Screen Actors to Honor James Earl Jones

by James Parks, Oct 12, 2008

James Earl Jones

We all know his voice. “Star Wars” fans know him as the voice of Darth Vader, children know him as Mufasa from Disney’s “The Lion King,” and those who watch the news daily hear him repeat “This is CNN.”

In more than 50 years as an actor, James Earl Jones has won two Tonys, three Emmys, six Drama Desk Awards, a Golden Globe, two NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy. And he was on the cover of Newsweek magazine. This year, he is back on Broadway playing Big Daddy in a new adaptation of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

Now, his colleagues and co-workers plan to honor him with the Screen Actors (SAG) Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Jones will receive the award at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards—the nation’s largest and only-nationally televised all-union awards show—which premieres live on TNT and TBS Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m. MT. SAG represents nearly 120,000 actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos. 

Says SAG President Alan Rosenberg:

James Earl Jones’ distinguished career on stage, in film, on television, in commercials and as a vocal presence without peer commands our admiration and respect. His long and quiet devotion to advancing literacy, the arts and humanities on a national and local scale deserves our appreciation. It is our honor to bestow the Guild’s highest tribute on this extraordinary actor.

Listening to Jones’ voice one would never guess that he spent his childhood as a virtual mute because of a severe stuttering problem. With the help of an outstanding high school teacher and books, Jones overcame his stutter.

Jones, 77, is a longtime advocate for literacy. As the spokesperson for Verizon for many years, he was an integral part of the Verizon Foundation’s Literacy Initiative, traveling the country reading to children and talking to them about the importance of reading in their lives. He says the roots of his passion for literacy run deep.

My great-great grandparents secretly learned to read when they were slaves and indentured servants. They passed on their love of reading to my great-grandfather who, as a free man, amassed a modest library and encouraged his family to read his books and revere them.

He says reading helped him to overcome his muteness and become his own person.   

Growing up, I was mute to the outside world, but there were hundreds of conversations in my head.  For me, reading was a key to self-possession—a treasure that gave me the ability to be my own person. Reading gave me a way to move past my silence and to live all the vicarious lives though the words I found in books. The written word became my own private mentor, teaching me and guiding me forward. Through a love of reading, I was able to overcome my muteness and pursue a career in which my voice would be my most prominent asset.

 As a Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Jones joins such previous honorees as Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (1985), Elizabeth Taylor (1997), Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee (2000), Edward Asner (2001), Clint Eastwood (2002) and Shirley Temple Black (2005), Julie Andrews (2006) and Charles Durning.

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