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.
Filmography
all 255
Movies 200
self 65
TV Shows 55
Voice 32
Narrator 23
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021)
Coming 2 America (2021)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The Movies That Made Us (2019)
On Broadway (2019)
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage (2019)
The Lion King (2019)
The Space: Theatre of Survival (2019)
Words from a Bear (2019)
Warning Shot (2018)
The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands (2017)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater (2016)
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (2015)
Driving Miss Daisy (2015)
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal (2015)
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand (2015)
Star Wars Rebels (2014)
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion (2014)
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)
Gimme Shelter (2013)
Muse of Fire (2013)
Blackfish (2013)
Milius (2013)
An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road (2012)
Joe Papp in Five Acts (2012)
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010)
Jack and the Beanstalk (2009)
Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
Earth (2007)
The Big Bang Theory (2007)
The States (2007)
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson (2007)
John, Paul, George and Ben (2007)
Searching for Orson (2006)
The One Show (2006)
Click (2006)
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays (2006)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
The Benchwarmers (2006)
Hollywood's Greatest Villains (2005)
The Sandlot 2 (2005)
The Reading Room (2005)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Robots (2005)
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X' (2005)
House (2004)
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat (2004)
Nine Dog Christmas (2004)
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004)
The Story of Star Wars (2004)
Black Indians: An American Story (2004)
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror (2003)
Two and a Half Men (2003)
The Great Year (2003)
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October' (2003)
Patriot Games: Up Close (2003)
Everwood (2002)
Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars (2002)
Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film (2002)
Clear and Present Danger: Behind the Danger (2002)
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World (2001)
Feast of All Saints (2001)
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street (2001)
According to Jim (2001)
Finder's Fee (2001)
Disney's American Legends (2001)
Antietam: A Documentary Film (2000)
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' (2000)
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (2000)
Summer's End (2000)
The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove (2000)
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (2000)
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Santa and Pete (1999)
The Annihilation of Fish (1999)
Undercover Angel (1999)
On the Q.T. (1999)
Our Friend, Martin (1999)
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
Will & Grace (1998)
Merlin (1998)
Primary Colors (1998)
Alone (1997)
The Second Civil War (1997)
What the Deaf Man Heard (1997)
Gang Related (1997)
Hitler's Forgotten Victims (1997)
Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)
The Second Civil War (1997)
Good Luck (1997)
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery (1997)
Afro Promo (1997)
Timepiece (1996)
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
Looking for Richard (1996)
A Family Thing (1996)
Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
Who's in Rabbit's House? (1995)
Judge Dredd (1995)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995)
The Making of 'Jurassic Park' (1995)
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Under One Roof (1995)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995)
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable (1995)
Signs and Wonders (1995)
People: A Musical Celebration (1995)
Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' (1994)
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
The Lion King (1994)
The Making of the Lion King (1994)
Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics (1994)
David Copperfield - 15 Years of Magic (1994)
Clean Slate (1994)
Africa: The Serengeti (1994)
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
Gangs: Turning the Corner (1994)
Confessions: Two Faces of Evil (1994)
The Vernon Johns Story (1994)
Hallelujah (1993)
Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films (1993)
Frasier (1993)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)
Percy & Thunder (1993)
The Meteor Man (1993)
Dreamrider (1993)
Excessive Force (1993)
The Sandlot (1993)
Sommersby (1993)
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)
Lincoln (1992)
Lincoln (1992)
Sneakers (1992)
Patriot Games (1992)
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories (1992)
World Of Discovery (1992)
Pros and Cons (1991)
True Identity (1991)
Scorchers (1991)
Portrait of Castro's Cuba (1991)
Visitors from the Unknown (1991)
Convicts (1991)
Grim Prairie Tales (1990)
Law & Order (1990)
Gabriel's Fire (1990)
Ivory Hunters (1990)
Heat Wave (1990)
Last Flight Out (1990)
By Dawn's Early Light (1990)
The Ambulance (1990)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Teach 109 (1990)
The Simpsons (1989)
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried (1989)
Best of the Best (1989)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Long Ago and Far Away (1989)
Three Fugitives (1989)
The Hunting of the Snark (1989)
Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark (1989)
America's All-Time Favorite Movies (1988)
Terrorgram (1988)
Coming to America (1988)
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues (1988)
Matewan (1987)
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987)
Gardens of Stone (1987)
A House Divided (1987)
Mathnet (1987)
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986)
Soul Man (1986)
L.A. Law (1986)
My Little Girl (1986)
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1986)
The Lone Star Kid (1986)
City Limits (1986)
Me & Mom (1985)
Night of 100 Stars II (1985)
The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)
Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates (1985)
The Vegas Strip War (1984)
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1984)
Reading Rainbow (1983)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Blood Tide (1982)
Amy and the Angel (1982)
Faerie Tale Theatre (1982)
The Flight of Dragons (1982)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Night of 100 Stars (1982)
The Creation (1981)
The Bushido Blade (1981)
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues (1981)
Beauty and the Beast (1981)
God's Trombones (1981)
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Me Nobody Knows (1980)
CBS Schoolbreak Special (1980)
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980)
Paris (1979)
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street (1979)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979)
Paul Robeson (1979)
Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement (1978)
The Kennedy Center Honors (1978)
The Story of the Faithful Wookiee (1978)
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
The Magic of David Copperfield (1978)
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened (1977)
A Piece of the Action (1977)
The Making of Star Wars (1977)
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
Star Wars (1977)
The Greatest (1977)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Swashbuckler (1976)
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
The River Niger (1976)
Deadly Hero (1975)
The UFO Incident (1975)
The Cay (1974)
Claudine (1974)
King Lear (1974)
The American Film Institute Salute to ... (1973)
Black Omnibus (1973)
The Man (1972)
Malcolm X (1972)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream (1971)
Great Performances (1971)
The Great White Hope (1970)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
End of the Road (1970)
Sesame Street (1969)
The Dick Cavett Show (1968)
The Comedians (1967)
The Comedians in Africa (1967)
Tarzan (1966)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
East Side/West Side (1963)
Dr. Kildare (1961)
The Defenders (1961)
Tony Awards (1956)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)
Lamp Unto My Feet (1948)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
The JFK Conspiracy
Vegetable Soup
Broadway: The Next Generation
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1931-01-17 (93 years old)
Birth PlaceArkabutla, United States of America
RelationshipsJulienne Marie (1968-01-01 - 1972-01-01)
SpouseCecilia Hart
ChildrenFlynn Earl Jones
FatherRobert Earl Jones
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsJames Earl Boggins Jones, Todd Jones, Jimmy
Awardshonorary doctor of Harvard University, Humanitarian of the Year, Horatio Alger Award, Paul Robeson Award, National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, Daytime Emmy Award, Theatre World Award, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, Academy Honorary Award, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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