James Earl Jones: From childhood stummer to the recognizable voice
James Earl Jones enjoyed an acting career spanning nearly 60 years. But he will be known for his voice.
It was a deep, rolling, magnificent contrabass, once described as the sound “Moses heard when addressed by God.”
In the original Star Wars trilogy, he voiced Darth Vader, who can convey the full power of the mysterious ‘Force’ with words alone.
More recently, he was heard saying “This is CNN”, adding intensity and seriousness to the US news channel’s tagline.
James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931 in Mississippi and is of African-American, American Indian, and Irish descent. His father, Robert Earl Jones, abandoned his family shortly after his son’s birth.
It was a large family of 13, and it was decided that Jones should live with his grandmother in Memphis to “lighten the load”. But, when he was driven to his residence, he desperately clings to the automobile.
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In November, voters will choose the next US president at the polls. The world will be watching this vote very carefully.
US election 2024
In addition, they will be casting ballots for representatives in Congress, who are crucial in enacting legislation that can significantly impact the lives of Americans.
“It was the only way I could express that I wanted to be with them”, he commented. “They accepted it.”
It was so terrible that he developed a stutter that lasted until his teenage years. It became so terrifying that he could not speak for a while and had to communicate only through writing.
Oscar nominations
Ironically, his crush inspired him to act, instilling in him a lifelong respect for the spoken word.
In high school, a sympathetic instructor noticed her talent for composing poetry and had her read her work aloud to the class. Jones noticed that speaking from memory made her stutter less noticeable. Encouraged, he started participating in debates and public speaking competitions.
He became interested in theater while attending the University of Michigan, and after serving in the military, began working as an actor in New York. For a while, he lived with his father, not to settle down, but to save money on rent.
“It’s too late to know him as a father,” she told me. “If you don’t learn it early on, there’s no way to catch up.” But Robert, who tried his hand at acting, agreed to support his son’s wishes on one condition.
“I can’t make a living doing this,” he told young James. “So if you want to enter this world, do it because you love it.” It wasn’t awful advice.
Despite the barriers black performers faced in finding work, Jones excelled in Broadway performances such as Jean Genet’s play The Blacks, in which black actors wore white make-up to challenge colonial preconceptions.
He was fortunate to arrive at a moment when the New York theater was rebuilding itself in a new image. You no longer have to be white and middle class to thrive.
He did Shakespeare with Othello, King Lear, Oberon and Claudius. Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Comes, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was a sophisticated, modern work, and Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof had an all-black cast.
In 1968, he won a Tony Award for a role based on the famous black boxer Jack Johnson in the famous White Hope. He later received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the film version, the second black actor to be so honored after Sidney Poitier.
Authority
His first cinematic role came as a young, trim member of Slim Pickens’ flight crew in Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy Dr. Strangelove.
He later starred in films including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. He considered himself a journeyman actor, coming his way and getting paid.
“Denzel Washington, Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise: these guys have well-planned careers,” he told The Guardian. “I’m just on an adventure. Whenever I come up with a job, I say, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’
He was asked to voice Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, as youngsters around the world are aware. Dave Pruse, the man behind the mask, spoke with a distinctive West Country accent. It was adequate for a Green Cross Code Officer, but lacked the threat of an evil Jedi bent on interplanetary dominance.
Jones was not credited for his performance, despite his own pleas. He thought it was all just another “special effect”. When the films broke every box office record, he agreed to reconsider.
He was also a well-known television actor, playing the elderly Alex Haley in Roots: The Next Generation and receiving one of his two Emmys for his lead role in the American drama Gabriel’s Fire. He did gravel voice work on The Simpsons and voiced Mufasa in The Lion King.
He also appeared in early episodes of Sesame Street. To determine if the show worked, the producers screened snippets from the students. The most powerful image was of James Earl Jones standing still, silently counting from one to ten.
In 2011, he received an honorary Oscar for his contribution to the film business. He got it on the stage of a theater in London, where he was acting in the play Driving Miss Daisy with Vanessa Redgrave.
James Earl Jones rose to prominence due to his vocal authority in commercial voice-overs, documentaries and computer games. He was the voice of SeaWorld in Florida and NBC’s Olympic programming. Someone even had the foresight to instruct him to record all 27 books of the New Testament.
He was willing to contract his voice for business, but he was more reserved about politics. His father was blacklisted by Senator Joseph McCarthy, and he avoided confrontation.
“My voice is for rent,” he once declared. “My endorsement is not for hire. I’ll give a voice-over, but I can’t endorse without making a different kind of commitment. “My politics are very personal and subjective.”
He never retired, working well into his eighties. The kid from Mississippi will be remembered for his extraordinary theatrical performances and legendary voice with a pronounced stammer.
In 2016, he also had a final appearance as Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
His words retain the destructive power they wielded four decades ago, introducing a new generation of children to the eternal terror of the dark side.
