By Valeria Garcia and Mark Duell for MailOnline Published: 23:05 EST, 4 November 2024 | Updated: 00:23 EST, 5 November 2024
Will Smith paid an emotional tribute to his ‘mentor’, music mogul Quincy Jones in the wake of his tragic passing at age 91.The 56-year-old singer — who rapped about being cloned in his latest song — took to Instagram to mourn his close friend who died surrounded by his family of an undisclosed cause on Sunday.On Monday, the actor shared a monochrome throwback photo of himself embracing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air producer while on the set of the hit 1990 sitcom. He penned in the caption: ‘Quincy Jones is the true definition of a Mentor, a Father and a Friend. He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself.’He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.’ Will Smith paid an emotional tribute to his ‘mentor’, music mogul Quincy Jones in the wake of his tragic passing at age 91; seen in 1990 He penned in the caption: ‘Quincy Jones is the true definition of a Mentor, a Father and a Friend. He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself’The duo had been close friends for over 35 years as Jones infamously set up Will’s audition for Fresh Prince back in 1989. Jones also portrayed the cab driver featured in the show’s opening theme and also guest starred in one episode of the NBC series. Smith’s emotional post was felt in the heart of his 70 million followers, racking up nearly 350K likes and hundreds of comments from grieving fans.One top comment read: ‘The vision Quincy Jones had to cast you to play The Fresh Prince doesn’t get talked about enough. He jumpstarted one of the biggest careers in Hollywood with that one move. RIP to the Legend.’Another chime in, writing, ‘Quincy gave so much to the culture.. he was the great Maestro for the sound track of our lives.. prayers to his family and friends.’Rapper Ludacris commented a crown and king emojis.The music titan — who collaborated with artists like Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles — was confirmed to be deceased by his publicist Arnold Robinson in the early hours of November 4. Jones leaves behind his family and actress-daughter Rashida Jones — who played Karen Filippelli in The Office. She said in a statement: ‘Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing.’And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.’ ‘He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly,’ the actor wrote; seen in August 2024 The duo had been close friends for over 35 years as Jones infamously set up Will’s audition for Fresh Prince back in 1989; seen in October 1990 Jones also portrayed the cab driver featured in the show’s opening theme and also guest starred in one episode of the NBC series; Kadeem Hardison, Will Smith and Quincy Jones seen in 1990 Quincy Jones with his Hollywood actress daughter Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli in The Office; seen in January 2020 Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones at the ‘We Are The World 25 Years for Haiti’ recording session held at Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood in February 2010 Quincy Jones at the 1994 Grammy awards with Michael JacksonJones rose to the top of showbusiness as he became one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassed an extraordinary musical catalogue.He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald and composed soundtracks for Roots and In The Heat Of The Night.Jones organized then-president Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of We Are The World in 1985 for famine relief in Africa.Lionel Richie, who co-wrote We Are the World and was among the featured singers on the charity record, would call Jones ‘the master orchestrator’.
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Will Smith pays an emotional tribute to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air producer Quincy Jones who died at 91