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On Sep. 9, 2024, the world sadly lost a gem – the legendary actor James Earl Jones. He passed away at 93, surrounded by his family at his Pawling, New York home. Although no specific cause of death has been publicly disclosed, Jones had battled with type 2 diabetes since his 60s.
Born on Jan. 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones had been active as a professional performer since the early 1950s. He appeared on stage, on television, and in movies, building up an iconic back catalog that few can match.
On stage, he performed in plays like The Merchant of Venice, The Winter’s Tale, Othello, Coriolanus, Troilus and Cressida, The Great White Hope, Hamlet, King Lear, Of Mice and Men, Fences, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, Much Ado About Nothing, and Night of the Iguana. He worked as a stage actor worldwide, appearing in prestigious venues on New York’s Broadway and London’s West End.
On television, Jones’ credits are incredibly varied and include shows and series like Dr. Kildare, Sesame Street, Me and Mom, L.A. Law, Long Ago and Far Away, The Simpsons, Gabriel’s Fire, Pros and Cons, Law & Order, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Will & Grace, Two and a Half Men, House, The Big Bang Theory, Agent X, Star Wars Rebels, and Obi-Wan Kenobi — the latter two saw him reprising his iconic role as Darth Vader from the Star Wars movies.
But it was in movies that Jones truly became a household name. His wildly impressive filmography includes Dr. Strangelove, The Great White Hope (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor), Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Conan the Barbarian, Return of the Jedi, Coming to America, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Sneakers, Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult, The Lion King (animated), Judge Dredd, Robots, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Click, Scary Movie 4, Rogue One, The Lion King (live-action), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Coming 2 America (as per IMDb).
Jones rightly received the 2011 Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement for his services to film.
As a man so prominent in the zeitgeist of popular culture, much is known about Jones’ private and personal life. For instance, it’s public knowledge that he was married twice — to actress Julienne Marie from 1968 until their 1972 divorce and to actress Cecilia Hart from 1982 until her tragic 2016 death from ovarian cancer.
But people still have questions about Jones, one of which is the specifics of his ethnicity. So, what was the actor’s ethnic heritage?
What was James Earl Jones’ ethnicity?
James Earl Jones was a proud black American, but his ancestry was an eclectic mix of cultures.
According to Jones, his mother, Ruth Connolly, and his father, the actor Robert Earl Jones, provided him with a mix of African-American, Irish, and Native American ancestry.
In one interview, archived at The Free Library, he said, “I’m part Irish, part African, and part Cherokee.”
Earl’s exquisite acting skills and booming voice will forever be remembered. Still, it’s his grace and decorum that made him represent America, Ireland, and Africa in a way that should make everyone from those places beyond proud.
May he rest in eternal peace.