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James Earl Jones

Popularity

2.0

  • 1931 - Present Day

Biography

James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is a multi-award-winning American actor of theater and film, well known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership. He is known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and the tagline for CNN. James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth (née Connolly) and Robert Earl Jones. At the age of five, he moved to Jackson, Michigan, to be raised by his maternal grandparents, 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. Jones attended the University of Michigan where he was a pre-med major. While there, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and excelled. 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. In 1953 he found a part-time stage crew job at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan, which marked the beginning of his acting career. 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. After his discharge from the Military, 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. 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. 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, making him the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination. In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series; these shorts, combined with animated segments were the beginnings of the Sesame Street format. The next year, in the early 1970s, James appeared with Diahann Carroll in the film called Claudine. While he has appeared in many roles, he is 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).  His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 film Disney animated blockbuster The Lion King, and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. 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 guest spots on The Simpsons. In addition to his film and voice over work, 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. Othello, King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet are Shakespearean roles he has played. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002. Jones has been married to actress Cecilia Hart 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. Jones is a registered Republican.

Birthday: 1931-01-17

Born At: Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA

Casted In:

Star Wars
11
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
935
Sommersby
1049
The Hunt for Red October
1669
The Empire Strikes Back
1891
Return of the Jedi
1892
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
1895
Sneakers
2322
Field of Dreams
2323
Merlin
7096
The Lion King
8587
Clear and Present Danger
9331
Conan the Barbarian
9387
Judge Dredd
9482
Coming to America
9602
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
9710
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
9732
Patriot Games
9869
Earth
10946
The Meteor Man
11244
The Sandlot
11528
Exorcist II: The Heretic
11586
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
13490
Africa: The Serengeti
13794
Gang Related
14398
The Great White Hope
17978
The Sandlot 2
18500
Clean Slate
18658
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
23738
Excessive Force
24227
Matewan
24276
Disney's American Legends
24678
The Flight of Dragons
27273
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
29804
Three Fugitives
31608
Cry, the Beloved Country
34615
Jack and the Beanstalk
36550
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
36593
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
39045
A Family Thing
41852
Swashbuckler
42242
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
42243
Looking for Richard
42314
Undercover Angel
42769
Malcolm X
46898
Nine Dog Christmas
48219
The Annihilation of Fish
49796
Fantasia 2000
49948
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
55628
Claudine
55909
True Identity
56385
What the Deaf Man Heard
57479
The River Niger
57741
Blood Tide
58790
Scorchers
61144
Grim Prairie Tales
66706
The Greatest
69903
Convicts
71034
The Making of Star Wars
72694
Santa and Pete
73966
The Star Wars Holiday Special
74849
Feast of All Saints
74946
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
76180
The Ambulance
79509
Deadly Hero
83972
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama
84092
The Comedians
86059
The UFO Incident
86598
Jefferson in Paris
87729
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
94955
Terrorgram
105746
City Limits
108059
Summer's End
121179
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
143894
The Bushido Blade
146091
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
149320
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
150354
My Little Girl
151056
End of the Road
151679
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
152790
Blackfish
158999
Black Indians: An American Story
171429
Milius
173467
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
181812
Our Friend, Martin
185759
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
196738
The Vegas Strip War
207342
The Cay
213804
The Vernon Johns Story
220310
Gimme Shelter
232175
Muse of Fire
232599
Best of the Best
238751
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
249141
The Man
250093
Michael Jackson - Dangerous - The Short Films
267246
Ivory Hunters
291559
Alone
292276
Heat Wave
297850
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X
301867
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
312639
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
330459
Teach 109
336258
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
337755
Lincoln
340036
The Atlanta Child Murders
358084
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
359983
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope Revisited
371826
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition
372322
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
372328
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Special Edition
372334
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
374499
Star Wars:Episode IV - A New Hope Despecialized Edition
382567
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
397045
Star Wars Wars: Episodes I-VI at the Same Time
413483
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Special Edition
414708
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Special Edition
414730
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition
414736
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'
423192
Afro Promo
435718
Warning Shot
456178
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