10/09/2024
Rest in peace James Earl Jones 🌹
James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor known for his film roles and for his work in theater. Jones has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances on stage and screen. He has also been called "one of the greatest actors in American history". He was one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Jones was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and honoured with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2011.
Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, in 1931, he had a stutter since childhood. Jones said that poetry and acting helped him overcome the challenges of his disability. A pre-med major in college, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. His deep voice was praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects. Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 in Sunrise at Campobello (1957). He gained prominence for acting in numerous productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. Jones worked steadily in theatre, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a boxer in The Great White Hope (1968), which he reprised in the 1970 film adaptation, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
Jones won his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a working class father in August Wilson's Fences (1987). He was a Tony award nominee for his roles as the husband in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond (2005) about an ageing couple, and as a former president in the Gore Vidal play The Best Man (2012). His other Broadway performances included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can't Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015–2016). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.
Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Claudine (1974). Jones gained international fame for his voice role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, beginning with the original 1977 film. Jones' other notable films include The Man (1972), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Sneakers (1992), The Sandlot (1993), The Lion King (1994), and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). On television, Jones received eight Primetime Emmy Awards nominations winning twice for his roles in thriller film Heat Wave (1990) and the crime series Gabriel's Fire (1991). He also acted in Roots (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Picket Fences (1994), Homicide: Life on the Street (1997), and Everwood (2004).
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