Character background
Philip Zeke Banks was born in Yamacraw, North Carolina on January 30, 1946, to parents Joe and Hattie Joe Banks. He and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, when Phil was 16. In one particular episode, entitled "Not with My Pig, You Don't" (originally aired on October 8, 1990), Phil's parents, Hattie (Virginia Capers) and Joe (Gilbert Lewis), come to visit for the weekend when he wins a prestigious award, and inadvertently reveal his humble country roots growing up on a farm in North Carolina. It is shown that Phil was a country boy and never told the family about his secret and that he had a companion pig named Melvin. A journalist (portrayed by Kathy Griffin) comes to the Banks house to interview Phil about his life, but plans to kill the story because she finds him boring after all he talks about is his work. Will, overhearing, tells her stories about Phil's past "barnyard life" he heard from Hattie, including the story about the pig that Phil had a close bond with. This goes down well with the newspaper editors and Phil's parents, but Phil confronts Will about his secret. Hattie overhears Phil angrily berating Will for revealing the truth about his past, and she becomes convinced he is ashamed of his roots, and explains to him that Phil has nothing to be ashamed of, and then is angered to tears. The next night the whole family (including Phil's parents) goes to an awards ceremony for Phil, where he realizes his good fortune to have had such a background and loving parents, and expresses renewed pride in his roots and gratitude for being raised by two devoted parents in his acceptance speech.
After spending his youth as part of the counterculture and social justice movements, Phil eventually attends and graduates from Princeton University, and then Harvard Law School. In 1969, Phil met his wife, Vivian Banks, and the two of them were engaged on Soul Train (revealed during a flashback on the November 7, 1994 episode). During that year, they gave birth to their first daughter and child, Hilary Banks, and on August 4, 1974, five years later, Phil and Vivian gave birth to their second child, and their first son, Carlton Banks who turned out to be very intelligent. The Banks family moved to a run-down Los Angeles neighborhood, and in 1979, the third child, Ashley Banks, was born. Phil by this time had become a wealthy lawyer, with the family living in a mansion in Bel-Air, and in 1990 his nephew Will had moved in with the Banks family.
In the fall of 1992, Phil discovers that Vivian was pregnant with her fourth child, and in 1993 she gave birth to Nicholas Andrew Banks. In the final episode of the series, Will, who is remaining in Los Angeles to attend college, frets about losing the relationship that they have developed, but Phil assures him, "You are my son, end of story".
