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He moved to his maternal grandparents' farm in Jackson, Michigan at the age of five, 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.[2] The teacher believed forced public speaking would help him gain confidence and insisted he recite a poem in class each day. "I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school."[6]

Education

Jones attended the University of Michigan where he majored in pre-med.[2] He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and excelled. He felt comfortable within the structure of the military environment, and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow cadets in the Pershing Rifles Drill Team and Scabbard and Blade Honor Society. During the course of his studies, Jones discovered he was not cut out to be a doctor. Instead he refocused 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. With the war intensifying in Korea, Jones supposed he would be shipped off to the war as soon as he received his officer's commission.

Military

Instead, he went home. As he waited for his orders to active duty, he found a part-time stage crew job at the Manistee Summer Theater, where he had performed before. By the end of summer 1953, Jones received his second lieutenant's commission, his official orders, and was off to Fort Benning to attend Basic Infantry Officers School. While there, Jones went through Ranger School. Jones graduated, and received his Ranger Tab. His first duty station was supposed to be at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, but his orders changed, and his unit was instead sent to Colorado where the Army planned to establish a cold weather training command at the old Camp Hale near Aspen, Colorado. His regiment was established as training unit, to train in the bitter cold weather and the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. Jones eventually earned the rank of First Lieutenant.[7]

Trivia

Took acting lessons to control his stutter.

He won a Tony in 1969 for "The Great White Hope".

Born at 6:05am.

Son: Flynn Earl Jones.

Had stuttering problem as a child and said very little as a child; still struggles with the problem and says he has to think about what he says carefully before saying it (impressive, since he is known widely for his voice).

Provided the thunderous voice (uncredited) of the anti-hero, Darth Vader, in the 'Star Wars' film trilogy.

Son of prizefighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones, from whom it is said he was estranged long into adulthood.

He's the commanding voice that says "This is CNN".

Graduated from The University of Michigan.

His first time acting was at the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee, Michigan.

Graduated from Kaleva-Norman-Dickson High School in Brethren.

Grew up in the small town of Dublin, Michigan.

Callers using Bell Atlantic pay phones often hear Jones's voice assuring them that "This is Bell Atlantic", just before a female voice asks for a calling card number.

Was once an Army officer after college.

His "death" was announced during a live broadcast of an NBA playoff game in April of 1998. The deceased was actually James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King.

He received the John F. Kennedy Centre Honour in December 2002.

Narrated the documentary Black Indians: An American Story (2001) , which explores issues of racial identity between the mixed-descent peoples of both Native American and African American heritage. Jones himself is a Black Indian.

Announced the forty-fifth greatest movie villain of all time by Maxim Magazine's "Fifty Greatest Movie Villains of all Time" list for his character of Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977).

Co-starred with Madge Sinclair five times.

Has won two Tony Awards: in 1969, as Best Actor (Dramatic), for "The Great White Hope", a role he recreated in an Oscar-nominated performance in the film version of the same title, The Great White Hope (1970) and in 1987, as Best Actor (Play), for August Wilson's "Fences".

In the original Star Wars trilogy, he and Billy Dee Williams were the only black actors to play major roles. One of Billy Dee Williams's other roles was the title role in Scott Joplin (1977). Scott Joplin's ragtime music was used as the score for The Sting (1973), which features James's father, Robert Earl Jones.

Known for his humility, he declined to have his name appear on the credits of both Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), claiming that he felt his contribution wasn't significant enough to warrant a credit. He did agree to have his name appear of the credits of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

Appears in Robots (2005) with Stanley Tucci. In a television biopic of Peter Sellers, Stanley Tucci played Stanley Kubrick, who directed Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), which was also Jones's first film.

He was the first established celebrity to appear on the series "Sesame Street" (1969).

On October 8, 2002 appeared along with Theo Lion from PBS's "Between the Lions" (2000) before the House Education Reform Subcommittee to explain the importance of supporting literacy programs.

Is of African-American, American Indian and Irish ancestry. His paternal great-great-grandmother, Parthenia Connolly, was a native of Ireland who worked as an indentured servant. She married a former slave named Brice. Because Brice had no surname of his own, he took his wife's name Connolly. His maternal grandmother, Maggie Anderson, was part Choctaw Indian. He also has Cherokee ancestry.

His parents, Ruth Connolly and Robert Earl Jones, separated just before he was born. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.

To help get over his stuttering, he would write poetry, and his schoolteachers would let him read it in front of the class.

On June 15th 2005, he was forced to leave the Broadway revival of On Golden Pond (1981) due to a bout of pneumonia.

While in college, was a member of the Pershing Rifles, Co. M-3, a collegiate fraternal organizations for members of the school's ROTC program. Other members of this organization include Colin Powell and G. Gordon Liddy.

Has appeared in two films with Madge Sinclair where they play the main character's parents. In Coming to America (1988), they play the mother and father of Eddie Murphy's character, Hakeem. In The Lion King (1994), they play the mother and father of Simba. In Coming to America (1988), he appears with Samuel L. Jackson, who also appears with him in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which James Earl Jones voices Darth Vader, the father of original trilogy hero Luke Skywalker. In The Lion King (1994), Jones' character is named Mufasa. In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Darth Vader is severely injured on the planet Mustafar, which necessitates the synthesized voice Jones provides.

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1992 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

His vocal performance of Darth Vader is ranked #84 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His father-in-law's favorite movie is Gunga Din (1939).

Is a member of the National Rifle Assocation of America (NRA).

Brother: Matthew Earl Jones.

According to Jones, when George Lucas was trying to cast the voice of Darth Vader, his immediate idea was to cast Orson Welles. However, he felt that Welles was too well-known for the role. So instead he looked for an actor with a deep voice, "like Orson Welles" which is how he got cast.

A Norwegian rock band has named themselves after him: James Earl Jones Barbershop Explosion!.

Filmography

... aka Scary Movie 4 (Australia: cable TV title)

... aka Kingudamu hâtsu II (Japan)

... aka Revenge of the Sith (USA: short title) ... aka Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (USA: DVD box title) ... aka Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (USA: promotional title)

... aka Robots: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)

  • "Everwood .... Will Cleveland (3 episodes, 2003-2004)

... aka Our New Life in Everwood (UK: new syndication title) - The Tipping Point (2004) TV episode .... Will Cleveland - The L Word (2004) TV episode .... Will Cleveland - Three Miners from Everwood (2003) TV episode .... Will Cleveland

- The Toilet (2004) TV episode (voice) .... Royal Flush XP Toilet

... aka Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints (USA: complete title)

... aka Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun Firestorm (USA)

... aka Un vrai petit ange]] (Canada: French title)

... aka Walk on Water

... aka Disney's Recess: Created by Paul and Joe (USA: complete title) - Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave: Part 1 (1998) TV episode (voice) .... Santa Claus - Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave: Part 2 (1998) TV episode (voice) .... Santa Claus