James Earl Jones

Born at 6:05am.

Took acting lessons to control his stutter.

Son, with Cecilia Hart : Flynn Earl Jones.

Had a 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 of Darth Vader, the villain of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Son of prizefighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones , from whom he was (allegedly) estranged long into adulthood. Yet they starred together in a well-received stage revival of John Steinbeck s "Of Mice and Men", as Lennie Small and Crooks, respectively (Kevin Conway also starred in the play, as George Milton).

Hes the commanding voice that says "This is CNN".

Attended and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955.

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

Attended and 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 Joness voice assuring them "Welcome to Bell Atlantic", just before a female voice asks for a calling card number.

Was once a United States Army officer after college.

His "death" was announced during a live broadcast of an NBA playoff game in April 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 , 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 Magazines "Fifty Greatest Movie Villains of All Time" list for his character of Darth Vader in Star Wars .

Co-starred with Madge Sinclair five times.

Has won two Tony Awards: in 1969, as Best Actor , 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 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 other roles was the title role in Scott Joplin . Scott Joplin s ragtime music was used as the score for The Sting , which features Jamess father, Robert Earl Jones.

Known for his humility, he declined to have his name appear on the credits of both Star Wars and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back , claiming that he felt his contribution wasnt 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 .

Has appeared in the animated comedy Robots 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 , which was also Jones first film.

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

On October 8, 2002, he appeared along with Theo Lion from PBSs "Between the Lions" before the House Education Reform Subcommittee to explain the importance of supporting literacy programs.

His parents were both African-American. He is also said to have Native American (Choctaw and Cherokee) and Irish ancestry. His maternal great-great-grandmother is said to be Parthenia Connolly, a native of Ireland who worked as an indentured servant, and who married a former slave named Brice. Because Brice had no surname of his own, he took his wifes name, "Connolly".

His parents, Ruth (Connolly) and Robert Earl Jones , separated just before he was born. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, Maggie (Anderson) and John Henry Connolly.

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 15, 2005, he was forced to leave the Broadway revival of On Golden Pond 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 schools 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 characters parents. In Coming to America , they play the mother and father of Eddie Murphy s character, Akeem. In The Lion King , they play the mother and father of Simba. In Coming to America , he appears with Samuel L. Jackson , who also appears with him in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , in which James Earl Jones voices Darth Vader, the father of original trilogy hero Luke Skywalker. In The Lion King , Jones character is named Mufasa. In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , 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 Magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His father-in-laws favorite movie is Gunga Din .

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 the role.

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

Is a United States Army veteran and former member of the 75th Rangers Regiment.

He used to use "Darth Vader" as his handle on his CB radio but stopped when it was frightening people.

Is the first African-American actor to play the President of the United States on film in The Man .

Although he played Dorian Harewood s son in "Roots: The Next Generations" , he is more than 19 years his senior in real life.

James Earl Jones appeared in Coming to America in which Samuel L. Jackson had a cameo. They would both appear in the Star Wars film series. In addition, Samuel L. Jackson would star in The Great White Hype which was a spoof of The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.

Is one of only 14 individuals who are an "EGOT", meaning that he has received at least one of all of the four major entertainment awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. The other recipients, in chronological order, are Richard Rodgers , Barbra Streisand , Helen Hayes , Rita Moreno , Liza Minnelli , John Gielgud , Audrey Hepburn , Marvin Hamlisch , Jonathan Tunick , Mel Brooks , Mike Nichols , Whoopi Goldberg and Scott Rudin. Three of the 14 recipients, including Jones, did receive one non-competitive award: Streisand won a Special Tony, Minnelli won a Special Grammy, and Jones won a Special Oscar.

Has appeared with Harrison Ford in five films: Star Wars , Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi , Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger .

He was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on January 7, 1996.

(September 2006) Currently lives in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York.

Is a Republican.

Has never met David Prowse.

At the same time James Earl Jones was performing as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in London, the Tate Modern was doing an exhibition on Star Wars iconography during the Iraq War.

Was considered to voice Manny in Ice Age . The role went to Ray Romano.

Auditioned for the role of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird . The role went to Brock Peters , who would later on also play Darth Vader in the Star Wars radio plays.

Auditioned for the role of Bart in Blazing Saddles . The role went to Cleavon Little.

Was considered for the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" . The role went to Avery Brooks.

Was considered for the role of Captain John Sheridan on "Babylon 5" . The role went to Bruce Boxleitner.

Was originally set to star in Othello . However, plans fell through due to issues with Equity and Anthony Hopkins was cast instead.

Recipient of Harvard universitys Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award.

Friends with Robert Guillaume , and Angela Lansbury.

Hates Baseball despite noted roles in The Bingo Long All Stars & Travelling Motor Kings, Field Of Dreams and The Sandlot, as well as performing the National Anthem at the 1993 MLB All-Star Game.

[from "James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences" page 360]: My voice is for,hire. My endorsement is not for hire. I will do a voice-over, but I,cannot endorse without making a different kind of commitment. My,politics are very personal and subjective.

If you take a villain like Thulsa Doom or Darth Vader and have fun with,it, that destroys the credibility of the character.

The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we,decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise, they will,win and the decent people will lose.

And nothing embittered me, which is important, because I think ethnic people and women in this society can end up being embittered because of the lack of affirmative action, you know.

Acting is not about anything romantic, not even fantasy, although you do create fantasy. .