Philip Banks, also known as Uncle Phil and "Zeke" by his parents is a very quick tempered character throughout the whole show. Phillip often tends to lose his temper due to Will and Carlton's habit of annoying him and Hillary's stupidity and immaturity. Vivian is usually the only person that can calm Phillip when he loses his cool. Phillip is a very strict father, but a good father, and husband. Even though Phillip tends to lose his temper fairly quickly, he means well deep down, and he loves and cares deeply about his profession and family. Phillip also loves food and had a pet pig when he was a child. According to Hattie Banks, Phillip's childhood is filled with embarrassing stories. Phillip is very protective over his mother and his father is deceased. He is currently a judge and was a lawyer. He can be very cheap, but he does let it slide when he lets his daughter Hilary shops, even though it bothers and annoys him. Phillip is very obese, weighting around 300 pounds. His weight sometimes poses as a threat: For example, Phillip sat on his bed and the pressure of his weight caused the entire bed to come down on Will, Carlton and Hillary, Pinning them down to the point of no escape. He also accidentally sat on a rabbit, killing it and he sat on his nephew Will, although that was a punishment. While it's rarely shown aside from important moments, Phillip has had a history with the Civil Rights movement. In the Pilot episode, when Will calls him soft, Phillip calls him out on having Malcolm X posters when the latter saw and heard the man himself speak, A notion that seemed to surprise and impress Will. When a fellow activist calls him a sellout for working with the system, he tears into her verbally that while he no longer fights in the street anymore, those times were never forgotten and that he faced dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, as well as watching Harlem go up in flames. He instead during his time as a lawyer used his position to fight and win for fair housing, affirmative action and better health care.
Education:
Phillip was accepted by Yale University, Harvard University, Stanford University, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, along with Talladega Tech. Phillip pursued his education at Princeton University. Phillip had no reason to why he didn't want to go to the other universities. We learn that Phillip went to Princeton University when he passes on his extremely large Princeton sweatshirt as gift to Carlton for getting accepted to Princeton. After he graduated from Princeton, he went to Harvard Law School and graduated. We also learn that in season 2 episode 2 The Mother of All Battles Phillip mentions the universities he got accepted to and that he also got accepted to Princeton. Phillip is currently a judge and was a former lawyer.
Biography
Philip Banks was born on January 30, 1945 in North Carolina. Philip was raised on a farm in Yamacraw, North Carolina, where he was referred to by his parents, Hattie and Joe Banks, as "Zeke". At age 16 he moved to Baltimore.
In the 1960s, he became an activist for the civil rights movement. He was present at the riots in Selma in 1965 and Watts Riots, and, in the pilot episode, he also mentions he heard Malcolm X speak, and that he had read every word that he wrote. In 1963, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Princeton University, after which he went to Harvard Law School. In 1975, Philip was put on the board of the NAACP and was later awarded the Urban Spirit Award for his work in promoting civil rights. He is a conservative but runs as a Democrat against his old mentor Carl Robertson in the elections. At first glance, Will had come to Bel Air with an attitude that because he came from West Philadelphia that he was hardened against anything and was dismissive of Phil and his family as too soft, until he is sternly rebuked by Phil, who reveals his past in seeing the turmoil that happened before Will was born and that it has been his hard work that has earned him a manor in Bel-Air. Philip was also shown to have admired Ronald Reagan, namely because during the series run Reagan had retired from the presidency and moved into the same neighborhood as Philip's. Reagan was said to have declined party invitations until he appears at a traditional Christmas party of the Banks; ironically shown to be a friend of Hilary's.
At the beginning of the series, Philip is a senior partner with the firm of Firth, Wynn and Meyer (which Will humorously compares to Earth, Wind & Fire in the pilot episode). In the third season, he is appointed to the judiciary; he becomes a judge after his ex-mentor, Judge Carl Robertson, who beat Philip by a landslide in the elections, dies suddenly, and the governor appoints Philip to the position. Philip later considers making a deeper foray into politics, but decides against it when his wife disapproves. In the episode "To Thine Own Self Be Blue...And Gold," it is revealed that Phil is a member of the fictional fraternity Pi Nu. After meeting and dating his future wife Vivian, he proposed to her while on live television during an episode of Soul Train. He claims to have been a lifelong fan of classical music in the episode "Bang the Drum, Ashley", though Vivian rebuffs that "When we met, you were into James Brown!", which Philip rebuts by stating it is possible to like both classical music and James Brown.
Philip is a somewhat strict and gruff, but he does have a softer side, as he is a loving and caring family man, as well as being an upstanding citizen. Nonetheless, his anger can get him into trouble at times, especially when he feels his image is being besmirched. Additionally, Philip can be financially greedy; he pays his butler Geoffrey a salary so low that Geoffrey quits after Philip gives him a mediocre additional annual raise, and only returns when Philip apologizes for taking him for granted and agrees to increase his salary, benefits and to hire more help during formal functions. In the series finale, when Geoffrey retires, Phil rewards him with both a large cash bonus and an expensive first class plane ticket to London, England. Similarly, while he always spoils Hilary, Philip refuses to increase the allowances of his children, although in later seasons he begins to tire of spending his hard-earned money on spoiling Hilary and becomes more gruff with Hilary to pay her own way in the world. A recurring gag is about Philip's children being afraid of his punishments because, while his anger is understandable, he can be incredibly sadistic and sociopathic in his punishments. For example, in season three's "The Best Laid Plans", in which Will tries to trick a girl he is dating (who does not believe in premarital sex) into marrying him in order to go all the way with her, Philip became severely disappointed and upset, and promises to impose the cruelest punishment that he could find (which he manages to do three years after the incident, when he read about medieval tortures and with a malicious smile in his face).
Despite being a miser, Philip is a very caring and loving husband and father. He makes sure that he does what is best for all his children, including Will. Despite being related to Will only by marriage (and though he sometimes grumbles about Will being a goof-off), he very much cares for him as his own son. Throughout the series, Philip has been there for his children in their time of need, which rubs off on his nephew as Will comes to see Philip as a genuine father-figure (as opposed to his true father, who left him and his mother when Will was a young child). When Will is eager to bond with his biological father Lou after he suddenly re-enters Will's life, Philip warns Will to be wary of Lou and comforts him when Lou is unable to rekindle their relationship.
Philip goes out of his way to make sure all of his children, including Will, make something of themselves. He also fights fiercely to protect his family: When Will and Carlton are arrested for "stealing a car" as they are driving it for his law firm partner, Philip threatens to tie the police station up in "so much litigation that [their] grandchildren are going to need lawyers". He is overprotective of Ashley and has trouble with her growing up into a young woman. A common occasion for humor on the show is Philip's portly shape and big appetite. Will commonly makes cracks about his girth, as do Geoffrey, Jazz and Vivian, and at times, even Carlton (though he is usually skittish and quick to apologize). Unfortunately, Philip's appetite has given him trouble and even caused him to suffer a heart attack in season four's "Home is Where the Heart Attack Is". Philip also reveals himself to be an amazingly adept pool player in the episode "Banks Shot", showing his skill by out-hustling the pool shark who hustled Will at the pool hall. He has a personal cue stick, that he has named "Lucille".
In the episode "Lucky Charm," it is said by Vivian that Philip's birthday is in January. But this causes a continuity error because in part one of the two-part series finale, Philip's birthday is celebrated, but the finale takes place in late May.
Notes
- Phillip Banks' relationship with Will is similar to Carl and Eddie Winslow. But sometimes their relationship is also similar to Carl and Steve Urkel.
- Phillip Banks is similar to Cliff Huxtable on the cosby show and Carl Winslow on Family Matters.
- Phillip and Carlton have a good relationship.
- Phillip is a conservative Republican, just like his son Carlton Banks, although he ran as a Democrat when he ran against Carl Robertson.
- He is fan of President Ronald Reagan and a neighbor of his. Reagan went to his house once during christmas.
- Phillip also hates his mother-in-law and was glad she was dead, which he confesses to Will.
- In Not with My Pig, You Don't, it is revealed that Phillip was raised in North Carolina, was nicknamed Zeke, had a pig named Melvin and was the first black president of the Young Farmers.
- This same episode also reveals that Phillip stood his ground after having to pee really bad in a whites only bathroom during segregation. Though Phillip admits that he wasn't doing it to prove a point, Will acknowledges its similarity to Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on the front of the bus to a white passenger because her feet hurt.