James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones 1931-, American actor, b. Tate co., Miss. Jones achieved Broadway stardom with his powerful portrayal of the fighter Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope (1968). He made his stage debut at the Univ. of Michigan and appeared thereafter for seven years with the New York Shakespeare Festival in Macbeth (1962), Othello (1963), and King Lear (1973), among many others. On Broadway, he appeared in The Iceman Cometh (1973), Of Mice and Men (1974), and Athol Fugard's A Lesson from Aloes (1980). He returned triumphantly to the stage in August Wilson 's Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences (1987). Jones has had supporting roles in numerous films, most notably as the voice of the villain Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).

Jones, James Earl (1931– ), American actor, the finest Negro player of his generation, with an imposing appearance and a deep voice. He was closely associated with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, for which he played Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1961), Caliban in The Tempest (1962), Othello (1964), Macbeth (1966), Claudius in Hamlet (1972), and King Lear (1973). He was also associated with the plays of Fugard—The Blood Knot (1964), Boesman and Lena (as Boesman, 1970), A Lesson from Aloes (1980), Master Harold … and the Boys (1982)—and appeared in works as diverse as Genet's The Blacks (1961), James Saunders's Next Time I'll Sing to You (1963), and Büchner's Danton's Death (1965). His portrayal of the boxer in Howard Sackler's The Great White Hope (1968) was widely acclaimed, and other roles included Lopahin in an all-Black production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, Hickey in a revival of O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (both 1973), and Lennie in a revival of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1974). He was seen in the two-character play Paul Robeson by Phillip Hayes Dean in New York and London in 1978. In 1981, at the American Shakespeare Theatre, he again played Othello, repeating the role in New York in 1982. In 1987 he starred in August Wilson's Fences.

Jones, James Earl (b. 1931), actor. The Mississippi‐born African American studied at the University of Michigan and with Lee Strasberg before making his Broadway debut in Sunrise at Campobello (1958). He began to call himself to playgoers' attention when he essayed a number of roles for the New York Shakespeare Festival, including Caliban, MacDuff, and Othello. His performance as Jack Jefferson, the despised black boxer, in The Great White Hope (1968), won him wide recognition. Clive Barnes in the Times wrote, “Jones pounded into the role, spitting and shouting . . . he roared with pain and when he even chuckled it seemed like thunder.” However, important roles for black actors continued to be hard to come by, so for many seasons he performed Off Broadway, usually with the same New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1973 he played Hickey in The Iceman Cometh, King Lear, and Paul Robeson, and the following year was Lenny in Of Mice and Men. Jones won further laurels in 1982 when he played Othello on Broadway to Christopher Plummer's Iago, then served as a replacement in Master Harold and the Boys. One of his greatest triumphs was as the ex‐baseball player Troy in Fences (1987). The popular film actor is celebrated for his deep, rich bass voice and strong physical presence.