James Earl Jones ✝

James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. His career has spanned more than 60 years, and he has been described as "one of America\'s most distinguished and versatile" actors and "one of the greatest actors in American history". Since his Broadway debut in 1957, Jones has won many awards, including a Tony Award for his role in The Great White Hope, which also earned him a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film version of the play. Jones has won three Emmy Awards, including two in the same year in 1991. He is also known for his voice roles as Darth Vader in the Star Wars film series and Mufasa in Disney\'s The Lion King, as well as many other film, stage and television roles.\n', ' Jones has been said to possess "one of the best-known voices in show business, a stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects, including live-action acting, voice acting, and commercial voice-overs. In 1970, he won a Grammy Award for Great American Documents. As a child, Jones had a stutter. In his episode of Biography, he said he overcame the affliction through poetry, public speaking, and acting, although it lasted for several years. A pre-med major in college, he went on to serve in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. On November 12, 2011, he received an Honorary Academy Award. On November 9, 2015, Jones received the Voice Arts Icon Award. On May 25, 2017, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Harvard University and concluded the event\'s benediction with "May the Force be with you".\n', ' James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on January 17, 1931, to Ruth (Williams) Jones (1911–1986), a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones (1910–2006), a boxer, butler, and chauffeur who left the family shortly after James Earl\'s birth. He later became a stage and screen actor in New York and Hollywood. Jones and his father did not get to know each other until the 1950s but became reconciled then. His parents were African-American, and Jones has learned they also had Irish and Native American ancestry.\n', '