The first few hours of 2014 have already brought a tragic celebrity death: James Avery, best known for his role as Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has passed away at the age of 65. 

Though Twitter likes to "kill" celebrities with fake death reports all the time, the news was confirmed to be real when Alfonso Ribiero, Avery's co-star on Fresh Prince who played Carlton Banks, tweeted the following: "I'm deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly." Twitter then went ablaze with rememberances and "RIP" tweets. Avery's death is, unfortunately, the first celebrity death of 2014.

According to The New York Daily News, the 65-year-old actor reportedly recently underwent open heart surgery, and died from complications from the procedure on Dec. 31.  Avery's wife, Barbara, was by his side before leaving for a brief moment to get food. Upon her return he was dead.

This is the second Fresh Prince death in as many weeks. In late December, the show's producer Jeff Pollack was found dead in the jogging area of Hermosa Beach, Calif. He was discovered by a passerby who contacted police, and appeared to have been mid-run when he collapsed. Pollack was 54.

According to CNN, Avery was not just a sitcom actor. A classically trained actor and poet, Avery grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he was raised by a single mother. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and first appeared onscreen as a dancer in an uncredited role in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. After he served in the military, Avery moved to San Diego, California, where he began writing TV scripts and poetry for PBS. Avery also appeared in multiple TV shows and movies including as the voice of Shredder in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.