Motivational Speaker - James Earl Jones - Total Access Speakers Bureau

James Earl Jones, known as the greatest actor of the 20th century, was born on January 17, 1931 in Tate County, Mississippi. James was born with a stuttering problem that made him very self-conscious, and almost mute until the age of 15. Jones's father, the actor Robert Earl Jones, left his family before Jones was born, and the youth was raised largely by his grandparents in Michigan.

James attended the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. There he graduated with a degree in drama. He started off-Broadway in New York, but soon shot to the top in a production of Othello. With his commanding acting, he caught the eye of the wonderful director Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, Spartacus, 2001: A Space Odessy, Full Metal Jacket) in his Dr. Strangelove. His love still theatre, James accepted a role in The Great White Hope, playing Jack Jefferson, a black prizefighter, with a white mistress (Jane Alexander). He won a Tony Award for his role, and signed on, along with many of the original cast, to do a movie version. With his portrayal of the arrogant, strong willed Jefferson, Jones was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to George C. Scott (Patton), who refused the award. Jones did win the Golden Globe.

His commanding voice narrated two documentaries in 1972, and his career took off in the mid seventies as Jones took on 9 films. The River Niger was a hit, but his next film, Star Wars, was by far the biggest grossing film of Jones's brief career. He was the voice of the villainous Darth Vadar, a part originally meant for David Prowse (the actor who was in the actual costume), but Jones was hired when Prowse's British accent was deemed "too civilized". For the next few years, he kept low, doing a few films, concentrating mainly on the theater.

Jones won another Tony in 1987 for his performance in Fences. In 1988 he starred with Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. Modeled after J.D. Salinger, Jones's character, Terrence Mann, was the driving force in one of the finest baseball movies of all time. Since then he has starred in more films, most notably The Lion King, for which he provided the voice of King Mufasa. Jones read Dicken's A Christmas Carol live at the BBC. The special is rebroadcast on PBS every year at the Holidays.

James Earl Jones

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