http://thefilmarchive.org/
May 12, 2009
James Earl Jones (born
January 17, 1931) is an
American actor. Since his
Broadway debut in
1957,
Jones has spent more than five decades as "one of
America's most distinguished and versatile actors" and has been termed "one of the greatest actors in
American history." On
November 12,
2011, Jones received an
Honorary Academy Award.
He is well known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership.
His first film role was as a young and trim Lt. Lothar Zogg, the
B-52 bombardier in
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to
Stop Worrying and
Love the
Bomb in 1964. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer
Jack Jefferson in the
The Great White Hope a reprise of the role he had performed on
Broadway play, which was based on the life of boxer
Jack Johnson. For his role, Jones was nominated
Best Actor by the
Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, making him the second African-American male performer (following
Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination.
In the early
1970s,
James appeared with
Diahann Carroll in a film called
Claudine, the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed marriages and one "almost" marriage. Ruppert, played by Jones, is a garbage man who has deep problems of his own. The couple somehow overcomes each other's pride and stubbornness and get married.
Jones also played the villain
Thulsa Doom in
Conan the Barbarian, "Few Clothes"
Johnson in
John Sayles Matewan, the author
Terence Mann in
Field of Dreams, the feared neighbor Mr. Mertle in
The Sandlot,
King Jaffe Joffer in
Coming to America,
Reverend Stephen Kumalo in
Cry, the Beloved Country,
Raymond Lee
Murdock in
A Family Thing, and
Vice Admiral James Greer in
The Hunt for Red October,
Patriot Games, and
Clear and Present Danger, among many others.
Jones is also well known as the voice of
Darth Vader in the original
Star Wars trilogy. Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by
David Prowse in the original trilogy, with Jones dubbing
Vader's dialogue in postproduction due to Prowse's strong
West Country accent being unsuitable for the role. At his own request, he was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the
1997 re-release):
When
Linda Blair did the girl in
The Exorcist, they hired
Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether
Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no I'm just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK
I've been denying it, I've been saying it sounds like the uncola nut guy Holder.
Geoffrey Holder!
... But for the third one, I said OK, I'll let them put my name on it.
Although uncredited, Jones' voice is briefly heard as Darth Vader at the conclusion of
Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith. When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones told
New York Newsday: "You'd have to ask
Lucas about that. I don't know." However, on the issue of the voice, the commentary on the
DVD release states that, while it will always be uncredited, any true
Star Wars fan "should know the answer."
Jones reprised his role as the voice of
Vader several times: he is credited in the movie
Robots with the voice of Darth Vader from a voice module.
Playing the king of
Zamunda in the comedy Coming to America, he echoed four Darth Vader phrases. He also vocally appeared as Vader in the comedy film
The Benchwarmers and the video games
Star Wars: Monopoly and Star Wars: The Interactive
Video Board Game. Jones' voice is also used for the
Jedi Training Academy attraction at
Disneyland and at
Disney's Hollywood Studios. Jones returned as Vader for the video game:
Lego Star Wars III:
The Clone Wars. Jones also reprised his role as Vader in the new
Disney attraction;
Star Tours:
The Adventures Continue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Earl_Jones
- published: 06 Jun 2012
- views: 39614