Look up jones in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Jones may refer to:

• Jones (surname), a common Anglo-Welsh surname
• Jones (cricketer) (first name unknown), English cricketer in the 1740s
• Jones calculus, a description of polarization in optics
• Jones Convenience Stores, a chain of shops based in Westfield, Somerset
• Jones (Animal Farm), a human character in George Orwell's novel Animal Farm
• "Jones" (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), an episode of the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Jones Bootmaker, a UK-based footwear retailer
• Jones Soda, a brand of soda pop
• Jones Sewing Machine Company, a UK sewing-machine manufacturer acquired in 1968 by Brother Industries
• Jones, the unit of specific detectivity

Places[link]

Canada

• Jones, Ontario, Canada

Philippines

• Jones, Isabela

United States

• Jones, Illinois, U.S.
• Jones, Michigan, U.S.
• Jones, Oklahoma, U.S.

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Jones"
• Generation Jones, the generation of people born between 1954 and 1965
• Keeping up with the Joneses
• Keeping up with the Joneses (TV series)
• Mr. Jones (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr.^[12] is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to 1996, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, the character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also featured in the theme park attraction Indiana Jones Adventure, which exists in similar forms at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

Jones is most famously played by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall. Doug Lee has supplied Jones's voice to two LucasArts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, while David Esch supplied his voice to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb and John Armstrong in Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings^[13].

Particularly notable facets of the character include his iconic look (bullwhip, fedora, and leather jacket), sense of humor, deep knowledge of many ancient civilizations and languages, and fear of snakes.

Indiana Jones remains one of cinema's most revered movie characters. In 2003, he was ranked as the second greatest movie hero of all time by the American Film Institute.^[14] He was also named the sixth greatest movie character by Empire magazine.^[15] Entertainment Weekly ranked Indy 2nd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.^[16] Premiere magazine also placed Indy at number 7 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.^[17] Since his first appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he has become a worldwide star. On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked Indy at number 10.^[18] In 2010, he ranked #2 on Time Magazine's list of the greatest fictional characters of all time, surpassed only by Sherlock Holmes.^{[citation needed]}

Appearances[link]

Indiana Jones is from Princeton, NJ and was first introduced in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in 1936. The character is presented as an adventurer reminiscent of the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes, whose research is funded by Marshall College (named after producer Frank Marshall)^[19] a fictional college in Connecticut, where he is a professor of archaeology. In this first adventure, he is pitted against the Nazis, traveling the world to prevent them from recovering the Ark of the Covenant (see also Biblical archaeology). He is aided by Marion Ravenwood and Sallah. The Nazis are led by Jones's archrival, a Nazi-sympathizing French archaeologist named René Belloq, and Arnold Toht, a sinister Gestapo agent.

The 1984 prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, set in 1935, took the character into a more horror-oriented story, skipping his legitimate teaching job and globe trotting, and taking place almost entirely in India. This time, Jones attempts to recover children and the Sankara stones from the bloodthirsty Thuggee cult. He is aided by Short Round and accompanied by Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw).

The third film, 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, set in 1938, returned to the formula of the original, reintroducing characters such as Sallah and Marcus Brody, a scene from Professor Jones's classroom (he now teaches at Barnett College), the globe trotting element of multiple locations, and the return of the infamous Nazi mystics, this time trying to find the Holy Grail. The film's introduction, set in 1912, provided some back story to the character, specifically the origin of his fear of snakes, his use of a bullwhip, the scar on his chin, and his hat; the film's epilogue also reveals that "Indiana" is not Jones's first name, but a nickname he took from the family dog. The film was a buddy movie of sorts, teaming Jones with his father, often to comical effect. Although Lucas intended at the time to do five films, this ended up being the last for over eighteen years, as Lucas could not think of a good plot element to drive the next installment.^[20]

The 2008 film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, became the latest film in the series. Set in 1957, 19 years after the third film, it pits an older, wiser Indiana Jones against Soviet agents bent on harnessing the power of a crystal skull associated with extraterrestrials discovered in South America by his former colleague Harold Oxley (John Hurt). He is aided in his adventure by an old lover, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and her son—a young greaser named Henry "Mutt" Williams (Shia LaBeouf), later revealed to be his biological child, Henry Jones III. There were rumors that LaBeouf will take over the Indy franchise.^[21] This film also reveals that Jones was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (a predecessor department to the CIA) during World War II, attaining the rank of Colonel in the United States Army and running covert operations with MI6 agent George McHale on the Soviet Union.

Television[link]

From 1992 to 1996, George Lucas executive-produced a television series named The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which was designed as an educational program for children, spotlighting historical figures and important events, using the concept of a prequel to the films as a draw. The show featured a standard formula of a 93-year-old Jones (George Hall), wearing an eye patch, introducing a story, and then an adventure with either a 17-year-old Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) or a 10-year-old Jones (Corey Carrier), and even a baby Indy (Neil "Boulie" Boulane). Historical figures featured on the show include Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Leo Tolstoy, Pancho Villa, Charles de Gaulle, Mata Hari, Eliot Ness, Ernest Hemingway, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Patrick Pearse, Emperor Karl and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary, Vladimir Lenin, T. E. Lawrence, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, Winston Churchill, Herman Göring, Sigmund Freud, Theodore Roosevelt, Manfred von Richthofen, and John Ford, in such diverse locations as Egypt, India, China, and the whole of Europe.

One episode, "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues", is bookended by Harrison Ford, reprising his role as the character. Indiana loses one of his eyes sometime between 1957 and when the "Old Indy" segments take place.

The show provided some backstory for the films, as well as new information regarding the character. He was born July 1, 1899, and his middle name is Walton (Lucas's middle name). It is also mentioned that he had a sister called Suzie who died as an infant of fever, and that he eventually has a daughter and grandchildren who appear in some episode introductions and epilogues. His relationship with his father, first introduced in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was further fleshed out with stories about his travels with his father as a young boy. A large portion of the series centered around his activities during World War I.

In 1999, Lucas removed the episode introductions and epilogues by George Hall for the VHS and DVD releases, as he re-edited the episodes into chronologically ordered feature-length stories. The series title was also changed to The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.

Video games[link]

The character has appeared in several officially licensed games, including LEGO Indiana Jones video games, beginning with adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, two adaptations of The Last Crusade (one with purely action mechanics, one with an adventure and puzzle based structure) and Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures which included the storylines from all three of the original films.

Following this, the games branched off into original storylines with Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb and Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.^[22] Emperor's Tomb sets up Jones's companion Wu Han and the search for Nurhaci's ashes seen at the beginning of Temple of Doom. The first two games were developed by Hal Barwood and starred Doug Lee as the voice of Indiana Jones; Emperor's Tomb had David Esch fill the role and Staff of Kings starred John Armstrong.

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine was the first Indy-based game presented in three dimensions, as opposed to 8-bit graphics and side-scrolling games before.

There is also a small game from Lucas Arts Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures. A video game was made for young Indy called Young Indiana Jones and the Instruments of Chaos, as well as a video game version of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Two Lego Indiana Jones games have also been released. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures was released in 2008^[23] and follows the plots of the first three films. It was followed by LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues in late 2009. The sequel includes an abbreviated reprise of the first three films, but focuses on the plot of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Indiana Jones has also made cameo appearances as an unlockable character in the games Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Social gaming company Zynga introduced Indiana Jones to their "Adventure World" game in late 2011.^[24]

Theme parks[link]

Indiana Jones is featured at several Walt Disney theme park attractions. The Indiana Jones Adventure attractions at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea ("Temple of the Forbidden Eye" and "Temple of the Crystal Skull," respectively) place Indy at the forefront of two similar archaeological discoveries. These two temples each contain a wrathful deity who threatens the guests who ride through in World War II troop transports. The attractions, some of the most expensive of their kind at the time, opened in 1995 and 2001, respectively, with sole design credit attributed to Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney did not license Harrison Ford's likeness for the North American version; nevertheless, a differentiated Indiana Jones audio-animatronic character appears at three points in both attractions. However, the Indiana Jones featured in the DisneySea version does use Harrison Ford's likeness but uses Japanese audio for all of his speaking parts. In 2010, some of the Indy audio-animatronics at the Disneyland version have been replaced and now resemble Ford.^[25]

Disneyland Resort Paris also features an Indiana Jones-titled ride where people speed off through ancient ruins in a runaway mine wagon similar to that found in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is a looping roller coaster engineered by Intamin, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, and opened in 1993.

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! is a live show that has been presented in the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort with few changes since the park's 1989 opening under a different name. The 25-minute show presents various stunts framed in the context of a feature film production, and recruits members of the audience to participate in the show. Stunt artists in the show re-create and ultimately reveal some of the secrets of the stunts of the Raiders of the Lost Ark films, including the well-known "running-from-the-boulder" scene. Stunt performer Anislav Varbanov was fatally injured in August 2009, while rehearsing the popular show.^[26] Also at Disney's Hollywood Studios, an audio-animatronic Indiana Jones appears in another attraction; during the The Great Movie Ride's Raiders of the Lost Ark segment.

Character description and formation[link]

In his role as a college professor of archaeology, Henry Jones Jr. is scholarly and learned in a tweed suit, lecturing on ancient civilizations. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it is revealed that Jones is influenced by the Marxist Archaeologist, Vere Gordon Childe, whose qualified acceptance of cultural diffusionism theory he propounds. Ironically, though Childe loathes fieldwork,^[27] Indy goes on to say, "If you want to be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library." This is in tongue-in-cheek contrast to the previous film's comment, "Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library."

However, at the opportunity to recover important artifacts, Dr. Jones transforms into "Indiana," a "non-superhero superhero" image he has concocted for himself.^[28] Producer Frank Marshall said, "Indy [is] a fallible character. He makes mistakes and gets hurt. [...] That's the other thing people like: He's a real character, not a character with superpowers."^[29] Spielberg said there "was the willingness to allow our leading man to get hurt and to express his pain and to get his mad out and to take pratfalls and sometimes be the butt of his own jokes. I mean, Indiana Jones is not a perfect hero, and his imperfections, I think, make the audience feel that, with a little more exercise and a little more courage, they could be just like him."^[30] According to Spielberg biographer Douglas Brode, Indiana created his heroic figure so as to escape the dullness of teaching at a school. Both of Indiana's personas reject one another in philosophy, creating a duality.^[28] Harrison Ford said the fun of playing the character was because Indiana is both a romantic and a cynic,^[31] while scholars have analyzed Indiana as having traits of a lone wolf; a man on a quest; a noble treasure hunter; a hardboiled detective; a human superhero; and an American patriot.^[32]

Like many characters in his films, Jones has some autobiographical elements of Spielberg. Indiana lacks a proper father figure because of his strained relationship with his father, Henry Senior. His own contained anger is misdirected at the likes of Professor Abner Ravenwood, his mentor at the University of Chicago, leading to a strained relationship with Marion Ravenwood.^[28] The teenage Indiana bases his own look on a figure from the prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, after being given his hat.^[33] Marcus Brody acts as Indiana's positive role model at the college.^[33] Indiana's own insecurities are made worse by the absence of his mother.^[34] In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the character becomes the father in a temporary family unit with Willie Scott and Short Round to survive. Indiana is rescued from the evil of Kali by Short Round's dedication. Indiana also saves many children from slavery.^[34]

Because of Indiana's strained relationship with his father, who was absent much of Indiana's youth searching for the Holy Grail, the character does not pursue the more spiritual aspects of the cultures he studies. Indiana uses his knowledge of Shiva to ultimately defeat Mola Ram.^[34] In Raiders, however, he is wise enough to close his eyes in the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant. By contrast, his rival Rene Belloq dies horribly for having the audacity to try to communicate directly with God.^[28]

In Crusade's prologue, Indiana's intentions are revealed as prosocial, as he believes artifacts "belong in a museum." In the film's climax, Indiana undergoes "literal" tests of faith to retrieve the Grail and save his father's life. He also remembers Jesus as a historical figure – a humble carpenter – rather than an exalted figure when he recognizes the simple nature and tarnished appearance of the real Grail amongst a large assortment of much more ornately decorated ones. Henry Senior rescues his son from falling to his death when reaching for the fallen Grail, telling him to "let it go," overcoming his mercenary nature.^[33] The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles explains how Indiana becomes solitary and less idealistic after fighting in World War I.^[35] In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jones is older and wiser, whereas his sidekicks Mutt and Mac are youthfully arrogant and greedy, respectively.^[36]

Origins and inspirations[link]

Indiana Jones is modeled after the strong-jawed heroes of the matinée serials and pulp magazines that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their childhoods (such as the Republic Pictures serials, and the Doc Savage series). Sir H. Rider Haggard's safari guide/big game hunter Allan Quatermain of King Solomon's Mines, who dates back to 1885, is a notable template for Jones.^[37] The two friends first discussed the project in Hawaii around the time of the release of the first Star Wars film.^[38] Spielberg told Lucas how he wanted his next project to be something fun, like perhaps a James Bond film. According to sources, Lucas responded to the effect that he had something "even better,"^[38] or that he "got that beat."^[39]

Two of the possible bases for "Indiana" Jones are Professor Challenger, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912 for his novel, The Lost World, who was in turn based on his Doyle physiology professor, Sir William Rutherford, an adventuring academic, albeit a zoologist/anthropologist.^{[citation needed]}

The character was originally named "Indiana Smith" (perhaps in a nod to the 1966 Western film Nevada Smith), after an Alaskan Malamute Lucas owned in the 1970s ("Indiana"); however, Spielberg disliked the name "Smith," and Lucas casually suggested "Jones" as an alternative based on the archaeologist Vendyl Jones.^[38]

Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of British secret agent James Bond was one of the primary inspirations for Jones, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.^[40][41]

Costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis said the inspiration for Indiana's outfit was Charlton Heston's Harry Steele in Secret of the Incas: "We did watch this film together as a crew several times, and I always thought it strange that the filmmakers did not credit it later as the inspiration for the series."^[42]

Historical Models[link]

Many people are said to be the real-life inspiration of the Indiana Jones character—although none of the following have been confirmed as inspirations by Lucas or Spielberg. There are some suggestions, listed here in alphabetical order by last name:

• Beloit College professor and paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews.^[43]
• Italian archaeologist and circus strongman Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778–1823).^[44]
• Yale University professor, historian, and explorer Hiram Bingham III, who rediscovered and excavated the lost city of Machu Picchu,^[45] and chronicled his find in the bestselling book The Lost City of the Incas in 1948.^[46]
• University of Chicago archaeologist Robert Braidwood.^[47]
• University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted.^[48]
• The British archaeologist Percy Fawcett, who spent much of his life exploring the jungles of northern Brazil, and who was last seen in 1925 returning to the Amazon Basin to look for the Lost City Of Z. A fictionalized version of Fawcett appears to Jones in the book Indiana Jones And The Seven Veils.^[7]
• British archaeologist and soldier T. E. Lawrence.^[49]
• The Northwestern University anthropologist, professor and adventurer William Montgomery McGovern.^[50]
• Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges.^[51]
• German archaeologist Otto Rahn.^[52]

Costume[link]

Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, the costume designer gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, the designers chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora. As a documentary of Raiders pointed out, the hat served a practical purpose. Following the lead of the old "B"-movies that inspired the Indiana Jones series, the fedora hid the actor's face sufficiently to allow doubles to perform the more dangerous stunts seamlessly. Examples in Raiders include the wider-angle shot of Indy and Marion crashing a statue through a wall, and Indy sliding under a fast-moving vehicle from front to back. Thus it was necessary for the hat to stay in place much of the time.

The hat became so iconic that the filmmakers could only come up with very good reasons or jokes to remove it. If it ever fell off during a take, filming would have to stop to put it back on. In jest, Ford put a stapler against his head to stop his hat from falling off when a documentary crew visited during shooting of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This created the urban legend that Ford stapled the hat to his head.^[53] Although other hats were also used throughout the movies, the general style and profile remained the same. Elements of the outfit include:

• The fedora was supplied by Herbert Johnson Hatters in England for the first three films. It was referred to as "The Australian Model" by costume designer Deborah Landis and was fitted with a Petersham bow.^[54] The fedora for Crystal Skull was made by Steve Delk and Marc Kitter of the Adventurebilt Hat Company of Columbus, Mississippi.
• The leather jacket, a hybrid of the "Type 440" and the A-2 jacket, was made by Leather Concessionaires (now known as Wested Leather Co.) for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, jackets were made in-house at Bermans & Nathans in London based on a stunt jacket they provided for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tony Nowak made the jacket for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
• The bag was a modified Mark VII British gas mask bag, usually worn under the jacket with the exception of Crystal Skull where the bag was worn over the jacket.
• The whip was a 8 to 10 foot (2.4 to 3.0 m) bullwhip crafted by David Morgan for the first three films. The whips for Crystal Skull were crafted by a variety of people, including Terry Jacka, Joe Strain and Morgan (different lengths and styles were likely used in specific stunts).
• The pistol was usually a World War I-era revolver, including the Webley Government (Last Crusade and Crystal Skull), or a .45 ACP Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector 2nd model revolver (Raiders). He has also used an M1917 revolver (Temple of Doom), a Nagant M1895 (Young Indiana Jones), and a 9 mm Browning Hi-Power (Raiders).^[55] The weapon is carried in a military pattern flap holster.
• The shoes were made by Alden. A stock style (model 405) that had been a favorite of Ford's before the movies, they are still sold today (though in a redder (brick) shade of brown than seen in the movies) and are popularly known as "Indy Boots."^[56]

The fedora and leather jacket from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are on display at the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington, D.C.^[57] The collection of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise.^[58] Jones' whip was the third most popular film weapon, as shown by a 2008 poll held by 20th Century Fox, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.^[59]

Casting[link]

Originally, Spielberg suggested Harrison Ford; Lucas resisted the idea, since he had already cast the actor in American Graffiti, Star Wars, and The Empire Strikes Back, and did not want Ford to become known as his "Bobby De Niro" (in reference to the fact that fellow director Martin Scorsese regularly cast Robert De Niro in his films).^[38] During an intensive casting process, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast then little-known actor Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. Shortly afterward pre-production began in earnest on Raiders of the Lost Ark.^[38] However, CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment to Magnum, P.I. (which was gradually gaining momentum in the ratings), forcing him to turn down the role.^[38] One of CBS's concerns was that shooting for Magnum P.I. conflicted with shooting for Raiders, both of which were to begin about the same time. However, Selleck was to say later in an interview that shooting for Magnum P.I. was delayed and did not actually begin until shooting for Raiders had concluded.

After Spielberg suggested Ford again, Lucas gave in, and Ford was cast in the role less than three weeks before filming began.^[38]

Influence[link]

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Though some archaeologists criticize Indy's methods as befitting a "looter" rather more than a careful worker of precious sites, many have adopted the popular figure as something of a standard-bearer for their profession.^[60] The industry magazine Archaeology, believing that Jones, as one editor said, was "a horrible archaeologist but a great diplomat for archaeology,"^[60] named eight past and current archaeologists who they felt "embodied [Jones'] spirit" as recipients of the "Indy Spirit Awards" in 2008.^[61] That same year Ford himself was elected to the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Institute of America. Commenting that "understanding the past can only help us in dealing with the present and the future," Ford was praised by the association's president for his character's "significant role in stimulating the public's interest in archaeological exploration."^[62]

While himself a homage to various prior adventurers, aspects of Indiana Jones also directly influenced some subsequent characterizations:

• Lara Croft, the female archaeologist of the Tomb Raider series, was originally designed as a man, but was changed to a woman, partly because the developers felt that the original design was too similar to Indiana Jones.^[63] Paramount Pictures, which distributed the Indiana Jones film series, would later make two films based on the Tomb Raider games.
• Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes explained that their "inspiration was anything Harrison Ford has ever done: Indiana Jones, Han Solo."^[64]
• The video game series Uncharted is also very heavily influenced and inspired by Indiana Jones. The main character, Nathan Drake, also shares many similarities with Indiana Jones himself, both visually and personality-wise. The design team felt the sources shared themes of mystery and "what-if scenarios" that romanticized adventure and aimed to include those in Uncharted.^[65]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Indiana Jones

• IndianaJones.com – the official Indiana Jones site
• Indiana Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• The Indiana Jones Wiki – A wiki devoted to Indiana Jones

George Jones
Jones performing at Harrah's Metropolis in Metropolis, Illinois in June 2002
Background information
Birth name	George Glenn Jones
Also known as	No Show Jones[1] The Possum[1]
Born	(1931-09-12) September 12, 1931 (age 80) Saratoga, Texas, USA
Origin	Vidor, Texas, USA
Genres	Country
Occupations	singer-songwriter
Instruments	acoustic guitar vocals
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Starday Mercury United Artists Musicor Epic MCA Nashville Asylum Bandit
Associated acts	Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard
Website	www.GeorgeJones.com

George Glenn Jones (born September 12, 1931) is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette.

Over the past 20 years, Jones has frequently been referred to as the greatest living country singer.^[2][3] Country music scholar Bill C. Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved."

Throughout his long career, Jones made headlines often as much for tales of his drinking, stormy relationships with women, and violent rages as for his prolific career of making records and touring. His wild lifestyle led to Jones missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones."^[1] With the help of his fourth wife, Nancy, he has been sober for over 10 years. Jones has had more than 150 hits during his career, both as a solo artist and in duets with other artists. The shape of his nose and facial features have given Jones the nickname "The Possum." Jones said in an interview that he has chosen to tour only about 60 dates a year.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

George Glenn Jones was born on September 12, 1931 in Saratoga, Texas, and was raised in Vidor, Texas, with his brother and five sisters.^[4] When he was seven, his parents bought a radio and he heard country music for the first time. Given a guitar when he was nine, Jones was soon busking for money on the streets of Beaumont.

He left home at 16 and went to Jasper, Texas, where he sang and played on the radio station. He married his first wife Dorothy when he was 19, but they divorced within a year. The Korean War was underway, and he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was stationed in California for his entire service. Not long after his discharge, his music career took off.^[5]

Wild years[link]

Jones's identity was closely tied to his alcoholism. One of the best known stories of Jones' drinking days happened when he was married to his second wife, Shirley Corley. Jones recalled Shirley making it physically impossible for him to travel to Beaumont, located 8 miles away, and buy liquor. Because Jones would not walk that far, she would hide the keys to each of their cars they owned before leaving. She, however, did not hide the keys to the lawn mower. Jones recollects being upset at not being able to find any keys before looking out the window and at a light that shone over their property. He then described his thoughts, saying: "There, gleaming in the glow, was that ten-horsepower rotary engine under a seat. A key glistening in the ignition. I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles per hour. It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did."^[6]

In her 1979 autobiography, former wife Tammy Wynette recalled waking at 1 AM to find her husband gone: "I got into the car and drove to the nearest bar 10 miles away. When I pulled into the parking lot there sat our rider-mower right by the entrance. He'd driven that mower right down a main highway. He looked up and saw me and said, `Well, fellas, here she is now. My little wife, I told you she'd come after me.'"^[7]

Jones later jokingly sang of the lawn mower incident in his 1996 single "Honky Tonk Song", and parodied his arrest in the music video.

In the 1970s, a manager introduced Jones to cocaine before a show, because he was too tired to perform. His self-destructive behavior brought him close to death and he was in an Alabama psychiatric hospital by the end of the decade. Celebrated by some of his fans as the hard-drinkin', fast-livin' spiritual-son of his idol, Hank Williams, Jones missed so many engagements that he gained the nickname of "No-Show Jones." (The song "No-Show Jones" makes fun of Jones and other country singers.) He was often penniless and admits that Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash came to his financial aid during this time.

Poking fun at his past, three country music videos would feature Jones arriving on a riding lawn mower. The first was Hank Williams, Jr's "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" in 1984 while the second was Vince Gill's "One More Last Chance" in 1993. Gill's song mentioned the mower with the lines "She might have took my car keys, but she forgot about my old John Deere." At the end of Gill's video, he is leaving the golf course on a John Deere tractor and greets Jones with "Hey, possum." Jones, arriving at the golf course driving a John Deere riding lawn mower with a set of golf clubs mounted behind him, replies to Gill "Hey, sweet pea." The third is John Rich's "Country Done Come to Town" and shows George mowing grass on the rooftop on a zero turn mower.

The Jones Boys band[link]

George Jones has had many great musicians over the years, with many finding much success in Nashville as session players and singers. These singers include: Hank Singer, Brittany Allyn, Sonny Curtis, Ron Gaddis, Kent Goodson, Bobby Burkhead, Dan Schafer^[8] and Steve Hinson.

Marriages[link]

Jones was married twice before he was 24. His 1950 marriage to Dorothy Bonvillion lasted a year, but they had a daughter, Susan. In 1954, Jones married Shirley Ann Corley. This marriage lasted until 1968 and produced two sons, Jeffrey and Bryan. He married Tammy Wynette in 1969. They stayed married for six years and had a daughter, Tamala Georgette. As Georgette Jones, she is a country singer and has performed on stage with her father. Jones married his current wife, Nancy Sepulvado, on March 4, 1983 in Woodville, Texas. Nancy became his manager. Jones credits his wife Nancy for rescuing him from drinking and cocaine. They now live in Franklin, Tennessee.

Wives[link]

• Dorothy Bonvillion (1950 – 1951) (divorced) 1 daughter
• Shirley Ann Corley (September 14, 1954 – June 11, 1968) (divorced) 2 sons
• Tammy Wynette (February 16, 1969 – March 13, 1975) (divorced) 1 daughter
• Nancy Sepulvado (March 4, 1983 – present)

Awards and honors[link]

Jones has received many honors during his long career, from Most Promising New Country Vocalist in 1956, being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and being named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008. In 2012 he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. At the ceremony his longtime friend Merle Haggard paid tribute to him.^[9]

He served as judge in 2008 for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[10]

Number one country hits[link]

1. "White Lightning" (1959)
2. "Tender Years" (1961)
3. "She Thinks I Still Care" (1962)
4. "Walk Through This World with Me" (1967)
5. "We're Gonna Hold On" (with Tammy Wynette) (1973)
6. "The Grand Tour (song)" (1974)
7. "The Door (George Jones song)" (1975)
8. "Golden Ring (song)" (with Tammy Wynette) (1976)
9. "Near You" (with Tammy Wynette) (1977)
10. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980)
11. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" (with Barbara Mandrell) (1981)
12. "Still Doin' Time" (1981)
13. "Yesterday's Wine" (with Merle Haggard) (1982)
14. "I Always Get Lucky with You" (1983)

Discography[link]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

• Academy of Country Music
• List of country musicians
• Country Music Association
• List of best-selling music artists
• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame (1992 inductee)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• I Lived to Tell it All, George Jones with Tom Carter, Dell Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0-440-22373-3
• In The Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music, Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998, ISBN 0-375-70082-X
• Country Music U.S.A., Bill C. Malone, University of Texas Press, 1985, ISBN 0-292-71096-8
• Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs, 1944 to 2005, Record Research, Inc., Menomonee Falls, WS, 2005, ISBN 0-89820-165-9

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George Jones (musician)

• Official Website
• A Tribute to the Greatest Country Song of All Time
• Official MySpace
• George Jones Country Sausage
• Record Label
• at the Country Music Hall of Fame