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Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks)
Jul 2nd, 2008
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lfonso Ribeiro was a fixture as a child TV star in the 1980s and 1990s. His most famous role, as spoiled rich kid Carlton Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air brought him accolades and tons of laughs-- mostly AT him, not with him.
Not only did he serve as the butt of star Will Smith's jokes (which often targeted Ribeiro's diminutive height), but his physical mannerisms provided pure comedy of their own-- most notably the infamous "Carlton Dance." The Carlton Dance was a ridiculous yet oddly enchanting dance, usually to Tom Jones' "It's not Unusual". Since actions speak louder than words, check out this compilation. After you dry your tears, keep reading for more on Alfonso and his dancing skills...
Alfonso is actually an incredibly talented dancer, having started young-- even having a professional dance video he was hawking when he was eight. No, we're not making this up, check out the ad for Breaking and Poppin' (and don't miss the fold-out breakboard):
Alfonso even danced with Michael Jackson, and was rumored to have broken his neck during the commercial (!)-- obviously untrue but built up his legend nonetheless:
None of Alfonso's many on-screen efforts since have matched his success with Fresh Prince, but he will have a fond spot in most of our minds of a lovable, self-deprecating guy.
Alfonso will be hosting his first game show on Game Show Network's upcoming original Catch-21, priemering on July 21, 2008. In his personal life he is divorced with one child.
Bonus: The last Dance of Fresh Prince (Carlton and Will)
Credits:
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Ribeiro
Double Bonus for reading this far! The other leading ridiculous dance in TV history-- Elaine Benes' from Seinfeld...
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/television/The_Carlton_Banks_Dance';
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 | Posted Jul 3rd, 2008 at 12:07AM wow the michael jackson ad! brilliant! great laughs and dancing..thankyou. Rated: +1 Vote for this!  |
  | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 11:00AM Thank-you so much for this.....I also needed a laugh today!!! The videos and remembering Alfonso was fun. Thanks! Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 6:48PM Fabulous, I caught myself smiling thru the entire viewing, lolll, great..... Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 9:10PM pretty sweet man!! yeah...we short kids gotta stick togedda!!! Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 9:44PM OMG that is too funny!!! Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 9:54PM I had forgotten how funny that was. He is a good dancer, you can tell he really enjoys himself. I am always looking for a laugh. Thanks codependant on laughs Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 Feeling tired | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 9:54PM I used to watch prince from .... It was always so funny to watch it. Thanks Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 24th, 2008 at 11:04PM This was me and my oldest child's favorite show in the 80s. You can tell that he has rythym even while he's clowning around - he's also a very talented singer. That was fun, thanks! Bravo Alfonso! Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
 | Posted Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:06AM I may be mistaken (it's been known to happen), but I think I saw him, when he was young (Maybe 6 yrs. old, younger than his dance video) go step for step, tap for tap with Gregory Hines - who had just made the movie "Tap" with Sammy Davis, Jr. Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
| Posted Jul 25th, 2008 at 1:10AM PS. You have to be good to be able to pretend to be that bad! Love and Kisses. Rated: +1 Vote for this! |
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