promises and was nominated his role in the original production of Chicago.