James LaRue Avery (November 27, 1945 - December 31, 2013) was an American actor, voice actor, and poet, who was best known for his voicing Shredder in the first six seasons of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and playing Philip Banks in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
On the Disney Afternoon, he voiced Haroud Hazi Bin in Aladdin and a shaman in Gargoyles.