DS Icon: Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks)

Alfonso Ribeiro may not be the most famous actor, or even the most credible, but he did bring us 148 30-minute episodes of comedy gold in early '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. While some bloke called Will Smith grabbed all the glory and went on to make some big blockbuster movies about aliens and stuff - Ribeiro never let the fame of playing the legendary Carlton Banks go to his head. It may not have been the toughest role to portray - he basically gets slapped around the head a lot and occasionally does a silly dance - but boy, did he do the part well! Big Uncle Phil and Geoffrey the Butler occasionally nabbed some laughs, but Carlton always stole the show.

Ribeiro's career outside of the Fresh Prince is rarely publicised, despite him successfully entering the world of directing and starring as a body-poppin' kid in one of Michael Jackson's infamous Pepsi commercials. Sadly, he has resorted to turning up on Celebrity Weakest Link and cameos in music videos for Black Eyed Peas' Fergie as well as his former co-star Will Smith in recent years. In 2006, he even did the unthinkable of taking up a reality TV show, appearing on Celebrity Duets. But as with everything in Ribeiro's career, he came away with some dignity by winning the competition. Most recently, he has tried his hands at gameshows Catch 21 and GSN Live, but we'd prefer to remember Alfonso from his pomp - as the inimitable Carlton.

DS salutes the comedy genius of Alfonso Ribeiro in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.