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01
When George Lucas was casting the voice of Darth Vader, Jones revealed that Lucas initially wanted Orson Welles but felt he was too recognizable, so he sought an actor with a deep voice like Welles, leading to Jones’s casting.
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02
Jones took acting lessons specifically to control his stutter.
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03
He had a stuttering problem as a child and spoke very little; even as an adult he said he must think carefully before speaking, which is impressive given his iconic voice.
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04
He used to use Darth Vader as his handle on CB radio but stopped because it frightened people.
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05
Jones is a United States Army veteran and former member of the 75th Rangers Regiment.
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06
To help with his stutter, he wrote poetry and his teachers allowed him to read it aloud in class.
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07
He declined credit on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, feeling his contribution wasn’t significant enough; he agreed to be credited for Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.
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08
Only 14 people have achieved EGOT status; Jones is one of them, having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
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09
Jones narrated the documentary Black Indians: An American Story, exploring racial identity among people of Native American and African American heritage; he himself is a Black Indian.
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10
He became the first established celebrity to appear on Sesame Street.
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11
An NBA playoff broadcast mistakenly announced his death in April 1998, confusing him with James Earl Ray.
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12
He never retired from acting.
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13
He played the first African-American President of the United States on film in The Man 1972.
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14
Premiere Magazine ranked his vocal performance as Darth Vader #84 on its 100 Greatest Movie Characters list.
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15
He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War after college graduation.
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16
He is the commanding voice behind the CNN tagline This is CNN.
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17
Estranged from his father as a child, Jones later performed with him in a stage revival of Of Mice and Men, with Jones as Lennie and his father as Crooks.
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18
On October 8, 2002, he appeared before the House Education Reform Subcommittee with Theo Lion from PBS’s Between the Lions to promote literacy programs.
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19
His parents were both African-American; he also has Native American Choctaw and Cherokee and Irish ancestry, including an Irish indentured servant ancestor.
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20
He received the Kennedy Center Honor in December 2002.
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21
Jones appeared with Harrison Ford in six films: Star Wars IV, V, VI, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.
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22
He grew up in the small town of Dublin, Michigan.
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23
The National Film Registry holds eight of his films, including Dr. Strangelove, King: A Filmed Record, Star Wars IV, V, VI, Matewan, Field of Dreams, and The Lion King.
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24
He uncreditedly provided the thunderous voice of Darth Vader in the original trilogy.
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25
He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955.
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26
He won two Tony Awards: Best Actor in a Play for The Great White Hope 1969 and Fences 1987.
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27
Despite appearing in baseball films The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Field of Dreams, and The Sandlot, and performing the national anthem at the 1993 MLB All-Star Game, he is not a baseball fan.
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28
A Norwegian rock band named themselves James Earl Jones Barbershop Explosion!.
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29
He received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on January 7, 1996.
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30
He had his first acting experience at the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee, Michigan.
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31
The National Endowment of the Arts awarded him the National Medal of Arts in 1992.
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32
In March 2022, the Shubert Organization announced the Cort Theatre on West 48th Street would be renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre; it reopened in 2022 after renovations, becoming the second Broadway theater named after a Black person.
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33
His son with Cecilia Hart is Flynn Earl Jones.
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34
Producers considered him for the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine but chose Avery Brooks.
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35
Though he played Dorian Harewood’s son in Roots: The Next Generations 1979, he was actually 19 years older than Harewood.
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36
He counted Robert Guillaume and Angela Lansbury among his friends.
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37
His parents separated before his birth, and his maternal grandparents raised him.
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38
Maxim Magazine ranked his Darth Vader character as the 45th greatest movie villain of all time.
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39
In June 2005, he left the Broadway revival of On Golden Pond due to pneumonia.
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40
He appeared with Madge Sinclair in Coming to America and The Lion King as parents; in Coming to America he played Samuel L. Jackson’s character’s father, and both appeared in Star Wars films.
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41
Bell Atlantic pay phones often featured his voice saying Welcome to Bell Atlantic.
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42
People often think he voiced the Arby’s We have the meats! campaign, but it is actually Ving Rhames.
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43
He turned down the role of Da Mayor in Do the Right Thing to star in Best of the Best.
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44
For a long time, he never met David Prowse, who physically played Darth Vader; they finally met privately in 2012.
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45
He auditioned for the role of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, which went to Brock Peters; Peters later voiced Darth Vader in radio plays.
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46
He appeared in Coming to America with Samuel L. Jackson, who later starred in The Great White Hype, a spoof of The Great White Hope.
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47
Producers considered him for the role of General Peter McCallister in Lethal Weapon.
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48
Producers considered him to voice King Haggard in The Last Unicorn.
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49
He is a member of the National Rifle Association NRA.
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50
The Academy nominated three of his films for Best Picture: Dr. Strangelove, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and Field of Dreams.
