Phill Lewis (1968)

 early life

Lewis is the son of former Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone executive and former U.S. Ambassador Delano Lewis. He was born in Uganda, East Africa during his father's stint as Peace Corps' associate director and country director for Nigeria and Uganda.

 career

After appearing in guest roles on episodic television, Lewis's first big break was being cast in the title role of the short-lived 1991 situation comedy, Teech. The show was cancelled after only four episodes. He appeared in guest parts on various television series including Pacific Blue, JAG, Ally McBeal, Joan of Arcadia, Brothers & Sisters, 8 Simple Rules, Buffy The Vampire Slayer , and How I Met Your Mother. Lewis has also had recurring roles on A Different World, The Wayans Bros., Lizzie McGuire, Yes, Dear, Friends, and Scrubs.

Lewis co-starred in the Disney Channel original series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as Mr. Moseby. Since 2008, he has reprised the role on a spin-off The Suite Life on Deck, where he plays the manager of The S.S. Tipton. He has appeared as a guest star on Disney Channel's That's So Raven and Phineas and Ferb and also in one of the channel's original movies, Dadnapped. On the children's show Special Agent Oso he has a recurring role as the voice of Agent Wolfie.

As a television director, he directed several episodes of The Suite Life on Deck, first making his directorial debut in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode "I Want My Mummy" . He has since gone on to direct episodes of A.N.T. Farm, Good Luck Charlie and Jessie starring his former Suite Life on Deck co-star Debby Ryan.

In addition to his television work, Lewis has appeared in several films. He made his film debut as Dennis in the 1989 dark comedy Heathers. He has appeared in smaller roles in more than a dozen films, including City Slickers , Bowfinger , I Spy , Surviving Christmas , Kicking & Screaming , and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 .

 personal life

In late December 1991, Lewis was arrested after a car he was driving collided head on with another car driven by 21 year-old Isabel Duarte in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Potomac, Maryland. Duarte, a resident of nearby Bethesda, Maryland, would eventually die from her injuries. Lewis was charged with drunk driving. He apologized, saying "I am extremely and sincerely sorry for my disorderly actions."

According to the February 8, 1993 issue of Jet Magazine:
Lewis was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter with a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated, but a Maryland judge suspended all but one year of the sentence. Montgomery County, Md., Circuit Court Judge William Miller said he suspended most of the sentence because of [Lewis's] excellent behavior since the car accident, which killed Isabel Duarte, 21, of Bethesda, Md. Lewis ... worked with a prison-based theater group ... aimed at making audiences aware of the tragedy of drug abuse at schools, churches and jails. Lewis ... was also given two years supervised probation and ordered to perform 350 hours of community service.