James Earl Jones, pictured here in 2014, followed in the footsteps of actors such as Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Canada Lee, all of whom refused to be limited to stereotypical roles.
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James Earl Jones, pictured here in 2014, followed in the footsteps of actors such as Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Canada Lee, all of whom refused to be limited to stereotypical roles.
Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post/Getty Images
One of America’s most beloved actors, James Earl Jones, died Monday at age 93. He was at home in Dutchess County, NY, surrounded by family, his longtime agent Barry McPherson confirmed to NPR.
Jones was born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi. He was raised by his grandparents. When he was five, the family moved to a farm in Dublin, Michigan. Jones said the move so traumatized him that he developed a severe stutter that lasted until high school.
“I was able to function like a kid on the farm and do all the work that involves calling animals,” he told WHYY’s Fresh air in 1993, “and of course I let the family know what I needed. But when strangers came into the house, I became mute. I didn’t want to confront them and I wasn’t ready. I hid in a state of muteness.”
Then a high school teacher found a way to help me: “One day he discovered that I was writing poetry and said to me, ‘This poem is so good, I can’t believe you wrote it. You can prove it to me by standing up in front of the class and reciting it from memory.’ And I took the challenge and did it, and we both realized that we had a tool – we had a way to reclaim the power of language through poetry.”
And what a force it was. Jones’ baritone had its own echo chamber. His voice became one of the most recognizable in entertainment history.
Everything about him was great: his commanding stage presence, the intensity of his gaze and his brilliance in his chosen craft. Woodie King Jr. is the founder of the New Federal Theater in New York, which has produced shows by and about African Americans throughout its history. He first became aware of Jones in the early 1960s.
“I was a young aspiring actor who had come to New York, and he had all the elements of acting – physicality, vocal range, psychological empathy with what was happening,” says King. “And I wanted to be that kind of artist who had that kind of freedom with his instrument.”
King saw Jones’ critically acclaimed performance in a production of Jean Genet’s The Blacks. He also worked with Jones in a Broadway production of Howard Sackler’s The great white hopebased on the life of black boxing champion Jack Johnson.
“It was an incredible feat,” King recalled. “It was an incredible metamorphosis to watch him transform into this brutal boxer.”
Muhammad Ali (left) fights with Jones, the then star of the The great white hopein 1969.
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Muhammad Ali (left) fights with Jones, the then star of the The great white hopein 1969.
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Jones won a Tony for this role and an Oscar nomination for the 1970 film adaptation and a second Tony in 1987 for his role in August Wilson’s Fences.
In addition to a brilliant stage career — including roles in classics such as Macbeth, Othello And The Iceman comes — Jones also had an extensive film career. His first film role was that of bombardier Lothar Zogg in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic Dr. Strangelove. In 1972 The manJones played the first black president; in the black classic from 1974 Claudine, He played a garbage man who coaxes a welfare recipient into a date; and in 1989’s “The Last Man” Field of Dreamshe explained why people would be interested in a baseball field in an Iowa cornfield. Jones has said that one of his favorite roles is that of the South African pastor in Wines, the beloved country. And as Darth Vader, Jones uttered the sentence that still sends shivers down our spines today star Wars fans.
Jones’ voice has permeated pop culture: He is the voice of CNN, Verizon and the doomed Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion KingHe even appeared in some episodes of The Simpsonswhich managed to poke fun at the actor through his kaleidoscopic work.
In his conversation with Fresh airJones recalled the early days of his voice acting career with amusement. “I think the first commercials I did, they asked me to ‘just give us the sound of God.’ … They weren’t embarrassed to say that.”
Jones bows after his last performance on Broadway You can’t take it with you in 2015.
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Woodie King of the New Federal Theater said Jones was a warm-hearted, somewhat shy man who was a powerful artist. He followed in the footsteps of actors such as Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Canada Lee, all of whom were not limited to the old stereotypical roles of butlers or clowns. Jones saw the theater as a place for all people.
“Here is a master of his craft,” King said. “He’s making young people aware of the tremendous opportunities this business offers if you’re a craftsman. … On the Broadway stage, he’s really colorless — neither black nor white, but a brilliant artist.”
