The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered on September 10, 1990, airing its legendary final episode on May 20, 1996. The series was a career-defining moment for newcomer Will Smith and also introduced us to the talents of Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali and more. To celebrate its 27th anniversary, here are 10 facts about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
1) Quincy Jones composed “Yo Home to Bel Air”, the show’s theme song.
2) Jada Pinkett auditioned for the role of Lisa (Will’s love interest played by Nia Long) but was denied due to her and Will’s height difference and lack of chemistry. They ended up becoming friends during the audition process and the rest is history.
3) Uncle Phil worked for the law firm Firth, Wynn, and Meyer, a play on Earth, Wind, and Fire.
4) Characters from The Fresh Prince appeared in crossover episodes on In The House, which was also executive produced by Winifred Hervey, David Salzman, and Quincy Jones.
5) Lil Nicky was named after Boyz II Men. The character’s full name was Nicholas Andrew Michael Shawn Nathan Wanya Banks. Nicky’s middle names were given to him after the group sang at his Christening.
6) NBC wanted to cancel The Fresh Prince after season 4. The show’s third, fourth and fifth season finales were written as potential farewells in case they did not return. Thankfully, the final episode did not air until the show’s sixth season.
7) Season 3 is the highest rated season of all 3.
8) The shot of Jazz being thrown out of the house was shot on location. It was shot about forty times but only one shot is used throughout the entire series (with the exception of a few episodes). To avoid continuity errors, producers made sure Jazz wore the same shirt on episodes where he was thrown out.
9) The actual house pictured at the beginning of the show isn’t located in Bel-Air, it’s in Brentwood.
10) Carlton’s signature dance was inspired by Courtney Cox in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video as well as Eddie Murphy’s “white man dance” from his Delirious comedy special.