James Earl Jones
Encyclopedia
James Earl Jones is an American
actor
. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas
and leadership. Since his Broadway debut in 1957, Jones has spent more than five decades as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile actors" and has been termed "one of the greatest actors in American history." On November 12, 2011, Jones received an Honorary Academy Award.
, the son of Ruth (née Connolly), a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones
(1910–2006), an actor, boxer, butler, and chauffeur who left the family shortly after James Earl's birth. Jones and his father reconciled many years later in the 1980s and 1990s. Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, farmers Maggie and John Henry Connolly, and is of African, Irish, Choctaw
and Cherokee
descent.
He moved to his maternal grandparents' farm in Jackson, Michigan
at the age of five, but the adoption was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak aloud. When he moved to Brethren, Michigan in later years a teacher at the Brethren schools started to help him with his stutter. He remained functionally mute
for eight years until he reached high school. He credits his high school teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him out of his silence. The teacher believed forced public speaking
would help him gain confidence and insisted he recite a poem in class each 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."
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 left without his degree.
, where he had performed before. By the end of summer 1953, Jones was commissioned as a second lieutenant
, and was soon off to Fort Benning
to attend Basic Infantry Officers School. While there, Jones went through Ranger School
, graduated, 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). His first duty station was supposed to be at Fort Leonard Wood
, Missouri
, but his orders changed, and his unit was instead sent to Colorado
where the Army
planned to establish a cold weather training command at the old Camp Hale
near Leadville, Colorado
. His regiment was established as a training unit, to train in the bitter cold weather and the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains
. Jones eventually earned the rank of First Lieutenant
. After his discharge, Jones moved to New York, where he attended the American Theatre Wing to further his training and worked as a janitor to earn a living.
. In 1953 he was a stage carpenter. During the 1955–1957 seasons he was an actor and stage manager. He performed his first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello
in this theater in 1955.
s 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 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 the early 1970s, James appeared with Diahann Carroll in a film called Claudine
, the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed marriages and one "almost" marriage. Ruppert, played by Jones, is a garbage man who has deep problems of his own. The couple somehow overcomes each other's pride and stubbornness and get married.
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 others.
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, he was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the 1997 re-release):
Although uncredited, Jones' voice is briefly 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 New York Newsday: "You'd have to ask Lucas
about that. I don't know." However, on the issue of the voice, the commentary on the DVD release states that, while it will always be uncredited, any true Star Wars fan "should know the answer".
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' voice is also used for the Jedi Training Academy attraction at Disneyland and at Disney's Hollywood Studios
. Jones returned as Vader for the video game: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
. Jones also reprised his role as Vader in the new Disney attraction; Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
.
film The Lion King
and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
. 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 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
.
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 1963–1964 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.
since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to American actress/singer Julienne Marie (born March 21, 1933, Toledo, Ohio
); they had no children.
Emmy Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play
Other awards
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas
Gravitas
Gravitas was one of the Roman virtues, along with pietas, dignitas and virtus. It may be translated variously as weight, seriousness, dignity, or importance, and connotes a certain substance or depth of personality.-See also:*Auctoritas...
and leadership. Since his Broadway debut in 1957, Jones has spent more than five decades as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile actors" and has been termed "one of the greatest actors in American history." On November 12, 2011, Jones received an Honorary Academy Award.
Childhood
James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, MississippiArkabutla, Mississippi
Arkabutla is an unincorporated community in Tate County, Mississippi. Arkabutla is approximately west of Coldwater and approximately northeast of Savage near the southern starting point of Mississippi Highway 301 on Arkabutla Road....
, the son of Ruth (née Connolly), a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones
Robert Earl Jones
Robert Earl Jones was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films The Cotton Club and The Sting and as the father of actor James Earl Jones.-Early life:...
(1910–2006), an actor, boxer, butler, and chauffeur who left the family shortly after James Earl's birth. Jones and his father reconciled many years later in the 1980s and 1990s. Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, farmers Maggie and John Henry Connolly, and is of African, Irish, Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
descent.
He moved to his maternal grandparents' farm in Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
at the age of five, but the adoption was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak aloud. When he moved to Brethren, Michigan in later years a teacher at the Brethren schools started to help him with his stutter. He remained functionally mute
Selective mutism
Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder in which a person, most often a child, who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations, or to specific people...
for eight years until he reached high school. He credits his high school teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him out of his silence. The teacher believed forced public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
would help him gain confidence and insisted he recite a poem in class each 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 MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he was a pre-med
Pre-medical
Pre-medical is a term used to describe a track an undergraduate student in the United States pursues prior to becoming a medical student...
major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
. 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
Pershing Rifles
The Pershing Rifles is a military fraternal organization for college-level students, founded by then 2nd Lieutenant John J. Pershing in 1894 as a drill unit at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln...
Drill Team and Scabbard and Blade
Scabbard and Blade
Scabbard and Blade is a college military honor society founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1904. Although membership is open to R.O.T.C. cadets and midshipmen of all military services, the society is modeled after the U.S. Army and its chapters are called companies and are organized into...
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
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. After four years of college, Jones left without his degree.
Military
With the war intensifying in Korea, Jones supposed he would be shipped off to the war as soon as he received his officer's commission. Instead, he went home. As he waited for his orders to active duty, he found a part-time stage crew job at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, MichiganManistee, Michigan
Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...
, where he had performed before. By the end of summer 1953, Jones was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
, and was soon off to Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
to attend Basic Infantry Officers School. While there, Jones went through Ranger School
Ranger School
The United States Army Ranger School is an intense 61-day combat leadership course oriented towards small-unit tactics. It has been called the "toughest combat course in the world" and "is the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the Army has to offer". The course is conducted...
, graduated, and received his Ranger Tab
Ranger Tab
The Ranger Tab is a service school military decoration of the United States Army signifying completion of the 61-day long Ranger School course in small-unit infantry combat tactics in woodland, mountain, and swamp operations. In December 2009 a British NCO earned the Ranger tab...
(although he stated during an interview on the BBC's The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
screened on November 11, 2009 that he "washed out" of Ranger training). His first duty station was supposed to be at Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood (military base)
Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, but his orders changed, and his unit was instead sent to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
where the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
planned to establish a cold weather training command at the old Camp Hale
Camp Hale
Camp Hale, between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley in Colorado, was a U.S. Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. It was named for General Irving Hale....
near Leadville, Colorado
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
. His regiment was established as a training unit, to train in the bitter cold weather and the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Jones eventually earned the rank of First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
. After his discharge, Jones moved to New York, where he attended the American Theatre Wing to further his training and worked as a janitor to earn a living.
Early career
Jones had his acting career beginnings at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, MichiganManistee, Michigan
Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...
. In 1953 he was a stage carpenter. During the 1955–1957 seasons he was an actor and stage manager. He performed his first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
in this theater in 1955.
Stage roles
Jones is an accomplished stage actor; he has won Tony awardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s in 1969 for The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
and in 1987 for Fences. He has acted in many Shakespearean roles:
Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Abhorson in Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
, and Claudius in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. He received Kennedy Center Honors
Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
in 2002.
On April 7, 2005, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her work in Hallelujah, Baby! She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.-Singing:...
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
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
, directed by Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
and mounted at the Broadhurst Theatre
Broadhurst Theatre
The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
.
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
Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an American actress and voice actress. She has starred in numerous movies, including the box-office hits Love & Basketball, Alien vs. Predator, Something New, and The Family That Preys. Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway in A Raisin in the Sun...
as Maggie, Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
as Big Mamma, and Adrian Lester
Adrian Lester
-Personal life:Lester was born in Birmingham, England, the son of Jamaican immigrants Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company. He sang as a boy treble in the choir of St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham...
as Brick.
In October 2010, Jones returned to the Broadway stage in Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy (play)
Driving Miss Daisy is a 1987 play by Alfred Uhry about the relationship of an elderly Southern Jewish woman, Daisy Werthan, and her African-American chauffeur, Hoke Colburn, from 1948 to 1973...
along with Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
at the Golden Theatre
John Golden Theatre
The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...
.
In November 2011, Jones starred in Driving Miss Daisy in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, and on November 12 Jones received his honorary Oscar in front of the audience at the Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
, which was presented to him by Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
.
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 BombDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling...
in 1964. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope (film)
The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn...
a reprise of the role he had performed on Broadway play, which was based on the life of boxer Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
. For his role, Jones was nominated Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, making him the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
) to receive a nomination.
In the early 1970s, James appeared with Diahann Carroll in a film called Claudine
Claudine (film)
Claudine is a 1974 American film produced by Third World Films and released to theatres by 20th Century Fox. Starring James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Claudine was written by Lester Pine and Tina Pine, and directed by John Berry...
, the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed marriages and one "almost" marriage. Ruppert, played by Jones, is a garbage man who has deep problems of his own. The couple somehow overcomes each other's pride and stubbornness and get married.
Jones also played the villain Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, "Few Clothes" Johnson in John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
Matewan
Matewan
Matewan is an American drama film written and directed by John Sayles, illustrating the events of a coal mine-workers' strike and attempt to unionize in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia....
, the author Terence Mann in Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
, the feared neighbor Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot
The Sandlot
The Sandlot is a 1993 American comedy-drama sports film about a group of young baseball players during the summer of 1962. The film was filmed in Utah and directed by David M. Evans...
, King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
, Reverend Stephen Kumalo in Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country (1995 film)
Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry....
, Raymond Lee Murdock in A Family Thing, and Vice Admiral James Greer in The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
, Patriot Games
Patriot Games (film)
Patriot Games is a 1992 film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's the novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October. In the movie, Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford, Jack's surgeon-wife, Dr...
, and Clear and Present Danger
Clear and Present Danger (film)
Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a subsequent release to the 1992 film Patriot Games, which in itself is a subsequent release to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October.It is the last film to feature Harrison...
, among many others.
Jones is also well-known as the voice of Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
in the original Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
trilogy. Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse
David Prowse
David Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
in the original trilogy, with Jones dubbing
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
Vader's dialogue in postproduction due to Prowse's strong West Country accent
West Country dialects
The West Country dialects and West Country accents are generic terms applied to any of several English dialects and accents used by much of the indigenous population of South West England, the area popularly known as the West Country....
being unsuitable for the role. At his own request, he was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the 1997 re-release):
Although uncredited, Jones' voice is briefly heard as Darth Vader at the conclusion of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
. When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones told New York Newsday: "You'd have to ask Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
about that. I don't know." However, on the issue of the voice, the commentary on the DVD release states that, while it will always be uncredited, any true Star Wars fan "should know the answer".
Jones reprised his role as the voice of Vader several times: he is credited in the movie Robots
Robots (film)
Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
with the voice of Darth Vader from a voice module. Playing the king of Zamunda in the comedy Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
, he echoed four Darth Vader phrases. He also vocally appeared as Vader in the comedy film The Benchwarmers
The Benchwarmers
The Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Rob Schneider, Jon Heder, and David Spade. It is produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures.-Plot:...
and the video games Star Wars: Monopoly and Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game
Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game
Star Wars: The Interactive Video Game Board was a board game created by Hasbro in 1996. It is notable for including a VHS tape of newly shot scenes of Darth Vader walking down the halls of the Death Star.-Includes:*1 60-Minute VHS videotape...
. Jones' voice is also used for the Jedi Training Academy attraction at Disneyland and at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
. Jones returned as Vader for the video game: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is a 2011 Lego game for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC and Nintendo 3DS consoles based on The Clone Wars animated series, developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts and TT Games, released in March 2011 and is...
. Jones also reprised his role as Vader in the new Disney attraction; Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is an attraction located at Disneyland Park and at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is also set to open at Tokyo Disneyland in Spring 2013. Set in the fictional Star Wars universe, The Adventures Continue updates the two parks' original Star Tours attractions...
.
Other voiceover work
His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 animated DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
film The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated film released by Walt Disney Home Video on October 27, 1998. The film is the sequel to the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King...
. He also voiced the Emperor of the Night in Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Pinocchio and the Emperor of The Night is a 1987 animated film that was released on December 25, 1987 by New World Pictures. and is a unofficial sequel to Pinocchio . Created by the now defunct Filmation Studios, the movie underperformed at the box office, having a cost of $10 million but making...
.
In 1990, Jones performed voice work for the Simpsons Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror
Treehouse of Horror
"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first of a...
", in which he was the narrator for the Simpsons' version of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's poem "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
". In 1992, Jones was often seen as the host on the video tele-monitor for the Sea World resort in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
.
In 1996, he recited the classic baseball poem Casey at the Bat
Casey at the Bat
"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888" is a baseball poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. First published in The San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, it was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances.The poem was originally published...
, with the accompaniment of arranger/composer Steven Reineke
Steven Reineke
Steven Reineke is a conductor, composer, and arranger from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the Music Director of The New York Pops. He currently resides in New York City.-Biography:...
and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same administration...
He also has done the CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
tagline, "This is CNN", as well as "This is CNN International", and 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
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics; "the Big PI in the Sky" (God) in the computer game
Under a Killing Moon
Under a Killing Moon
Under a Killing Moon is the third installment in the Tex Murphy series of adventure games produced by Access Software. In Under a Killing Moon Tex again fights the forces of evil as he tries to stop a dangerous cult from destroying the world...
; a Claymation film about The Creation
Creation according to Genesis
The Genesis creation narrative describes the divine creation of the world including the first man and woman...
; and several other guest spots on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
Television roles
Jones has the unusual 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 FireGabriel's Fire
Gabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:...
and as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave
Heat Wave (1990 film)
Heat Wave is a 1990 American action-thriller television film directed by Kevin Hooks and starring Blair Underwood, Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, and David Strathairn.-Cast:* Blair Underwood as Robert Richardson...
.
Jones portrayed the older version of author Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
, in the television mini-series Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
; the GDI's commanding general James Solomon in the live-action sequences of the video game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
; and widowed police officer Neb Langston in the television program Under One Roof, for which he received an Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination. He also appeared in television and radio advertising for Verizon Business DSL
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
and Verizon Online DSL from Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
.
Jones appeared in the 1963–1964 television season in an episode of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's drama series about college life, Channing
Channing (TV series)
Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
, starring Jason Evers
Jason Evers
Jason Evers was an American actor.Evers was born Herb Evers in New York City, New York. After quitting high school to join the United States Army, Evers was so inspired by stars like John Wayne that he decided to try acting...
and Henry Jones
Henry Jones (actor)
Henry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk...
. He appeared on the soap opera Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
. He portrayed Thad Green on Mathnet
Mathnet
Mathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One, of which five seasons were produced . This parody of Dragnet featured detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department who solved mysteries using their mathematical skills. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday and...
, a parody of Dragnet.
In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series called Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
; 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
Sesame Street: Old School
Sesame Street: Old School is the title of a series of DVD releases produced by Sesame Workshop, featuring the first episodes of the first ten years of the PBS series, Sesame Street, plus highlights from this era. The first volume "1969-1974," was released by Sony Wonder in Region 1 on October 24,...
, 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
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
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
Paris (1979 TV series)
Paris was an American television series that appeared on the CBS television network from September 29, 1979 to January 15, 1980. A crime drama, the show is notable as the first-ever appearance of renowned actor James Earl Jones in a lead role on television and as the first program on which Steven...
, which aired during autumn 1979. That show was notable as the first program on which Steven Bochco
Steven Bochco
Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
served as executive producer. The second show aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
between 1990 and 1992, the first season being titled Gabriel's Fire
Gabriel's Fire
Gabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:...
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
Long Ago and Far Away (TV Series)
Long Ago and Far Away is a TV series that aired on PBS Television from 1989 to 1993. It was created by WGBH, a public television broadcast service located in Boston, Massachusetts...
.
In 1996, James guest starred in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
drama Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
as the Angels of Angels in the episode "Clipped Wings". In 1998, Jones starred in the widely acclaimed syndicated program An American Moment
An American Moment
An American Moment was a widely acclaimed syndicated program, created by James R. Kirk and Neal Spelce.The show consisted of 90-second vignettes that focused on "small town America" and overlooked news stories...
(created by James R. Kirk
James R. Kirk
James R. Kirk serves as President and Chief Creative Officer of Corporate Magic, a production company based in Dallas, Texas.-Career:...
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
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
and has guest-starred on such sitcoms as NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
and Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, CBS's Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, and the WB drama Everwood
Everwood
Everwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
. Jones also lent his voice for a narrative part in the Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
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 HartCecilia Hart
Cecilia Hart, born in Cheyenne, Wyoming February 19, 1948, is a television and stage actress married to actor James Earl Jones with whom she has one child, Flynn Earl Jones. Hart costarred with Jones in the short-lived 1979-80 CBS police drama Paris. She was formerly married to actor Bruce Weitz...
since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to American actress/singer Julienne Marie (born March 21, 1933, Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
); they had no children.
Awards
Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
- 1971 Best Actor in a Leading RoleAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
– The Great White HopeThe Great White Hope (film)The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn...
(Nominated) - 2011 Academy Honorary AwardAcademy Honorary AwardThe Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of...
Emmy Awards
- 1964 Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-1950s:*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men*1955: Lloyd Nolan – Caine Mutiny Court Marshal...
/East Side/West SideEast Side/West SideEast Side/West Side is an American drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for only one season and was shown Monday nights on CBS.-Synopsis:...
(Nominated) - 1990 Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie/By Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the...
(Nominated) - 1991 Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners.-1950s:*1956: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best*1957: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best...
/Gabriel's FireGabriel's FireGabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:... - 1991 Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Supporting Actor - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Prior to 1975, supporting actors in miniseries and movies were included in either the comedy or drama categories along with regular series. From 1975 to 1978, the award was called...
/Heat WaveHeat Wave (1990 film)Heat Wave is a 1990 American action-thriller television film directed by Kevin Hooks and starring Blair Underwood, Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, and David Strathairn.-Cast:* Blair Underwood as Robert Richardson... - 1994 Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actor.-Award winners:1970s*1975: Patrick McGoohan – Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light...
/Picket FencesPicket FencesPicket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
(Nominated) - 1995 Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: Roddy McDowall – Not Without Honor*1962: no award*1963: no award...
/Under One Roof (Nominated) - 1997 Outstanding Guest Actor – Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.-1980s:Outstanding Guest Performer In A Comedy Series*1986: Roscoe Lee Browne – The Cosby Show as Dr...
/FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(Nominated) - 1999 Outstanding Performer – Children's Special
- 2004 Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actor.-Award winners:1970s*1975: Patrick McGoohan – Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light...
/EverwoodEverwoodEverwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
(Nominated)
Golden Globe Awards
- 1971 New Star of the Year – ActorGolden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - ActorThe Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor originated in 1948. Between 1954 and 1965, multiple winners were announced. The category was discontinued following the 1983 ceremonies.-Winners:*1948: Richard Widmark*1950: Richard Todd, Gene Nelson...
/The Great White HopeThe Great White Hope (film)The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn... - 1971 Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
/The Great White HopeThe Great White Hope (film)The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn...
(Nominated) - 1975 Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
/ClaudineClaudine (film)Claudine is a 1974 American film produced by Third World Films and released to theatres by 20th Century Fox. Starring James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Claudine was written by Lester Pine and Tina Pine, and directed by John Berry...
(Nominated) - 1991 Best Actor in a Drama Series/Gabriel's FireGabriel's FireGabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:...
(Nominated) - 1992 Best Actor in a Drama Series/Pros and ConsPros and Cons (TV series)Pros and Cons is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1991–1992. It is a revamped version of Gabriel's Fire, which aired on ABC the previous season.-Overview:...
(Nominated)
Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
- 1987 Best Supporting Male/MatewanMatewanMatewan is an American drama film written and directed by John Sayles, illustrating the events of a coal mine-workers' strike and attempt to unionize in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia....
(Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
- 1996 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role/Cry, the Beloved CountryCry, the Beloved Country (1995 film)Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry....
(Nominated) - 2009 Life Achievement AwardScreen Actors Guild Life Achievement AwardThe Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is given by the Screen Actors Guild's National Honors and Tributes Committee "for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession." The award predates the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards by over thirty years, having been...
Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play
- 1969 Best Leading Actor in a Play/The Great White HopeThe Great White HopeThe Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
- 1987 Best Leading Actor in a Play/Fences
- 2005 Best Leading Actor in a Play/On Golden Pond (Nominated)
Other awards
- 1991 Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts
- 1992 National Medal of ArtsNational Medal of ArtsThe National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
- 2011 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award Recipient
Filmography
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- The Comedians in AfricaThe Comedians in AfricaThe Comedians in Africa is a 1967 film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to augment its feature film The Comedians.-Synopsis:This short documentary chronicles the difficulties encountered by the crew and cast while filming The Comedians on location in Africa's Dahomey...
(1967) - The Comedians (1967)
- End of the Road (1970)
- King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
- The Great White HopeThe Great White Hope (film)The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn...
(1970) - Malcolm XMalcolm X (1972 film)Malcolm X is a 1972 American documentary film directed by Arnold Perl. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
(1972) - The ManThe Man (1972 film)The Man is a 1972 political drama directed by Joseph Sargent and starring James Earl Jones. Jones plays Douglass Dilman, the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, who succeeds to the presidency through a series of unforeseeable events, thereby becoming the first African American...
(1972) - ClaudineClaudine (film)Claudine is a 1974 American film produced by Third World Films and released to theatres by 20th Century Fox. Starring James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Claudine was written by Lester Pine and Tina Pine, and directed by John Berry...
(1974) - The Cay (1974 one-hour TV drama)
- The UFO Incident (1975 TV-movie)
- The River NigerThe River NigerThe River Niger is a play by American playwright, Joseph A. Walker, first performed by New York City's Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972. The production made its Broadway debut with a transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 27 March 1973 for a run of 162 performances.-Characters :*...
(1976) - The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor KingsThe Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor KingsThe Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is a comedic sports film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's novel of the same name, it starred Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor...
(1976) - SwashbucklerSwashbuckler (film)Swashbuckler is a romantic adventure film produced in the U.S. by Universal Studios and released in 1976. It is a story that takes place in Jamaica in 1718 about a band of buccaneer pirates, led by Captain “Red” Ned Lynch, pitted against a greedy overlord, evil Lord Durant...
(1976) - Deadly Hero (1976)
- The Greatest (1977)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
(1977) (voice) - Exorcist II: The HereticExorcist II: The HereticExorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...
(1977) - The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened (1977)
- The Last Remake of Beau GesteThe Last Remake of Beau GesteThe Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 American historical comedy film. It starred and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the novel Beau Geste, a frequently-filmed story of brothers and their adventures in the French Foreign Legion. The humor is...
(1977) - A Piece of the ActionA Piece of the Action (film)A Piece of the Action is a 1977 comedy crime film starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Poitier also directed the film. This was the third film pairing of Poitier and Cosby following Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, and Poiter's last acting role for more than 10 years, as he focused...
(1977) - Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- Black Theater: The Making of a Movement (1978)
- Star Wars Holiday Special (1978 TV special) (voice)
- Roots: The Next GenerationsRoots: The Next GenerationsRoots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
(1979 TV miniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
) - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
(1980) (voice) - Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim JonesGuyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim JonesGuyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, also called The Mad Messiah, is a 1980 television miniseries about the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones, and their 1978 mass suicide at Jonestown. Based on the book by Charles A...
(1980 TV miniseries) - The Creation (1981)
- The Bushido BladeBushido Blade (film)The Bushido Blade is a 1981 film, directed by Tsugunobu Kotani, about a samurai sword being entrusted to Commodore Matthew Perry for the President of the United States by the Emperor of Japan that was stolen by a band of thieves who oppose the treaty about to be signed...
(1981) - The Flight of DragonsThe Flight of DragonsThe Flight of Dragons is a 1982 animated movie produced by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. and loosely combining the speculative natural history book of the same name by Peter Dickinson with the novel The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. The film centres upon a quest undertaken to...
(1982) (voice) - Conan the Barbarian (1982)
- Blood TideBlood TideBlood Tide is a 1982 British film directed by Richard Jefferies.The film is also known as Bloodtide and Demon Island...
(1982) - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
(1983) (voice) - Allen Boesak: Choosing for Justice (1984)
- City Limits (1985)
- Soul ManSoul Man (film)Soul Man is a comedy film made in 1986 about a man who undergoes racial transformation with pills to qualify for a Black only scholarship at Harvard Law School. It stars C. Thomas Howell, Rae Dawn Chong, Arye Gross, James Earl Jones, Leslie Nielsen, James B...
(1986) - Gardens of StoneGardens of StoneGardens of Stone is a 1987 film by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel of the same title by Nicholas Proffitt.A drama, it stars James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones and D. B. Sweeney.-Plot:...
(1987) - Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of GoldAllan Quatermain and the Lost City of GoldAllan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold is an adventure movie directed by Gary Nelson and released on January 30, 1987 in the United States. It is loosely based on the novel Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard...
(1987) - My Little GirlMy Little GirlMy Little Girl is a 1986 American drama film that was released in the U.S. in 1987. The film was the directorial debut of Connie Kaiserman and Jennifer Lopez' first major motion picture. It was the final movie performance of Oscar-winning actress Geraldine Page.-Plot:Franny Bettinger has had a...
(1987) - Pinocchio and the Emperor of the NightPinocchio and the Emperor of the NightPinocchio and the Emperor of The Night is a 1987 animated film that was released on December 25, 1987 by New World Pictures. and is a unofficial sequel to Pinocchio . Created by the now defunct Filmation Studios, the movie underperformed at the box office, having a cost of $10 million but making...
(1987) (voice) - MatewanMatewanMatewan is an American drama film written and directed by John Sayles, illustrating the events of a coal mine-workers' strike and attempt to unionize in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia....
(1987) - Terrorgram (1988) (voice)
- Coming to AmericaComing to AmericaComing to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
(1988) - Three FugitivesThree FugitivesThree Fugitives is a 1989 comedy film starring Nick Nolte, Martin Short, Sarah Rowland Doroff and James Earl Jones and written and directed by Francis Veber. It is a remake of Les Fugitifs, a 1986 French comedy starring Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard and also directed by Veber.- Plot :Lucas ...
(1989) - Field of DreamsField of DreamsField of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
(1989) - Best of the BestBest of the BestBest of the Best is a 1989 martial arts film. The plot revolves around a team of Americans facing a team of Koreans in a taekwondo tournament. Several sub plots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity are some themes...
(1989) - By Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the...
(1990) - Convicts (1990)
- The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October (film)The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
(1990) - A World Alive (1990)
- The AmbulanceThe AmbulanceThe Ambulance is a 1990 thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop in what would be his final film role...
(1990) - Grim Prairie TalesGrim Prairie TalesGrim Prairie Tales is a 1990 American horror film, directed and written by Wayne Coe, and starring James Earl Jones and Brad Dourif. It is an anthology film of four western stories, told by two travellers around a prairie campfire...
(1990) - HeatwaveHeatwave (film)Heatwave is a 1982 Australian film directed by Phillip Noyce. Around Christmas time a heatwave hits Sydney and an architect undertakes a controversial project.-Cast:*Judy Davis as Kate Dean*Richard Moir as Stephen West*Chris Haywood as Peter Houseman...
(1990) - True Identity (1991)
- ScorchersScorchers (film)Scorchers is an ensemble drama from 1991 written and directed by David Beaird with a cast of among others Faye Dunaway, James Earl Jones, Denholm Elliott, Leland Crooke and Emily Lloyd...
(1991) - The Second Coming (1992)
- Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992)
- Patriot GamesPatriot Games (film)Patriot Games is a 1992 film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's the novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October. In the movie, Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford, Jack's surgeon-wife, Dr...
(1992) - Freddie the FrogFreddie as F.R.O.7Freddie as F.R.O.7 is a 1992 British animated film written and directed by Jon Acevski. It is a parody of James Bond. The film was inspired by bedtime stories Acevski told to his son about his favourite toy frog working as a secret agent. -Plot:...
(1992) - SneakersSneakers (film)Sneakers is a 1992 caper film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, written by Robinson, Walter F. Parkes, and Lawrence Lasker and starring Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and David Strathairn...
(1992) - Dreamrider (1993)
- SommersbySommersbySommersby is a 1993 romantic drama film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman and James Earl Jones.Set in the Reconstruction period following the U.S...
(1993) - The SandlotThe SandlotThe Sandlot is a 1993 American comedy-drama sports film about a group of young baseball players during the summer of 1962. The film was filmed in Utah and directed by David M. Evans...
(1993) - Excessive ForceExcessive Force (film)Excessive Force is a 1993 action film, written by Thomas Ian Griffith and Burt Young, directed by Jon Hess.-Plot:Terry and his two partners from the Chicago special investigation police squad are engaged in war against Chicago's mafia boss, DiMarco . Despite many attempts to jail him, he always...
(1993) - The Meteor ManThe Meteor Man (film)The Meteor Man is a 1993 superhero film written, directed, and starring Robert Townsend, and featuring an ensemble cast. Townsend stars as a mild-mannered schoolteacher, who becomes a superhero after his neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is terrorized by street gangs.Although the film is set in...
(1993) - Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(1993) (Horace McCoy) - Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
- Africa: The SerengetiAfrica: The SerengetiAfrica: The Serengeti is a 70mm American documentary film released in 1994 to IMAX theaters. It is narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor James Earl Jones, and directed by George Casey. It was shot on location in Tanzania and Kenya....
(1994) - Clean Slate (1994)
- The Vernon Johns Story (1994)
- The Lion KingThe Lion KingThe Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
(1994) (voice) - Clear and Present DangerClear and Present Danger (film)Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a subsequent release to the 1992 film Patriot Games, which in itself is a subsequent release to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October.It is the last film to feature Harrison...
(1994) - Countdown to Freedom: 10 Days That Changed South Africa (1994)
- Jefferson in ParisJefferson in ParisJefferson in Paris is a 1995 Franco-American historical drama film directed by James Ivory . The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France prior to his Presidency, and his alleged relationships with...
(1995) - Judge DreddJudge Dredd (film)Judge Dredd is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Danny Cannon, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand Assante, and Max von Sydow. The film is based on the strip of the same name in the British comic 2000 AD...
(1995) - Cry, The Beloved CountryCry, the Beloved Country (1995 film)Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry....
(1995) - A Family Thing (1996)
- Looking for RichardLooking for RichardLooking for Richard is a 1996 documentary film and the first film directed by Al Pacino. It is both a performance of selected scenes of William Shakespeare's Richard III and a broader examination of Shakespeare's continuing role and relevance in popular culture...
(1996) - Good Luck (1996)
- Gang Related (1997)
- What the Deaf Man HeardWhat the Deaf Man HeardWhat the Deaf Man Heard is a 1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired on CBS television on November 23, 1997. It concerns Sammy, a boy who pretends to be deaf and mute, when in reality he can hear and speak perfectly well. The movie starred Matthew Modine and James Earl Jones.-Plot...
(1997) - Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
(1997) - New York... Come Visit the World (1998)
- Primary Colors (1998) (voice)
- MerlinMerlin (film)Merlin is a television miniseries which originally aired in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin...
(1998) (voice) - The Lion King II: Simba's PrideThe Lion King II: Simba's PrideThe Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated film released by Walt Disney Home Video on October 27, 1998. The film is the sequel to the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King...
(1998 Direct-to-videoDirect-to-videoDirect-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
) (voice) - Summer's End (1999)
- Our Friend, MartinOur Friend, MartinOur Friend, Martin is a 1999 animated children's educational film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement. Two friends travel through time, meeting Dr. King at several points during his life...
(1999) (voice) - On the Q.T. (1999)
- Undercover AngelUndercover AngelUndercover Angel, also known as Un vrai petit ange , is a 1999 film by writer/director Bryan Michael Stoller...
(1999) - The Annihilation of Fish (1999)
- Fantasia 2000Fantasia 2000Fantasia 2000 is a 1999 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was the 38th feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and a sequel to 1940's Fantasia...
(1999) - Ennis' Gift (2000)
- Antietam: A Documentary Drama (2000)
- The Papp Project (2001)
- Feast of All Saints (2001)
- Black Indians: An American Story (2001)
- Finder's FeeFinder's FeeFinder's Fee is an American film directed by Jeff Probst from his original screenplay. The story is based on an actual event that occurred to Probst.-Plot:...
(2001) - Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third StreetRecess Christmas: Miracle on Third StreetRecess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street is a Disney direct-to-video animated film released on November 6, 2001. It compiles of four unrelated episodes of the Recess TV series, including the series' Christmas special "Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave"...
(2001) - Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (2001)
- Disney's American LegendsDisney's American LegendsDisney's American Legends is a home video release narrated by James Earl Jones and which features the following Walt Disney Feature Animation animated short subjects:*Johnny Appleseed released in 1948*The Brave Engineer released in 1950...
(2002) - Will and Grace (2003) (As Himself Season 6 episode 4)
- The Great Year (2004)
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack JohnsonUnforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack JohnsonUnforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson is a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward ....
(2004) - RobotsRobots (film)Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
(2005) (voice) - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
(2005) (voice) - The Reading RoomThe Reading RoomThe Reading Room is a 2005 made-for-tv movie that originally premiered on Hallmark Channel. It is directed by Georg Stanford Brown.-Plot:...
(2005) - The Sandlot 2The Sandlot 2-Plot:The start of the movie flashes back to 1962 when Benny becomes the "Jet". The main part of the movie is set in 1972, 10 years after the events of The Sandlot. New kids have moved into the neighborhood of San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. They have started playing baseball in the sandlot....
(2005) - Malcolm X: Prince of Islam documentary (2006) (narration only)
- The BenchwarmersThe BenchwarmersThe Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Rob Schneider, Jon Heder, and David Spade. It is produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures.-Plot:...
(2006) (voice) - Scary Movie 4Scary Movie 4Scary Movie 4 is the fourth film of the Scary Movie franchise, directed by David Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, Craig Mazin and Pat Proft, and produced by Craig Mazin and Robert K. Weiss. It is distributed by The Weinstein Company via its Dimension Films unit in the U.S. and Television, and...
(2006) - Click (2006) (voice) (As Himself)
- The Trail of Tears: Cherokee LegacyThe Trail of Tears: Cherokee LegacyThe Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy is a 2006 documentary by director Chip Richie. It presents the history of the forcible removal and relocation of Cherokee people from southeastern states of the United States to territories west of the Mississippi River, particularly to the Indian Territory in...
(2006) - EarthEarth (2007 film)Earth is a 2007 nature documentary film which depicts the diversity of wild habitats and creatures across the planet. The film begins in the Arctic in January of one year and moves south, finishing in Antarctica in the December of the same year...
(2007) (voice) - Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
(2008) (As Himself) - Welcome Home Roscoe JenkinsWelcome Home Roscoe JenkinsWelcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film features an all star cast featuring: Martin Lawrence, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo'Nique, Cedric the Entertainer, Louis CK and James Earl...
(2008) - HouseHouse (TV series)House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
"The TyrantThe Tyrant (House)"The Tyrant" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of House. It first aired October 5, 2009.- Plot :The team treats a brutal African dictator named Dibala who has fallen ill;...
" (2009) Dibala - Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space OdysseyQuantum Quest: A Cassini Space OdysseyQuantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey is a 2010 animated educational sci-fi adventure film, written by Harry 'Doc' Kloor and directed by Kloor and Dan St. Pierre, as a science fiction film that takes the viewer on an atomic adventure in space.The voice cast originally included Christian Slater,...
(2009) (voice) - Jack and the Beanstalk (2010) (voice)
- Gimme ShelterGimme Shelter (2012 film)Gimme Shelter is an upcoming drama film directed and written by Ron Krauss, starring Vanessa Hudgens as a pregnant teenager who runs away from her abusive mother, played by Rosario Dawson and traces her real father, played by Brendan Fraser. -Plot:...
(2012)
Other voice acting
- Kingdom Hearts IIKingdom Hearts IIis an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
(2006) (archived audio, voice) - Disneyland Hollywood Studios (2008) (voice)
External links
- James Earl Jones at Internet Off-Broadway Database
- TonyAwards.com Interview with James Earl Jones
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof All African-American production website