James_Earl_Jones

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Earl Jones James Earl Jones James Earl Jones James Earl Jones, 2004 Born January 17, 1931 (1931-01-17) Arkabutla, Mississippi, United States Actor 1950s – present Julienne Marie Cecilia Hart (1982–present) African American, Irish, Choctaw and Cherokee descent.[4][5] 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.[2] 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."[6] Education After being educated at the Browning School for boys in his high school years, Jones attended the University of Michigan where he majored in pre-med.[2] 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 refocused 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. 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. Occupation Years active Spouse(s) James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. He is perhaps best known for voicing the sinister Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise. Early life Childhood Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, 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 before James Earl’s birth.[1][2] 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,[3] and is of Military Instead, he went home. As he waited for his orders to active duty, he found a part-time stage crew job at the Manistee Summer Theater, where he had performed before. By 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the end of summer 1953, Jones received his second lieutenant’s commission, his official orders, and was off to Fort Benning to attend Basic Infantry Officers School. While there, Jones went through Ranger School, graduated, and received his Ranger Tab. 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 Aspen, Colorado. His regiment was established as 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.[7] James Earl Jones 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.[2] Darth Vader He has appeared in many roles since, but is best known as the sinister 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. At his own request, he was originally uncredited for the first two released films: “ When Linda Blair did the girl in The ” Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no I’m just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I’ve been denying it, I’ve been saying it sounds like the uncola nut guy Holder. Geoffrey Holder! ... But for the third one, I said OK, I’ll let them put my name on it.[9] Film and stage career Early career Jones had his acting career beginnings at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. 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.[8] His first film role was as a young and trim Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier, in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in 1964 which was more famous for the work of Peter Sellers and Slim Pickens. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film version of the Broadway play, The Great White Hope 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, he is the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination.[2] 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 While many assume he is the uncredited, briefly heard voice of Darth Vader at the conclusion of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Jones, when specifically asked if he had supplied the voice, either newly or from a previous recording, told Newsday, "You’d have to ask Lucas about that. I don’t know".[9] Over the years, James Earl 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 DarthVader phrases. He also vocally appeared as Vader in the comedy film The Benchwarmers and the video game Monopoly Star Wars. Jones voice is also used for the Jedi Training academy attraction at Disneyland MGM. Other voiceover work His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 film Disney animated blockbuster The 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lion King, and its sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. Archived audio from the former has been used in the Square Enix and Disney crossover game Kingdom Hearts II. He also voiced the Emperor of the Night in Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night. He also has done the CNN tagline, "This is CNN"; 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 guest spots on The Simpsons. James Earl Jones One Roof as widowed police officer Neb Langston for which he received an Emmy nomination, and 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. He has played lead characters on television in three series. First, he appeared on the short-lived CBS police drama Paris, which aired during Fall 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 for 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 and children and Neb’s newly adopted son. The show was a mid-season replacement and lasted only six weeks. In 1986, Jones played a Harvard law professor in the movie Soul Man, with C. Thomas Howell and Rae Dawn Chong. From 1989 to 1993, Jones served as the host of the children’s TV series Long Ago and Far Away. In 1992, Jones was often seen as the host on the video tele-monitor for the Sea World resort in Orlando, FL. In 1996, James guest starred in the CBS drama Touched by an Angel as the Angels of Angels in the episode "Clipped Wings." He has guest-starred on such sitcoms as Frasier, Will & Grace and 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 Bible. On April 7, 2005, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast in an AfricanAmerican Broadway revival version of On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn.[2] On December 15, 2008 Jones made a guest appearance on the sitcom Two and a Notable film roles Jones played the older version of author Alex Haley, in the television mini-series Roots: The Next Generations;[2] the villain Thulsa Doom, in Conan the Barbarian; the character Terence Mann, in the baseball film Field of Dreams; the feared neighbor and owner of the dog Hercules in The Sandlot; King Jaffe Joffer, in Coming to America; Reverend Stephen Kumalo, in Cry, The Beloved Country; and Admiral James Greer, in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. Notable stage roles Jones is an accomplished stage actor as well; he has won Tony awards in 1969 for The Great White Hope and in 1987 for Fences, and his performance of Othello is considered one of the greatest in history. Other Shakespearean roles include 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. In February 2008, he began starring 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. He appears alongside stage veterans Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie), as well as film actor Terrence Howard making his Broadway debut as Brick. Other work His other works include his portrayal of GDI’s commanding general James Solomon in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, a starring role in the television program Under 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Half Men as a clergyman officiating at a funeral for Charlie Sheen’s character, Charlie. DreamWorks Animation announced James Earl Jones voiced Barney Bear in the live-action/animated version of Tom and Jerry. James Earl Jones • 1992 Best Actor in a Drama Series / Pros and Cons (Nominated) Independent Spirit Awards • 1987 Best Supporting Male / Matewan (Nominated) Screen Actors Guild Awards • 1996 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role / Cry, the Beloved Country (Nominated) • 2009 Life Achievement Award Tony Awards • 1969 Best Leading Actor in a Play / The Great White Hope • 1987 Best Leading Actor in a Play / Fences • 2005 Best Leading Actor in a Play / On Golden Pond (Nominated) Other Awards • 1991 Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts Personal life Jones has been married to Cecilia Hart (a costar of his on Paris) since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to actress and singer Julienne Marie. They had no children. Both actresses had played the role of Desdemona in the same production in which Jones played Othello.[2] As of at least the 2000s, Jones lives in Millbrook, New York. Awards Academy Awards • 1971 Best Actor in a Leading Role / The Great White Hope (Nominated) Emmy Awards • 1964 Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie / East Side/West Side (Nominated) • 1990 Outstanding Supporting Actor Miniseries or a Movie / By Dawn’s Early Light (Nominated) • 1991 Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series / Gabriel’s Fire • 1991 Outstanding Supporting Actor Miniseries or a Movie / Heat Wave • 1994 Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series / Picket Fences (Nominated) • 1995 Outstanding Supporting Actor Drama Series / Under One Roof (Nominated) • 1997 Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series / Frasier (Nominated) • 1999 Outstanding Performer - Children’s Special • 2004 Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series / Everwood (Nominated) Golden Globe Awards • 1971 New Star of the Year - Actor / The Great White Hope • 1971 Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama / The Great White Hope (Nominated) • 1975 Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy / Claudine (Nominated) • 1991 Best Actor in a Drama Series / Gabriel’s Fire (Nominated) Filmography • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) • The Comedians in Africa (1967) • The Comedians (1967) • End of the Road (1970) • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) • The Great White Hope (1970) • Malcolm X (1972) • The Man (1972) • Claudine (1974) • My Little Girl (1987) • Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) (voice) • Matewan (1987) • Terrorgram (1988) (voice) • Coming to America (1988) • Three Fugitives (1989) • Field of Dreams (1989) • Best of the Best (1989) • By Dawn’s Early Light (1990) • Convicts (1990) • The Hunt for Red • Looking for Richard (1996) • Good Luck (1996) • Gang Related (1997) • What the Deaf Man Heard (1997) • New York... Come Visit the World (1998) • Primary Colors (1998) (voice) • Merlin (1998) (voice) • The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998 direct-to-DVD) (voice) • Summer’s End (1999) • Our Friend, Martin (1999) (voice) • On the Q.T. (1999) • Undercover Angel (1999) 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • The Cay (1974 onehour TV drama) • The UFO Incident (1975 TVmovie) • The River Niger (1976) • The Bingo Long Traveling AllStars & Motor Kings (1976) • Swashbuckler (1976) • Deadly Hero (1976) • The Greatest (1977) • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) (voice) • Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) • The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) • A Piece of the Action (1977) • Jesus of Nazareth (1977) • Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement (1978) • Star Wars Christmas Special (1978 TV special) (voice) • Roots: The Next Generations (1979 TV miniseries) • Star Wars Episode V: October (1990) A World Alive (1990) The Ambulance (1990) Grim Prairie Tales (1990) Heatwave (1990) True Identity (1991) Scorchers (1991) The Second Coming (1992) Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992) Patriot Games (1992) Freddie the Frog (1992) Sneakers (1992) Dreamrider (1993) Sommersby (1993) The Sandlot (1993) Excessive Force (1993) The Meteor Man (1993) Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) Africa: The Serengeti (1994) James Earl Jones • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The The Empire • Clean Slate (2006) Annihilation of Strikes Back (1994) (archived Fish (1999) (1980) (voice) • The Vernon audio, voice) • Fantasia 2000 Guyana • Johns Story • The (1999) Tragedy: The (1994) Benchwarmers • Tiberian Sun Story of Jim • The Lion (2006) (voice) (1999) Jones (1980 King • Scary Movie 4 • Ennis’ Gift TV (1994) (2006) (2000) miniseries) (voice) • Click (2006) • Antietam: A • The Creation • Clear and (voice) (As Documentary (1981) Present Himself) Drama (2000) The Bushido • Danger • The Trail of • The Papp Blade (1981) (1994) Tears: Project (2001) The Flight of • Countdown • Cherokee • Black Indians: Dragons to Legacy (2006) An American (1982) (voice) Freedom: • Welcome Story (2001) Conan the • 10 Days Home Roscoe • Finder’s Fee Barbarian That Jenkins (2008) (2001) (1982) Changed • Jack and the • Recess • Blood Tide South Beanstalk Christmas: (1982) Africa (2008) (voice) Miracle on • Star Wars (1994) • Quantum Third Street Episode VI: • Jefferson in Quest: A (2001) Return of the Paris Cassini Space • Muhammad Jedi (1983) (1995) Odyssey Ali: Through (voice) • Judge (2009) (voice) the Eyes of theAllen Boesak: • Dredd • Earth (2009) World (2001) Choosing for (1995) (voice) • Disney’s Justice (1984) • Cry, The American • City Limits Beloved Legends (1985) Country (2002) • Soul Man (1995) • The Great (1986) • A Family Year (2004) • Gardens of Thing • Unforgivable Stone (1987) (1996) Blackness: TheAllan • Rise and Fall Quatermain of Jack and the Lost Johnson City of Gold (2004) (1987) • Robots (2005) Disneyland MGM studio’s (2008) (voice) • (voice) • The Reading Room (2005) [1] • The Sandlot 2 "James Earl Jones Biography (1931-)". Film Reference. (2005) http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/ • Malcolm X: James-Earl-Jones.html. Retrieved on Prince of 2008-02-20. Islam [2] documentary ^ Bandler, Michael J. (March 2008). ""This is James Earl Jones"". NWA World (2006) Traveler (Northwest Airlines). (narration http://www.nwaworldtraveler.com/ME2/ only) dirmod.asp?sid=3BA4583DD6074B17AC433C6F1DB • Kingdom Retrieved on 2008-04-03. Hearts II Footnotes 5 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Awards Preceded by Ed Harris for Precious Sons James Earl Jones Drama Desk Award for Outstand- Succeeded by Ron Silver ing Actor in a Play 1986-1987 for Speed-the-Plow for Fences (Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1993) ISBN 0-684-19513-5 [3] "James Earl Jones -- Academy of Achievement". A Museum of Living History. Academy of Achievement. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/ photocredit/achievers/jon2-010. Retrieved on 2008-04-03. [4] Levesque, Carl (1 August 2002). "Unconventional wisdom: James Earl Jones speaks out". Association Management (The Gale Group). http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/ summary_0199-1928105_ITM. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. [5] Dorothy Davis (February 2005). "Speaking with James Earl Jones". Education Update. http://www.educationupdate.com/ archives/2005/february/html/BlackJones.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. [6] James Earl Jones. Interview with the American Academy of Achievement for the National Medal of Arts. Sun Valley, Idaho. 29 June 1996. (Interview [Audio/ Transcript]). Retrieved on 2008-02-20. [7] "Soldiers to Celebrities: James Earl Jones - U.S. Army". Hollywood Hired Guns. Hired Guns Productions. 20 January 2008. http://www.hiredguns.biz/profiles/ jamesearljones.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-20. [8] Ramsdell Theatre History [9] ^ Newsday: "Fast Chat: James Earl Jones", March 16, 2008 External links • James Earl Jones at the Internet Broadway Database • James Earl Jones at the Internet Movie Database • James Earl Jones at the TCM Movie Database • TonyAwards.com Interview with James Earl Jones • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof All AfricanAmerican production website Persondata NAME ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION DATE OF BIRTH PLACE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH Jones, James Earl Todd Jones actor 17 January 1931 Arkabutla, Mississippi References Jones, James Earl, and Penelope Niven. James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Earl_Jones" Categories: 1931 births, African American actors, American film actors, American stage actors, Americans of Native American descent, American television actors, American voice actors, Irish-Americans, Americans of Cherokee descent, Choctaw people, American soap opera actors, Daytime Emmy Award winners, Drama Desk Award winners, Grammy Award winners, Kennedy Center honorees, Living people, Actors from Michigan, Native American actors, Obie Award recipients, Recipients of the Ranger tab, Shakespearean actors, Tony Award winners, United States Army officers, United States National Medal of Arts recipients, University of Michigan alumni, People from Mississippi, People from Tate County, Mississippi, Actors from Mississippi 6 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Earl Jones This page was last modified on 23 May 2009, at 00:15 (UTC). 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