James Earl Jones Biography

James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor who in a career of more than 50 years has become known as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors and "one of the greatest actors in American history." Since his Broadway debut in 1957, Jones has won many awards, including a Tony Award and Golden Globe Award for his role in The Great White Hope. Jones has won three Emmy Awards, including two in the same year in 1991, and he also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the film version of The Great White Hope. He is also known for his voice acting, most notably as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise as well as in many other film, stage, and television roles.

As a child Jones overcame a stutter that lasted for several years. A pre-med major in college, he went on to serve as a U.S. Army Ranger during the Korean War, before dedicating his career to acting.

On November 12, 2011, he received an Honorary Academy Award.

Early life

Childhood

James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, son of Robert Earl Jones (1910"2006), an actor, boxer, butler, and chauffeur who left the family shortly after James Earl's birth, and his wife Ruth (Connolly) Jones, a teacher and maid. Jones and his father reconciled many years later. Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, farmers John Henry and Maggie Connolly. He is multiracial, with African, Irish, and Native American ancestry.

Jones describes his grandmother, Maggie, as "the most racist person I have ever known", thus forcing him to develop his own independent thinking. His grandmother was of Cherokee, Choctaw, and black ancestry.

He moved to his grandparents' farm in Jackson, Michigan, when he was five, but the transition was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak. When he moved to Brethren, Michigan, in later years, a teacher at the Brethren schools helped him overcome his stutter. He remained functionally mute for eight years, until he entered high school. He credits his English teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him end his silence. Crouch believed forced public speaking would help Jones gain confidence and insisted he recite a poem in class every day. "I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school."

Education

After being educated at the Browning School for boys in his high school years and graduating from Brethren High School in Brethren, Michigan, Jones attended the University of Michigan where he was a pre-med major. He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and excelled. He felt comfortable within the structure of the military environment, and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow cadets in the Pershing Rifles Drill Team and Scabbard and Blade Honor Society. During the course of his studies, Jones discovered he was not cut out to be a doctor. Instead he focused himself on drama, with the thought of doing something he enjoyed, before, he assumed, he would have to go off to fight in the Korean War. After four years of college, Jones graduated from the university in 1955.

Military

With the war intensifying in Korea, Jones expected to be sent to the war as soon as he received his commission as a second lieutenant. As he waited for his orders, he worked as a part-time stage crew hand at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan, where he had earlier performed. Jones was commissioned in mid 1953 and reported to Fort Benning to attend Infantry Officers Basic Course. He then attended Ranger School and received his Ranger Tab (although he stated during an interview on the BBC's The One Show, screened on November 11, 2009, that he "washed out" of Ranger training). He was initially to report to Fort Leonard Wood, but his unit was instead sent to establish a cold weather training command at the Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado. His battalion became a training unit in the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. Jones was promoted to first lieutenant prior to his discharge. He then moved to New York, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself.

Film and stage career

Early career

Jones began his acting career at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. In 1953 he was a stage carpenter. During the 1955"57 seasons he was an actor and stage manager. He performed his first portrayal of Shakespeare's Othello in this theater in 1955. His early career also included an appearance in the ABC radio anthology series Theatre-Five.

Stage roles

Jones is an accomplished stage actor; he has won Tony awards in 1969 for The Great White Hope and in 1987 for Fences. He has acted in many Shakespearean roles: Othello, King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002.

On April 7, 2005, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast in an African-American Broadway revival version of On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn.

In February 2008, he starred on Broadway as Big Daddy in a limited-run, all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and mounted at the Broadhurst Theatre.

In November 2009, James reprised the role of Big Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London's West End. This production also stars Sanaa Lathan as Maggie, Phylicia Rashad as Big Mamma, and Adrian Lester as Brick.

In October 2010, Jones returned to the Broadway stage in Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy along with Vanessa Redgrave at the Golden Theatre.

In November 2011, Jones starred in Driving Miss Daisy in London's West End, and on November 12 Jones received his honorary Oscar in front of the audience at the Wyndham's Theatre, which was presented to him by Ben Kingsley.

In March 2012, Jones played the role of President Art Hockstader in Gore Vidal's The Best Man on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre. Earning Jones a Tony nomination for Best Performance in a Lead Role in a Play. The play also starred Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette (as candidate William Russell), Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack (as candidate Senator Joseph Cantwell), Jefferson Mays, Michael McKean and Kerry Butler, with direction by Michael Wilson.

In 2013 Jones will star opposite Vanessa Redgrave in a production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Mark Rylance at The Old Vic, London.

Film roles

His first film role was as a young and trim Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in 1964. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the The Great White Hope a reprise of the role he had performed on Broadway play, which was based on the life of boxer Jack Johnson. For his role, Jones was nominated Best Actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, making him the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination.

In 1974 Jones appeared with Diahann Carroll in the film Claudine, the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed and one "almost" marriage.

Jones also played the villain Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, "Few Clothes" Johnson in John Sayles' Matewan, the author Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, the feared neighbor Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot, King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America, Reverend Stephen Kumalo in Cry, the Beloved Country, Raymond Lee Murdock in A Family Thing, and Vice Admiral James Greer in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger, among many other roles.

Jones is also well known as the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse in the original trilogy, with Jones dubbing Vader's dialogue in postproduction due to Prowse's strong West Country accent being unsuitable for the role. At his own request, Jones was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the 1997 re-release):

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Although uncredited, Jones's voice is possibly heard as Darth Vader at the conclusion of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones told Newsday: "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know."

Jones reprised his role as the voice of Vader several times: he is credited in the movie Robots with the voice of Darth Vader from a voice module. Playing the king of Zamunda in the comedy Coming to America, he echoed four Darth Vader phrases. He also vocally appeared as Vader in the comedy film The Benchwarmers and the video games Star Wars: Monopoly and Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game. Jones returned as Vader for the video game: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars and also reprised his role as Vader in the Disney attraction; Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Archival recordings of Jones's voice are also used for the Jedi Training Academy attraction at Disneyland and at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Other voiceover work

His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 animated Disney film The Lion King and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Archive recordings from the film would later be used for the English version of the 2005 video game Kingdom Hearts II, since Jones himself did not reprise the role. He also voiced the Emperor of the Night in Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night.

In 1990, Jones performed voice work for the Simpsons Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror", in which he was the narrator for the Simpsons' version of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven". In 1992, Jones was often seen as the host on the video tele-monitor for the Sea World resort in Orlando, Florida.

In 1996, he recited the classic baseball poem Casey at the Bat, with the accompaniment of arranger/composer Steven Reineke and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

He also has done the CNN tagline, "This is CNN", as well as "This is CNN International", and the opening for CNN's morning show, New Day. He also did the Bell Atlantic tagline, "Bell Atlantic: The heart of communication". When Bell Atlantic became Verizon, Jones used the tagline greeting of "Welcome to Verizon" or "Verizon 411" right before a phone call would go through. The opening for NBC's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics; "the Big PI in the Sky" (God) in the computer game Under a Killing Moon; a Claymation film about The Creation; and several other guest spots on The Simpsons.

Television roles

Jones has the distinction of being the only actor to win two Emmys in the same year, in 1991 as Best Actor for his role in Gabriel's Fire and as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave.

Jones portrayed the older version of author Alex Haley, in the television mini-series Roots: The Next Generations; the GDI's commanding general James Solomon in the live-action sequences of the video game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun; and widowed police officer Neb Langston in the television program Under One Roof, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also appeared in television and radio advertising for Verizon Business DSL and Verizon Online DSL from Verizon Communications.

Jones appeared in the 1963"64 television season in an episode of ABC's drama series about college life, Channing, starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. He appeared on the soap opera Guiding Light. He portrayed Thad Green on Mathnet, a parody of Dragnet.

In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series called Sesame Street; these shorts, combined with animated segments, were shown to groups of children to gauge the effectiveness of the then-groundbreaking Sesame Street format. As cited by production notes included in the DVD release Sesame Street: Old School 1969"1974, the short that had the greatest impact with test audiences was one showing bald-headed Jones counting slowly to ten. This and other segments featuring Jones were eventually aired as part of the Sesame Street series itself when it debuted later in 1969 and Jones is often cited as the first celebrity guest on that series, although a segment with Carol Burnett was the first to actually be broadcast.

He has played lead characters on television in three series. First, he appeared on the short-lived CBS police drama Paris, which aired during autumn 1979. That show was notable as the first program on which Steven Bochco served as executive producer. The second show aired on ABC between 1990 and 1992, the first season being titled Gabriel's Fire and the second (after a format revision), Pros and Cons.

In both formats of that show, Jones played a former policeman wrongly convicted of murder who, upon his release from prison, became a private eye. In 1995, Jones starred in Under One Roof as Neb Langston, a widowed African-American police officer sharing his home in Seattle with his daughter, his married son with his children, and Neb's newly adopted son. The show was a mid-season replacement and lasted only six weeks.

From 1989 to 1993, Jones served as the host of the children's TV series Long Ago and Far Away.

In 1996, James guest starred in the CBS drama Touched by an Angel as the Angels of Angels in the episode "Clipped Wings". In 1998, Jones starred in the widely acclaimed syndicated program An American Moment (created by James R. Kirk and Ninth Wave Productions). Jones took over the role left by Charles Kuralt, upon Kuralt's death. He also made a cameo appearance in a penultimate episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and has guest-starred on such sitcoms as NBC's Frasier and Will & Grace, CBS's Two and a Half Men, and the WB drama Everwood. Jones also lent his voice for a narrative part in the Adam Sandler comedy, Click, released in June 2006. His voice is also used to create an audio version of the King James New Testament.

Personal life

Jones has been married to actress Cecilia Hart since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to American actress/singer Julienne Marie (born March 21, 1937, Toledo, Ohio); they had no children.

Awards

Academy Awards

• 1971 Best Actor in a Leading Role " The Great White Hope (Nominated)
• 2011 Academy Honorary Award

Emmy Awards

• 1964 Outstanding Lead Actor " Miniseries or a Movie/East Side/West Side (Nominated)
• 1990 Outstanding Supporting Actor " Miniseries or a Movie/By Dawn's Early Light (Nominated)
• 1991 Outstanding Lead Actor " Drama Series/Gabriel's Fire
• 1991 Outstanding Supporting Actor " Miniseries or a Movie/Heat Wave
• 1994 Outstanding Guest Actor " Drama Series/Picket Fences (Nominated)
• 1995 Outstanding Supporting Actor " Drama Series/Under One Roof (Nominated)
• 1997 Outstanding Guest Actor " Comedy Series/Frasier (Nominated)
• 2000 Outstanding Performer Children's Special/Summer's End
• 2004 Outstanding Guest Actor " Drama Series/Everwood (Nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

• 1971 New Star of the Year " Actor/The Great White Hope
• 1971 Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama/The Great White Hope (Nominated)
• 1975 Best Actor " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy/Claudine (Nominated)
• 1991 Best Actor in a Drama Series/Gabriel's Fire (Nominated)
• 1992 Best Actor in a Drama Series/Pros and Cons (Nominated)

Independent Spirit Awards

• 1987 Best Supporting Male/Matewan (Nominated)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 1996 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role/Cry, the Beloved Country (Nominated)
• 2009 Life Achievement Award

Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play

• 1969 Best Leading Actor in a Play/The Great White Hope
• 1987 Best Leading Actor in a Play/Fences
• 2005 Best Leading Actor in a Play/On Golden Pond (Nominated)
• 2012 Best Leading Actor in a Play/The Best Man (Nominated)

Other awards

• 1991 Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts
• 1992 National Medal of Arts
• 1996 Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars
• 2011 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award Recipient
• 2012 Marian Anderson Award Recipient

Filmography

Sources:

• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
• The Comedians (1967)
• The Comedians in Africa (1967)
• End of the Road (1970)
• King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
• The Great White Hope (1970)
• Malcolm X (1972)
• The Man (1972)
• Claudine (1974)
• The Cay (1974 one-hour TV drama)
• The UFO Incident (1975 TV-movie)
• The River Niger (1976)
• The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
• Swashbuckler (1976)
• Deadly Hero (1976)
• The Greatest (1977)
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) (voice of Darth Vader, uncredited by request until 1997)
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened (1977)
• The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
• A Piece of the Action (1977)
• Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
• Black Theater: The Making of a Movement (1978)
• Star Wars Holiday Special (1978 TV special) (voice of Darth Vader)
• Roots: The Next Generations (1979 TV miniseries)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (voice of Darth Vader, uncredited by request until 1997)
• Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980 TV miniseries)
• The Bushido Blade (1981)
• The Flight of Dragons (1982) (voice of Ommadon)
• Conan the Barbarian (1982)
• Blood Tide (1982)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) (voice of Darth Vader)
• Allen Boesak: Choosing for Justice (1984)
• Faerie Tale Theatre "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (1984)
• City Limits (1985)
• Soul Man (1986)
• The Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible: Moses (1986) (voice)
• Gardens of Stone (1987)
• Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)
• My Little Girl (1987)
• Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) (voice of the Emperor of the Night)
• Matewan (1987)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Three Fugitives (1989)
• Field of Dreams (1989)
• Best of the Best (1989)
• By Dawn's Early Light (1990)
• Convicts (1990)
• The Hunt for Red October (1990)
• A World Alive (1990) (voice)
• The Ambulance (1990)
• Grim Prairie Tales (1990)
• Heatwave (1990)
• Terrorgram (1990) (voice)
• True Identity (1991)
• Scorchers (1991)
• Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible: Queen Esther (1991) (voice)
• Second Coming (1992) (voice)
• Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992)
• Patriot Games (1992)
• Freddie the Frog (1992)
• Sneakers (1992)
• Dreamrider (1993)
• Sommersby (1993)
• The Sandlot (1993)
• Excessive Force (1993)
• The Meteor Man (1993)
• Naked Gun 33"?": The Final Insult (1994)
• Africa: The Serengeti (1994)
• Clean Slate (1994)
• The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story (1994)
• The Lion King (1994) (voice of Mufasa)
• Clear and Present Danger (1994)
• Countdown to Freedom: Ten Days That Changed South Africa (1994) (narrator)
• Let Truth Be the Bias: The Presence of Alternative Medicine in America (1994) (narrator)
• Gangs: Turning the Corner (1994)
• Jefferson in Paris (1995)
• Judge Dredd (1995)
• Cry, The Beloved Country (1995)
• A Family Thing (1996)
• Looking for Richard (1996)
• Timepiece (1996)
• Good Luck (1996)
• Gang Related (1997)
• What the Deaf Man Heard (1997)
• The Second Civil War (1997)
• Primary Colors (1998)
• Frasier (1998)
• Merlin (1998)
• The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998 Direct-to-video) (voice of Mufasa)
• Summer's End (1999)
• Our Friend, Martin (1999) (voice of Daddy King)
• On the Q.T. (1999)
• Undercover Angel (1999)
• The Annihilation of Fish (1999)
• Fantasia 2000 (1999)
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999) (video game)
• Ennis' Gift (2000)
• Antietam: A Documentary Drama (2000)
• The Papp Project (2001)
• Feast of All Saints (2001)
• Black Indians: An American Story (2001) (narrator)
• Finder's Fee (2001)
• Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street (2001)
• Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (2001)
• Disney's American Legends (2002)
• The Great Year (2004)
• Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
• Robots (2005) (voice)
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) (possibly voice; uncredited and unconfirmed)
• The Reading Room (2005)
• The Sandlot 2 (2005)
• The Benchwarmers (2006)
• Scary Movie 4 (2006)
• Click (2006) (voice) (as himself)
• The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy (2006) (narrator)
• Earth (2007) (voice)
• Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
• The Poker House (2008)
• Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2009) (voice)
• Jack and the Beanstalk (2010) (voice)
• Gimme Shelter (2012)
• Joe Papp in Five Acts (2012)
• The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2013)

Other voice acting

• Kingdom Hearts II (2006) (archived audio, voice)
• Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (2011) (voice)

Footnotes