Carlton Smith Popular Books

Carlton Smith Biography & Facts

Carlton Banks is a fictional character portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro on the NBC television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from September 1990 to May 1996, the preppy and politically conservative cousin, main foil, and eventual close friend to Will Smith's cool and street-smart lead character. The character has been praised for portraying a complex and sympathetic foil with an arc of personal growth over the course of the show. The character is also known for a dance with humorously exaggerated movements developed for the character by Ribeiro, which came to be known as "The Carlton". Ribeiro also crossed over his role as Carlton into the In the House episode "Dog Catchers" before returning the following season as series regular Dr. Maxwell Stanton for the remainder of that series' run. Development and characteristics Carlton was "an affluent teenager attending private school in the ritzy Bel-Air sub-section of Los Angeles", who wore "button-down collared shirts and sweaters (often knotted around his neck)". He was "notoriously preppy", and a firmly conservative Republican. Writer Andy Borowitz described the character as an effort to portray "the anti-Will". The character was loosely based on the children of Fresh Prince executive producer Quincy Jones, and was named after Borowitz's classmate at Harvard University, Carlton Cuse. However, Carlton "had layers that prevented him from being a one-dimensional snob".In the 2020 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion, Smith noted that the show's comedy "was originally centered on the friction between Will and Uncle Phil... but it quickly become evident that the Will-Carlton dynamic would be the series' primary source of humor", and "the tension between Carlton and Will" therefore became "the tension at the heart of the show". Screenwriter Rob Edwards described how he sought to insure that Carlton would not be a "walking punch-line" like some sitcom antagonists, but would be a strong character, capable of effectively challenging the protagonist. Despite his faults, primarily arrogance, insecurity, and naïveté, Carlton is also shown as having a number of qualities that black viewers identified as positive even when they were held up to scorn—honesty, studiousness and dedication to education, and respect for his parents.In earlier seasons, Carlton made frequent references to virginity (which was by choice), and also planned to attend Princeton (Philip's alma mater). In later seasons, these arcs were both resolved: Carlton did indeed lose his virginity, but was not initially admitted to Princeton. He instead first attended the (fictional) University of Los Angeles, where he briefly managed ULA's student store, the Peacock. However, in the 6th and last season, he finally gained transfer admission to Princeton, and leaves for the East Coast in the series finale. He often proved both friend and foe for Will. Carlton's role model is talk show host Bryant Gumbel and his favorite musician (and guardian angel) is Tom Jones. His favorite actor is William Shatner, whom he annoys by making lame Star Trek jokes. He idolizes Macaulay Culkin because he starred in a highly successful movie that earned millions, and because he is "one heck of an actor!". In the episode "Hex and the Single Man", Carlton went trick-or-treating as Macaulay. In a later episode, it is revealed that Carlton has Santa Claus' fax number, which he has repeatedly used to request admission to Princeton. He is very similar to Family Ties character Alex P. Keaton in that he is a Republican, dresses in a preppy style, is obsessed with money, is short (Ribeiro is 5 ft 6.25in, or 168 cm), with his height a common butt of jokes by Will, and does not enjoy the popular music of most people his age. In some episodes, it is revealed that when he dances "other than the famous Carlton Dance" he dances very well. Ribeiro, who had previously been in the cast of the 1980s show Silver Spoons, auditioned wearing a track suit. Carlton was Ribeiro's breakout role, in which he "consistently stole scenes from Will Smith". Ribeiro said that Carlton was a character that he "had a blast playing for six years", but also noted that for many years thereafter, the role caused him to be "pigeon-holed as an actor based on that character".Carlton Banks is played by Jelani Talib in the 2019 short film Bel-Air, a reimagining of the original show as a modern drama. In September 2020, a two-season series based on the short film was picked up by the streaming service Peacock, with Will Smith as an executive producer commenting on his excitement to explore the characters in this format, specifically referencing "[t]he Carlton character, a Black young Republican, modern day? The heat that will be stirred up between these characters". Olly Sholotan was cast as Carlton in the actual reboot, described in one review as "not the same nerdy Alfonso Ribeiro with a token funny dance. He's almost cool—with toned biceps and a friend circle comprised of lacrosse players". Fictional character biography Original series Born August 4, 1974, Carlton is the son of Vivian and Philip Banks, and Will's pedantic maternal cousin. A quintessential preppy, like many of his social class, Carlton aspires to attend an Ivy League university; in earlier seasons, he states he aims to get into Yale University, but later fixes a determined focus on Princeton University, his father Philip's alma mater. Like his father Phillip, Carlton is a firmly conservative Republican and this often puts him at odds with Will. Although Carlton and Will often exchange insults, and Will normally refers to Carlton as a disgrace, Carlton obviously cares about Will, referring to him in the 2nd-season episode 'Vying for Attention' as "the brother I've always wanted". At first it appears there is an antagonistic relationship between Will and Carlton, but in later seasons Will significantly warms to Carlton, ultimately accepting Carlton and the other cousins as the siblings he never had. On one occasion in the season three episode "Just Say Yo", Carlton is considerate enough to cover for Will when he is admitted to the hospital after having taken speed tablets from inside Will's locker, but allows his parents to think that Will saved him. He attributes this to "still being high at the time" when asked by Will why he covered for him. This spurs Will to tearfully confess the truth to the family; although Carlton did ingest speed, Will bore responsibility as he had accepted the pills from a school friend, storing them in his locker, then absentmindedly said to Carlton he had a bottle of Vitamin E in his locker. Early on, Carlton is also seen to get extremely jealous almost anytime something great happens to Will. Examples would be when, in the Season One episode "Courting Disaster" Will joins the school basketball team with Carlton already on it. Will becomes the star of the team and Carlton becomes jealous and the competition between the two starts. Carlton decides .... Discover the Carlton Smith popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Carlton Smith books.

Best Seller Carlton Smith Books of 2024

  • Legends of the Buffalo Bills synopsis, comments

    Legends of the Buffalo Bills

    Randy Schultz

    Legends of the Buffalo Bills, first published in 2003, is not only a story about a National Football League team. It is also the story of the city it occupies and its fans. Origina...

  • Reckless synopsis, comments

    Reckless

    Carlton Smith

    New York Times bestselling author Carlton Smith, one of the awardwinning journalists who covered the Green River Killer case, examines the rise and fall of a musical legend whose s...

  • Footy Banners synopsis, comments

    Footy Banners

    Matthew Hagias

    Celebrating one of AFL's longeststanding and most iconic traditions Have you ever wondered what makes Australian Rules Football so unique? Sure, the rules are unmistakably differen...

  • The Carlton Smith True Crime Collection synopsis, comments

    The Carlton Smith True Crime Collection

    Carlton Smith

    Four chilling, true stories of murder from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and coauthor of New York Times bestseller, The Search for the Green River Killer.   As an investigative ...

  • The Fresh Prince Project synopsis, comments

    The Fresh Prince Project

    Chris Palmer

    This “oneofakind” (Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author) cultural history of the beloved nineties sitcom that launched Will Smith to superstardomThe Fresh Prince of Bel...

  • A Tangled Web synopsis, comments

    A Tangled Web

    Leslie Rule

    In the tradition of her acclaimed mother, Ann Rule, author of The Stranger Beside Me, bestselling author Leslie Rule exposes the trail of a sadistic sociopath, identity thief, and ...

  • Carlton Dale Smith v. State Florida synopsis, comments

    Carlton Dale Smith v. State Florida

    Supreme Court of Florida

    It appearing to the Court that the notice was not timely filed and further that it is without jurisdiction under Article V of the Florida Constitution, the Petition for Review is h...