Hollywood Icon, James Earl Jones, Passes Away - TOYG! News Byte - 12th September, 2024

[Music] obviously you know everybody has heard about this and it's very sad uh James L Jones distinguished actor and voice of Darth fader dies at 93 as I said the other day on the stream when we found out about this um I hope I live to be 93 It's a grand age isn't it it's a grand age and there he is the great man himself so we'll read this from variety uh Adam B Varian camel Dean um I've just watched today actually I just watched um the UFO incident uh I found it on YouTube it was just there on YouTube so I thought I'll watch the UFO incident I've seen it before uh where he plays Bary Hill um of the Barney and Betty Hill UFO Abduction f um so plays a good part in that he plays a good part in that anyway right James L Jones a prolific film TV and theater actor whose resident unmistaken able baritone was most widely known as the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader died Monday morning at his home in Duchess County New York his rep confirmed to variety he was 93 uh after overcoming a profound stutter as a child uh Jones established himself as one of the pioneering black actors of his generation amassing a bountiful and versatile career spanning over 60 years from his debut on Broadway in 1958 at the court theater renamed the James Earl Jones theater in 2022 uh to his most recent performance in 2021 Coming to America which I've not seen I've seen the original obviously but I never got around to watch him coming to America and I don't know why because it's on Amazon in it anyway for that film Jones reprised his role as king jaffy joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America one of several roles along with Darth Vader that Jones Revisited including the voice of King Mufasa in Disney's animated feature The Lion King in 1994 the 1998 director video Sequel and the 2019 remake uh and CIA deputy director vice admiral James Greer in three Jack Ryan movies 1990s The Hunt for Red October uh 92 is the Patriot Games and 94's clear and present danger uh among his among his more than 80 film credits Jones's uh other notable movies include a B-52 Bombadier in Stanley Cub 196 before Cold War Sati Doctor Strange Love which I've never seen I've never got around to watching that weird weird I've never got around to watching it uh his feature film debut as the first black president of the United States in 1972's the man as the Fearsome villain in 1982's coning the Barbarian anyway L's said about that the better actually I didn't mind it it it was it the first one in the um Monday Moon series films that that I don't like that I generally adored that I don't like um I think it was I think that the first episode was it the Barbarian but I ended up thinking it you know it were okay anyway as a reclusive author in 1989's Field of Dreams if you build it they will come uh as a blind former baseball star in 1993 is The Sandlot and as a minister living in a pareed South Africa in 1995's Cry The Beloved Country and Dr Tigers here saying y uh hang on sorry sorry wi Grace I didn't notice you were replying to me there when I when I asked about all the News That's fit to stream uh no all the News That's fit to print is a famous slogan oh pardon me for the New York Times all right fair enough I was paraphrasing it for you not having read the New York Times not you know not being American I had no idea uh but I have no idea about many things even things cuz I'm an idiot Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards and won two in 1969 for playing boxer Jack Johnson I don't think he a relation uh in the Great White Hope which he reprised on film in 1970 receiving his only Oscar nomination that's a surprise isn't it only one Oscar nomination in that career and in 1987 for originating the role of Troy Maxon in August Wilson's pit a priz winning drama f he was nominated for eight prime time Emmy Awards winning twice in 1991 for supporting actor in the miniseries Heatwave about the 1965 wats riots and for lead actor in the drama series Gabriel's fire about a wrongfully imprisoned ex cop who becomes a private detective it was the first time an actor won two Emmys in the same year uh Jones earned a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002 The Screen Actors Guild life Achievement Award in 2009 an honorary Oscar in 2011 and a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2017 uh wi says also uh it's also great in best of the best again another film I've not seen most of the films that he's been I've not seen oh dear cuz they weren't made for me I suppose you could say anyway an honorary I can't say it an honorary Oscar in 2011 and a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2017 his grammar award grammar I could I'll never get a grammar award his Grammy Award in 1977 for Spoken Word album makes Jones only won a hand one of a handful of actors to receive an OT uh Jones's looming yet ultimately affable presence and Rich speaking voice made him a natural for Shakespeare and he played some of the great roles such as McBeth and aello for Joseph paps American Shakespeare Festival Jones narrated several documentaries from 1972's Malcolm X to the 2007 Disney nature doc Earth an in and famously in ton the tagline this is CNN for the cable news channel uh it's television credits uh it's going to gone a while is this isn't it um the television credits which number over 70 include many movies and miniseries such as roots uh and the Atlanta child murders uh recurring roles in LA homicide life on the street and Everwood they don't mention Stargate wi anyway and guest roles on shows like Simpsons Picket Fences law and order Fraser and house Fraser and house has he never done Star Trek surely it must have been his St Trek at some point but obviously not as for his most famous role Jones was paid $7,000 to lend his voice to Darth vad in 1977 Star Wars A New Hope Star Wars but he declined screen credit for that film and its sequel 1980s the Empire striked back know I never never realized they didn't have a screen credit or did did they add it later see I'm going to have to look now I'm going to have to I'm going to have to watch them again and check um uh out of deference to the actor who played the role on screen David prow man um who who were mythed that they didn't use his voice here George why are you not using my voice as Darth Vader eh that's what it t like oh dear remember kids look both ways when you cross the road it with a Green Cross code man on British television uh back in the 80s by 1983 his Return of the Jedi however uh Jones have become fully synonymous with one uh with one of the most memorable and terrifying villains in City a history and received credit for his work he returned to Vader's voice again for 2005's episode three Revenge of the Sith um which is probably his only line I think was um Padme is she alive is she all right or whatever it is something like that do it and then the infamous no not about it really was it anyway uh he did not but he was considered to play Cisco early on was it I didn't know that it' have been a great Cisco would it it'd have punched out Q as well wouldn't he or FSE choked uh where were we Revenge of the Sith uh and 2016's Rogue W A Star Wars story uh but for the 2022 Disney plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi Jones instead authorized Lucas film to use archival recordings and AI technology to recreate Vader's voice you think to find to do a good impression of him though wouldn't you You' think so anyway when asked in 2014 cuz surely there's somebody that can do a good Dar V voice surely but anyway when asked in 2014 by the New York Times about how he'd kept his career alive for so long Jan's response evoked uh the kind of plain plain spoken humility that he had so often brought to his performances as well the secret is never forgetting that you're a journeyman actor and that nothing is your final thing nothing is your Gra trying to do a his voice but it's not working nothing is your greatest thing nothing is your worst thing Janes said with a thing uh I still consider myself a novice uh James L Jones was born in 1931 on a farm uh in uh arle Mississippi is that is that Mississippi it will be won't it not yeah it will be his father Robert Earl Jones because there also a Missouri is there I don't know his father Robert ear jones left home soon after to pursue his own acting career U the two more or less reconciled when the younger Jones was in his 20s and they even performed together when Jones was five he moved with his maternal grandparents to Michigan uh the shock of the relocation induced a stammer so severe that he often could communicate only in writing uh it wasn't until High School when he started to overcome his stutter when his English teacher upon learning that Jones composed poetry encouraged him to read his writing aloud in class similar to the The King's Speech isn't it really CU you know in The King's Speech the King has a severe stutter and you know it gets over it don't he in that uh anyway uh as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan uh is it Michigan or Michigan Michigan will say uh Missouri is is um abbreviated emo as in shess Joe from Hannibal MO well yeah but that that just said Miss didn't you know it want to is Mississippi just Ms I'm just guessing I'm just guessing but that was that miss you know that's not just the the the two letter abbreviation that we we no one love but anyway but anyhow um as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan uh Jones initially set out to study medicine but wound up more interested in drama his first stage role was a small part in the 1957 Off Broadway production wedding in Japan he took side jobs to supplement occasional theater work in Broadway sunrise at Campa Bello the cool world and The Pretender he also appeared in Summer Stock in 1960 Jones joined Pap's New York Shakespeare Festival the following year he made his first serious impact in the landmark Off Broadway production of jeanan that that name rings a bell jeanan the blacks as the protagonist why did they say it like that I don't know as the protagonist uh d arus probably mispronouncing that as well afterwards for Pap he played Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream the first of many heralded Shakespearean turns his masterful 1964 performance as a fellow for Pap was moved moved off Broadway where the production ran for almost a year Jon's first big break into Cinema came by way of paps production of The Merchant of Venice in which Jones played the prince of Morocco to George C Scott uh when Stanley cubrick came to see Scott whom he was kid whom he was considering for one of the leads in Doctor Strange Love the film director was so impressed that he cast Jones in the film too in 1966 Jones had the title role in MC Beth at the New York Shakespeare Festival again to great acclaim uh he also booked a recurring role on As the World Turns in 1966 marking the first time a black actor had a continuing continuing role on the daytime soap opera uh still he was almost one of Broadway's Best Kept Secrets until 1968 with his performance in Howard sackers the Great White Hope as Jack Johnson the first black man to win the world heavyweight boxing championship uh I'll say I'll say he's related C Champion Uncle Jack I'll call him the Tony um the the Tony the Acclaim and its timing that came out wrong didn't it I'll start that again the T it the Acclaim and its timing in the late 60s propelled Jones into the spotlight at a time when it was difficult for black actors to secure quality roles the actor however uh has said that the accolades he received for both for for both of the play and its fil film adaptation did not do that much for his career it wasn't until 1977 when Jones's voice terrified audiences for the first time as Darth Vader that things truly began to shift for him uh that same year Jones also appeared in ABC's Roots playing playing the author Alex Haley of course he did I was trying to think when when they saw it you know I saw they been in Roots I think all did he play in Roots cuz I was thinking of you know like kin and you know the the the slave people in Roots and of course he played Alex haly didn't he the author dear whose genealogical novel of the same title uh inspired the groundbreaking miniseries he never quite became an outright star in the classic sense of the word but the back-to-back successes that year did ultimately make Jones a household name whose presence canot a stature and gravitus uh gravitas to projects that might otherwise be lacking uh theater is where Jones most frequently was a box office draw in his own right and well into his 80s he returned to Broadway in 2005 for a production of On Golden Pond opposite Leslie ugs um drawing another Tony nomination in 2008 he played Big Daddy uh in the production of Tennessee Williams cat on the Hopton roof that featured an all black cast including tenis Howard anuka Nonny Rose and Felicia Rashad two years later he returned to Broadway in a Revival of Driving Miss Daisy opposite Vanessa Redgrave the Productions moved to London in 2011 oh excuse me in 2011 me me he had to miss the honorary Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles instead Ben Kingsley surprised Jones with his sat statuette in person after he'd concluded a matine performance of the show Jones was first married to actress singer Julian Marie his second wife of 34 years actress Cecilia Hart died in 2016 he survived by his son Flynn Earl Jones is that it yes that's it there we go a great man and you know um genuinely a legend genuinely one of the most um respected actors of his of this generation that way uh and it's very sad he's gone but 93 is a good age we all knew it were coming didn't we you know we know that um it's h it's happening a lot lately though isin it a lot of people are popping the clogs um it seems but uh anyway so it's very very sad but uh as as I said a grand old age and I hope I get to live that long I don't think I will somehow might not make 6D but uh we'll see we'll see what happens fingers crossed [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]