"A mentor, a father and a friend": Quincy Jones and Will Smith's friendship explored as actor pays tribute

Quincy Jones, a giant of the music industry, who worked with superstars like Frank Sinatra and produced some of Michael Jackson's most well-known albums, passed away on Sunday, November 2, at the age of 91. As per RFI’s November 4 report, at that moment, he was surrounded by his family at his home in the Bel Air region of Los Angeles.

As per the same source, following the incident, Arnold Robinson, his publicist, stated in a statement that his family said,

"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."

Meanwhile, once the news of his passing went public, the Men In Black actor, Will Smith took to Instagram to pay a tribute to him. Uploading a photo of themselves in black and white, he wrote,

“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.”

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Quincy Jones and Will Smith have known each other since the late 80s

Quincy Jones also worked on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Image via Gai Terrell/Redferns/Getty Images)

Will Smith was created and facilitated by Quincy Jones. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a 148-episode sitcom that began Will Smith's career, was Jones' biggest hit on screen.

Discussing the same in a YouTube vlog in 2018, the I Am Legend star stated, he was having financial problems in the 1980s. He then began to hang out on the set of The Arsenio Hall Show in search of any probable jobs. There, he met Benny Medina, the creative mind behind The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

While talking to Smith, Medina believed that he would be ideal for the lead role in the show even though he lacked any real acting experience. However, it wasn't final and Smith still had to meet a few other people, including the record producer Quincy Jones.

As per the vlog, then, in December 1989, at Jones’s birthday party, Smith and Medina talked and the latter formally pitched the show to Jones.

After that, Smith officially met Jones. Talking about the same, Smith said,

“It’s Quincy’s birthday… It’s a big party, so everybody’s in there. It was Brandon Tartikoff, the head of NBC… Warren Littlefield, all of that. So everybody gets in the room, and Quincy says, ‘Hey, clear the living room out. Clear the living room out. We’re gonna do an audition.’ … I’m going ‘Who’s doing an audition?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, you got it…”

However, Smith tried to convince Quincy not to take his audition as the I, Robot star thought that he was not an actor. Nevertheless, Jones reportedly believed him. After that, Quincy Jones took the star in his office, which was filled with posters from his well-known productions, such as The Color Purple and Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Years later, in 2021, speaking about the same incident on stage in London on November 18 at an event with Idris Elba, Smith claimed that Jones encouraged him to try out for the role in front of the guests, telling him it would "affect the rest of his life."

Will Smith further said that Jones informed him that since "everyone needed to decide to offer [you] the part is in the room," he had to try out immediately. The actor then said he even received a "standing ovation" from the audience after agreeing to play in front of everyone. Later that day, he also received an offer to play the lead in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

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On the other hand, no cause of death for Quincy Jones has been given as of yet.