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James Earl Jones

What was it like growing up in small towns in the rural Mississippi and Michigan in the 1930s and ’40s?

James Earl Jones: It was very simple. Blessedly simple. I think the extent to which I have any balance at all, any mental balance, is because of being a farm kid and being raised in those isolated rural areas. Even in Mississippi there was no immediate concern about social problems, you know. We were a feudal system of our own. Grandpa was a feudal lord, and we all did our work, you know. And there were 13 of us in the household. We were self-sufficient. My grandmother though, began to prepare us in her own neurotic — and I think psychotic — way to face racism. So, she taught us to be racist, which is something I had to undo later when I got to Michigan, you know.

In Michigan it was even more isolated. Nine months of snow! As much as I yearned to flee that when I was a teenager, now I yearn to get back to that simplicity. My son now appreciates that. He’s 13. He prefers to be in the country.

What ideas, values or experiences did you bring with

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As a kid, I imagined that God must sound a lot like James Earl Jones.

Jones, who died this week at the age of 93, had a voice that seemed to emanate from the foundations of the earth. It was rich, sonorous, commanding. You could also imagine it booming down from the heavens or out of a burning bush; a voice that could make light bloom in the darkness. That voice made him an icon.

I consider Jones one of the defining actors of my childhood. He was, in fact, one of the first actors I recognized as an actor: I remember the startling realization that Mufasa and Darth Vader had the same voice. In retrospect, the most surprising thing about this is that I was surprised at all. No one else sounded like James Earl Jones.

It might be hard to believe, but for a time, Jones couldn’t find his voice at all. Born in Mississippi in 1931 and abandoned by his father at a young age (actor Robert Earl Jones, with whom he later reconciled), Jones was sent by his mother Ruth to live with his maternal grandparents in Michigan. It was a difficult experience; Jones developed a debilitating stutter a

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James Earl Jones

American actor (1931–2024)

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, he is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] 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 Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011.^[5]^[6]

Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi during the Jim Crow era, Jones overcame a childhood stutter. A pre-med major in college, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. His deep voice was praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects.^[7]^[8] Jones made his Broadway debut in the play Sunrise at Campobello (