The online video game Fortnite Battle Royale added a Darth Vader non-playable character, which players can converse with via generative AI modeled after Jones' voice
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Figure timeline
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones was an American actor. A pioneer for Black actors in the entertainment industry, he was acclaimed for his performances on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Ach…
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
entertainment · American actor (1931–2024) · television actor · film actor · stage actor · actor · dub actor · also James Earl Jones, Jones
Born 17 January 1931 · Died 9 September 2024 · Q203960
74 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
Photos & media
8 photos · 1 audio · 1 video
Video
James Earl Jones Performs Shakespeare at the White House Poetry Jam- (3 of 8)
Listen
James Earl Jones BBC Radio4 Front Row 31 Dec 2009 b00pfl98
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
In the news
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Recent highlights
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
- Quote
- Award
2025· 1 entry
2024· 2 entries
Died 2024-09-09.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #death
“If you live in an oppressive society, you've got to be resilient. You can't let each little thing crush you. You have take every encounter and make yourself larger, rather than allow yourself to be diminished by it.”
- #wikiquote
- #saying
- #undated
- #lang:en
2022· 2 entries
His voice was used via Respeecher software for Darth Vader in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
The Cort Theatre was renamed after James Earl Jones, becoming the second Broadway venue named after a Black theatrical artist, the first being the August Wilson Theatre named after the playwright August Wilson
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2019· 2 entries
Awarded Disney Legends (2019).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Reprised his voice role of Mufasa for the CGI remake of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau, in which he was the only original cast member to do so
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2017· 3 entries
Snopes.com rated the claim “A photograph shows actor James Earl Jones dressed as Darth Vader alongside 'Star Wars' stars Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker.” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Awarded honorary doctor of Harvard University (2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Harvard University
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2015· 2 entries
Jones opened in a new revival of The Gin Game opposite Cicely Tyson, at the John Golden Theater, where the play had originally premiered (with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy)
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones starred as the Chief Justice Caleb Thorne in the American drama series Agent X with actress Sharon Stone, Jeff Hephner, Jamey Sheridan, and others
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2014· 1 entry
Jones starred alongside Annaleigh Ashford as Grandpa in the Broadway revival of the George S
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2013· 1 entry
Jones starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in a production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Mark Rylance at The Old Vic, London
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2012· 1 entry
Awarded Outer Critics Circle Award for The Best Man (2012).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
2011· 4 entries
Awarded Academy Honorary Award (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Paul Robeson Award (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Academy Award-nominated actor Alec Baldwin called Jones "one of the greatest actors in American history
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Received the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award Recipient
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2009· 1 entry
For his work on film and television, Jones was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award by Forest Whitaker
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2008· 1 entry
Awarded Outer Critics Circle Award for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
2005· 1 entry
Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast in an African-American Broadway revival version of On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2004· 1 entry
Awarded Humanitarian of the Year (2004).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
2003· 1 entry
Snopes.com rated the claim “A plaque made for a 2002 Martin Luther King Day celebration mistakenly thanked James Earl Ray, King's assassin, instead of actor James Earl Jones.” True.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
2002· 2 entries
Jones received Kennedy Center Honors at the John F
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Was the featured Martin Luther King Day speaker for Lauderhill, Florida
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2000· 1 entry
Awarded Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special for Summer's End (2000).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1998· 1 entry
Jones starred in the acclaimed syndicated program An American Moment (created by James R
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1997· 1 entry
Awarded Horatio Alger Award (1997).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1996· 2 entries
Was given the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member George Lucas
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Recited the classic baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and on June 1, 2007, he did the same before a Philadelphia Phillies home game
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1995· 2 entries
Awarded Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Cry, the Beloved Country (1995).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Jones starred in Under One Roof as Neb Langston, a widowed African-American police officer sharing his home with his daughter, his married son and children, and Neb's newly adopted son
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1994· 1 entry
Performed the role of "Ebenezer Scrooge" alongside Martin Sheen and Robert MacNeil in a public reading of A Christmas Carol at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, which was broadcast on PBS
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1993· 2 entries
Accompanied by the Morgan State University choir, Jones spoke the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Awarded NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire (1993).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1992· 2 entries
Was awarded the National Medal of Arts by George H
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones was presented with the National Medal of the Arts by President George H
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1991· 5 entries
Awarded Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire (1991).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded CableACE Award for The American Playwrights Theater: The One Acts (1991).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Heat Wave (1991).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Received the Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
As Best Actor for his role in Gabriel's Fire and as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1987· 3 entries
Awarded Outer Critics Circle Award for Fences (1987).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (1987).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Jones starred in August Wilson's play Fences as Troy Maxson, a middle aged working class father who struggles to provide for his family
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1985· 3 entries
Jones was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame He was also the 1987 First recipient of the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action's Annie Glenn Award
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones lent his bass voice as Pharaoh in the first episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
And was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1982· 1 entry
Married actress Cecilia Hart, who played Desdemona to his Othello shortly after they wed, and with whom he had a son, Flynn Earl Jones
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1977· 2 entries
Jones played Balthazar in the television series Jesus of Nazareth
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones also received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1975· 1 entry
Awarded NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for Claudine (1975).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1974· 2 entries
Jones played Lennie on Broadway in the 1974 Brooks Atkinson Theatre production of the adaptation of John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, with Kevin Conway as George and Pamela Blair as Curley's wife
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones co-starred with Diahann Carroll in the film Claudine, the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed and two "almost" marriages
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1973· 1 entry
Jones played Hickey on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and starred in the title role of William Shakespeare's King Lear opposite Paul Sorvino, René Auberjon
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1970· 2 entries
Won Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor for The Great White Hope (1970).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #trophy
- #achievement
Jones reunited with Jane Alexander in the film adaptation of The Great White Hope
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1969· 3 entries
Awarded Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (1969).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
And Jones is often cited as the first celebrity guest on that series, although a segment with Carol Burnett was the first actually to be broadcast
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones participated in making test films for the children's education series Sesame Street; these shorts, combined with animated segments, were shown to groups of children to gauge the effectiveness of the then-groundbrea
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1968· 2 entries
And was well received, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Jones married actress and singer Julienne Marie, whom he met while performing as Othello to her Desdemona in 1964
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1965· 1 entry
Jones became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama acting in As the World Turns
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1962· 1 entry
Awarded Theatre World Award (1962).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1961· 1 entry
Jones appeared in an Off-Broadway production of The Blacks by Jean Genet, alongside eight subsequently prominent Black actors, including Roscoe Lee Browne, Cicely Tyson, Lou Gossett and others
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1957· 1 entry
Made his Broadway debut as understudy to Lloyd Richards in the short-lived play, The Egghead, by Molly Kazan
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1955· 2 entries
Studied at University of Michigan, Bachelor of Arts (1955).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #education
With a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in drama
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1953· 1 entry
Was a stage carpenter, and between 1955 and 1957, he acted and was a stage manager
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1949· 1 entry
Jones graduated from Dickson Rural Agricultural School (now Brethren High School) in Brethren, Michigan, where he served as vice president of his class
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1931· 2 entries
Born 1931-01-17.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #birth
To Ruth (née Connolly; 1911–1986), a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones (1910–2006), a boxer, butler, and chauffeur
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1920· 1 entry
In Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event