Tribute to JAMES EARL JONES:
Born: January 17, 1931, Arkabutla, Mississippi, United States
Died: September 9, 2024 (age 93 years)
James Earl Jones was an American actor known for his film roles and for his work in theatre. 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
Early Life
Early life and education
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James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on January 17, 1931, to Ruth a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones (1910–2006), a boxer, butler, and chauffeur. His father left the family shortly after James Earl’s birth and later became a stage and screen actor in New York and Hollywood. Jones and his father did not get to know each other until the 1950s, when they reconciled. He said in interviews that his parents were both of mixed African-American, Irish, and Native American ancestry.
Career
1953–1972: Early roles and acclaim
Jones began his acting career at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. In 1953, he was a stage carpenter, and between 1955 and 1957, he acted and was a stage manager. In his first acting season at the Ramsdell, he portrayed Othello. His early career also included an appearance in the ABC radio anthology series Theatre-Five. In 1957, he made his Broadway debut as understudy to Lloyd Richards in the short-lived play, The Egghead, by Molly Kazan. The play ran only 21 performances, but three months later, in January 1958, Jones created the featured role of Edward the butler in Dore Schary’s Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre
2000–2009: Career honors and other roles
Jones guest-starred in many television shows over the years, including for NBC’s Law & Order, and Frasier, ABC’s Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Fox’s medical drama House, M.D., and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.
Jones also performed voice work for The Simpsons: in the 1990 “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special and in two other episodes.
In 2002, Jones received Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Also at the ceremony were fellow honorees Paul Simon, Elizabeth Taylor, and Chita Rivera. President George W. Bush joked, “People say that the voice of the president is the most easily recognized voice in America. Well, I’m not going to make that claim in the presence of James Earl Jones. Those there to honor Jones included Sidney Poitier, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, and Courtney B. Vance.