The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
IsThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Airbased on the life of Will Smith ? Now pour onHBO Max , the democratic 1990s situation comedy set in motion its star ’s performing career , and create more diversity on web telly - and the genuine inspiration for the NBC series can be found in the iconic opening mention chronological succession .
WhenThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Airpremiered in 1990 , Smith had already unloosen three record album ( and one make headway Grammy Award ) as part of the hip - record hop groupDJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince . He was also just 21 years sometime upon make his TV debut , and ultimately proved himself on television camera over the course of six seasons before transforming into a moving-picture show star . tenner after , The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air ’s theme Sung remains well-timed and relevant , both musically and within culture as a whole . But whereas the lyrics mirror Smith ’s real - life story , the serial ' premise was inspired by someone from the east side of Los Angeles - not the west part of Philadelphia .
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The Fresh Prince of Bel - Airis base on the life of executive producer Benny Medina , who ’s well known as a former member of the group Apollo , and for later working instantly under music magnate Berry Gordy at Motown Records . By the recent 1980s , Medina was an accomplished musician and man of affairs before eld 30 , and his life story was incline as a idiot box series in collaboration with the late Jeff Pollack , who later directed the 1990s filmsAbove the Rim(starring Tupac Shakur),Booty Call(starring Jamie Foxx ) , andLost & Found(starring David Spade ) . at long last , NBC greenlitThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Air , a show about an black adolescent who leaves Philadelphia to live with his rich uncle in Bel - Air , CA . In actual liveliness , Medina moved from east Los Angeles to live with a wealthy champion and his family in Beverly Hills .
With the narrative foundation in stead , a few tweaks were made for dramatic aim . Smith joinedThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Aircastas a novelise version of himself : he ’s from west Philadelphia , and the case has the same name . Crucially , however , the tv set version ofWill is a teenagerwith a troubled past tense , whereas the real - life Will had been making polish off records as a teenager . In fact , DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince won the very firstGrammy Awardfor Best Rap Performance in 1989 . So , Smith was n’t quite plucked from obscureness when Medina and companionship prefer him as the series lead . In addition , Medina is gay andThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Air ’s Will is square .
The primary story inThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Airderives from another true story tailspin . In reality , Medina propel in with awhitefamily rather than a fatal family . For the sake of originality , and to broaden the series ' potential , the legion family was changed from white to Negroid . Incidentally , The Fresh Prince of Bel - Airaddressed deep issuing that much of mainstream America was n’t quite conversant with . Through a mixture of comedy and drama , Medina introduced new conversations about airstream and class in the United States , and offered a weapons platform to a variety of up - and - coming performing artist . Smith is now one of the most most successful American motion-picture show stars ever , and his former time of year 4 Colorado - whiz , Tyra Banks ( Jackie Ames ) , evolved into an diligence mogul ( under the guidance of her manager , Medina ) upon creating the groundbreaking seriesAmerica ’s Next Top Model .
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