NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen 鈥 eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, 鈥淭he Lion King鈥 and Darth Vader 鈥 has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
who in 1965 became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (鈥淎s the World Turns鈥) and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was also given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
鈥淭he need to storytell has always been with us,鈥 he told The Associated Press then. 鈥淚 think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in 鈥淔ield of Dreams,鈥 the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit 鈥淭he Great White Hope,鈥 the in 鈥淩oots: The Next Generation鈥 and a South African minister in 鈥淐ry, the Beloved Country.鈥
He was also a expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (鈥淣o, I am your father,鈥 commonly misremembered as 鈥淟uke, I am your father鈥), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of and announcing 鈥淭his is CNN鈥 during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the 鈥淕reat American Documents鈥 audiobook.
鈥淚f you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the pavement in these streets looking for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,鈥 once said.
Some of his other films include 鈥淒r. Strangelove,鈥 鈥淭he Greatest鈥 (with , 鈥淐onan the Barbarian,鈥 鈥淭hree Fugitives鈥 and playing an admiral in three blockbuster adaptations 鈥 鈥淭he Hunt for Red October,鈥 鈥淧atriot Games鈥 and 鈥淐lear and Present Danger.鈥 In a rare romantic comedy, 鈥淐laudine,鈥 Jones had an onscreen love affair with
LeVar Burton, who starred alongside Jones in the TV movie 鈥淕uyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones,鈥 paid tribute on X, writing, "There will never be another of his particular combination of graces.鈥
Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958鈥檚 鈥淪unrise At Campobello鈥 and would win his two Tony Awards for 鈥淭he Great White Hope鈥 (1969) and 鈥淔ences鈥 (1987). He also was nominated for 鈥淥n Golden Pond鈥 (2005) and 鈥淕ore Vidal鈥檚 The Best Man鈥 (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and alike. More recent Broadway appearances include 鈥淐at on a Hot Tin Roof,鈥 鈥淒riving Miss Daisy,鈥 鈥淭he Iceman Cometh,鈥 and 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Take It With You.鈥
As a rising stage and television actor, he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in 鈥淥thello,鈥 鈥淢acbeth鈥 and 鈥淜ing Lear鈥 and in off-Broadway plays.
Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.
When Jones was 6, his mother took him to her parents' farm near Manistee, Michigan. His grandparents adopted the boy and raised him.
鈥淎 world ended for me, the safe world of childhood,鈥 Jones wrote in his autobiography, 鈥淰oices and Silences.鈥 鈥淭he move from Mississippi to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter.鈥
Too embarrassed to speak, he remained virtually mute for years, communicating with teachers and fellow students with handwritten notes. A sympathetic high school teacher, Donald Crouch, learned that the boy wrote poetry, and demanded that Jones read one of his poems aloud in class. He did so faultlessly.
Teacher and student worked together to restore the boy鈥檚 normal speech. 鈥淚 could not get enough of speaking, debating, orating 鈥 acting,鈥 he recalled in his book.
At the University of Michigan, he failed a pre-med exam and switched to drama, also playing four seasons of basketball. He served in the Army from 1953 to 1955.
In New York, he moved in with his father and enrolled with the American Theater Wing program for young actors. Father and son waxed floors to support themselves while looking for acting jobs.
True stardom came suddenly in 1970 with 鈥淭he Great White Hope.鈥 Howard Sackler鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play depicted the struggles of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, amid the racism of early 20th-century America. In 1972, Jones repeated his role in the movie version and was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor.
Jones鈥 two wives were also actors. He married Julienne Marie Hendricks in 1967. After their divorce, he married Cecilia Hart, best known for her role as Stacey Erickson in the CBS police drama 鈥淧aris,鈥 in 1982. (She died in 2016.) They had a son, Flynn Earl, born in 1983.
In 2022, the Cort Theatre on Broadway with a ceremony that included singing 鈥淕o the Distance,鈥 singing 鈥淢ake Them Hear You鈥 and words from Samuel L. Jackson and
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 think of an artist that has served America more,鈥 told the AP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like it seems like a small act, but it鈥檚 a huge action. It鈥檚 something we can look up and see that鈥檚 tangible.鈥
Citing his stutter as one of the reasons he wasn鈥檛 a political activist, Jones nonetheless hoped his art could change minds.
鈥淚 realized early on, from people like Athol Fugard, that you cannot change anybody鈥檚 mind, no matter what you do,鈥 he told the AP. 鈥淎s a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.鈥
___
Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
