Robert Earl Jones
Encyclopedia
Robert Earl Jones was an American
actor
. He is best known for his roles in the films The Cotton Club and The Sting
and as the father of actor James Earl Jones
.
, the specific location of his birth is unclear as some sources indicate Senatobia
, while others suggest nearby Coldwater
. Additionally, his date of birth has been variously reported by different sources as between 1900 and 1911. The most likely date is 1910 as reported by the United States Social Security Administration
.
prizefighter before making his way, via Chicago
, to New York City
and a career on stage and in film. Under the name "Battling Bill Stovall", he was a sparring partner of Joe Louis
.
Altogether Jones appeared in more than twenty films, including The Cotton Club (1984) and The Sting
(1973). Jones was a living link with the Harlem renaissance
of the 1920s and 1930s, having worked with Langston Hughes
early in his career. In New York in the 1930s Jones worked with young people on the Works Progress Administration
, the largest New Deal
agency, through which he met Langston Hughes, who cast him in his 1938 play, Don't You Want to Be Free?
Jones told the New York Times in 1974:
Jones' career in films started with a small role as a detective in the 1939 race film Lying Lips
. Jones acted mostly in crime
movies and drama
s after that, with such highlights as Cold River
and One Potato, Two Potato. Jones also appeared in several other noted films over the span of his career: Witness
, Trading Places
, and The Cotton Club
. Jones appeared in the Oscar-winning 1973 film The Sting
, as Luther Coleman, an aging grifter whose con is requited with murder leading to "the sting". Although he never achieved the fame enjoyed by his son, James
, Jones found a comfortable niche in Hollywood with steady work from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
Toward the end of his life, Jones was noted for his stage portrayal of Creon in a 1988 musical version of the Oedipus
legend, The Gospel at Colonus. He also made appearances in the long-running TV shows Lou Grant
and Kojak
. His last film was in the 1992 drama Rain Without Thunder
. One of his last stage roles was in a 1991 production of Mule Bone
by Hughes and another figure from the Harlem renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston
.
Though blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee
in the 1950s, he was ultimately honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the U.S. National Black Theatre Festival.
, of natural causes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known for his roles in the films The Cotton Club and The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
and as the father of actor James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
.
Early life
Born in MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, the specific location of his birth is unclear as some sources indicate Senatobia
Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia is a city in and the county seat of Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 15th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census....
, while others suggest nearby Coldwater
Coldwater, Mississippi
Coldwater is a small town in Tate County, Mississippi, United States. It is in the Memphis Metropolitan Area or Mid-South. The population was 1,674 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Coldwater is located at...
. Additionally, his date of birth has been variously reported by different sources as between 1900 and 1911. The most likely date is 1910 as reported by the United States Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
.
Career
Jones, a grade-school dropout, was a sharecropper, and boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
prizefighter before making his way, via Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and a career on stage and in film. Under the name "Battling Bill Stovall", he was a sparring partner of Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
.
Altogether Jones appeared in more than twenty films, including The Cotton Club (1984) and The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
(1973). Jones was a living link with the Harlem renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
of the 1920s and 1930s, having worked with Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
early in his career. In New York in the 1930s Jones worked with young people on the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, the largest New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
agency, through which he met Langston Hughes, who cast him in his 1938 play, Don't You Want to Be Free?
Jones told the New York Times in 1974:
Jones' career in films started with a small role as a detective in the 1939 race film Lying Lips
Lying Lips
Lying Lips is a 1939, melodrama, race movie by Oscar Micheaux, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones .Lying Lips was the thirty-seventh film of Micheaux.-Plot:...
. Jones acted mostly in crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
movies and drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s after that, with such highlights as Cold River
Cold River
Cold River may refer to:Streams:*Cold River , a tributary of the Saco River*Cold River *Cold River , a tributary of the Bearcamp River in New Hampshire...
and One Potato, Two Potato. Jones also appeared in several other noted films over the span of his career: Witness
Witness (1985 film)
Witness is a 1985 American thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W...
, Trading Places
Trading Places
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
, and The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
. Jones appeared in the Oscar-winning 1973 film The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
, as Luther Coleman, an aging grifter whose con is requited with murder leading to "the sting". Although he never achieved the fame enjoyed by his son, James
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, Jones found a comfortable niche in Hollywood with steady work from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
Toward the end of his life, Jones was noted for his stage portrayal of Creon in a 1988 musical version of the Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
legend, The Gospel at Colonus. He also made appearances in the long-running TV shows Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
and Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
. His last film was in the 1992 drama Rain Without Thunder
Rain Without Thunder
Rain Without Thunder is a 1992 movie directed by Gary Bennet and starring Betty Buckley and Jeff Daniels. The film is set fifty years in the future from the time of production. Although the Planned Parenthood v...
. One of his last stage roles was in a 1991 production of Mule Bone
Mule Bone
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life is a 1930 play by American authors Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. The process of writing the play led Hughes and Hurston, who had been close friends, to sever their relationship. Mule Bone was not staged until 1991.-Characters:Jim Weston: A guitarist and...
by Hughes and another figure from the Harlem renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
.
Though blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
in the 1950s, he was ultimately honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the U.S. National Black Theatre Festival.
Personal life
Jones died at his home on September 7, 2006, in Englewood, New JerseyEnglewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, of natural causes.
Family
- Ronald Earl Jones, father
- Rebecca Sunden-Jones, mother
- Brian Jones, brother
- Mary Jones, sister
- John Earl Jones, brother
- Ruth Connoly, wife
- James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, son - Matthew Earl Jones, son
- Flynn Earl Jones, grandson
Stage
- The Hasty HeartThe Hasty HeartThe Hasty Heart is a 1949 British-American co-production film based on the play of the same name by John Patrick. It tells the story of a group of wounded Allied soldiers in a mobile surgery unit at the end of World War II who, after initial resentment and ostracism, rally around a loner, a...
(1945) - Set My People Free (1948)
- Caesar and CleopatraCaesar and Cleopatra (play)Caesar and Cleopatra, a play written in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw, was first staged in 1901 and first published with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and The Devil's Disciple in his 1901 collection, Three Plays for Puritans. It was first performed at Newcastle-on-Tyne on March 15, 1899...
(Revival) (1949) - Fancy Meeting You Again (1952)
- Mister Johnson (play) (1956)
- Infidel Caesar (1962)
- The Moon Besieged (1962)
- More Stately MansionsMore Stately MansionsMore Stately Mansions is a play by Eugene O'Neill.Originally intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled A Tale of Possessors Self-Dispossessed, Mansions was an incomplete rough draft written between 1936 and 1939 that O'Neill did not want posthumously finished or produced...
(1968) - All God's Chillun Got WingsAll God's Chillun Got Wings (play)All God's Chillun Got Wings was a 1924 play by Eugene O'Neill about miscegenation.Paul Robeson performed in the premiere, in which he portrayed the black husband of an abusive white woman who, resenting her husband's skin colour, destroys his promising career as a lawyer.-Performances:Trish Van...
(Revival) (1975) - Death of a SalesmanDeath of a SalesmanDeath of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
(1975) - Unexpected GuestsUnexpected GuestsUnexpected Guests is a compilation album by American hip hop artist MF DOOM, released under the shortened pseudonym DOOM. The album is made up of a collection of songs performed by, produced by or featuring DOOM and previously released at various points throughout his career. Unexpected Guests...
(1977) - The Gospel at ColonusThe Gospel at ColonusThe Gospel at Colonus is a gospel version of Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. The show was created in New York City in 1985 by the experimental-theatre director Lee Breuer, one of the founders of the seminal American avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines, and composer Bob Telson. The...
(1988) - Mule BoneMule BoneMule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life is a 1930 play by American authors Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. The process of writing the play led Hughes and Hurston, who had been close friends, to sever their relationship. Mule Bone was not staged until 1991.-Characters:Jim Weston: A guitarist and...
(1991)
Filmography
- Lying LipsLying LipsLying Lips is a 1939, melodrama, race movie by Oscar Micheaux, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones .Lying Lips was the thirty-seventh film of Micheaux.-Plot:...
(1939) - The Notorious Elinor LeeThe Notorious Elinor LeeThe Notorious Elinor Lee is a race film directed, written, and co-produced by the African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.-Plot:Elinor Lee, a gangster’s moll living in the Harlem section of New York City, has signed up-and-coming boxer Benny Blue to a 10-year contract...
(1940) - Odds Against TomorrowOdds Against TomorrowOdds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise for HarBel Productions, a company founded by the film's star, Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel by William P. McGivern. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky...
(1959) - Wild RiverWild RiverWild River is a 1960 film directed by Elia Kazan starring Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet, Albert Salmi and Jay C. Flippen filmed on location in the Tennessee Valley...
(1960) - The Defenders (1963) TV
- Terror in the City (1964)
- One Potato, Two Potato (1964)
- Mississippi Summer (1971)
- Willie DynamiteWillie DynamiteWillie Dynamite is a 1974 blaxploitation film starring Roscoe Orman, Joyce Walker, Thalmus Rasulala, and Diana Sands. Willie Dynamite is a pimp in NYC who strives to be number one in the city...
(1973) - The StingThe StingThe Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
(1973) as Luther Coleman - CockfighterCockfighterCockfighter is a 1974 film by director Monte Hellman, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton and featuring Laurie Bird and Ed Begley, Jr. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford...
(1974) - KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(1976) TV - The Displaced PersonThe Displaced Person"The Displaced Person" is a short story by Flannery O'Connor. It was published in 1955 in her short story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find. A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor often used religious themes in her work and her own family hired a displaced person after World War II.- Plot summary...
(1977) - Proof of the Man (1977)
- Lou GrantLou Grant (TV series)Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
(1978) TV - The Sophisticated GentsThe Sophisticated GentsThe Sophisticated Gents is a TV miniseries that aired on three consecutive nights from September 29 to October 1, 1981 on NBC. Its ensemble cast featured a number of African American stage and film actors, many of whom were customarily seen in Blaxploitation motion pictures in the 1970s. The...
(1981) - Jennifer's Journey (1981)
- One Life to LiveOne Life to LiveOne Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
(1982) - Cold RiverCold RiverCold River may refer to:Streams:*Cold River , a tributary of the Saco River*Cold River *Cold River , a tributary of the Bearcamp River in New Hampshire...
(1982) - Trading PlacesTrading PlacesTrading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
(1983) - Sleepaway CampSleepaway CampSleepaway Camp is a 1983 cult classic slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik—who also served as executive producer. The film is about teen campers getting killed at a summer camp...
(1983) - Billions for Boris (1984)
- The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
(1984) - The Gospel at ColonusThe Gospel at ColonusThe Gospel at Colonus is a gospel version of Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. The show was created in New York City in 1985 by the experimental-theatre director Lee Breuer, one of the founders of the seminal American avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines, and composer Bob Telson. The...
(1985) as Creon - WitnessWitness (1985 film)Witness is a 1985 American thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W...
(1985) - Starlight: A Musical Movie (1988)
- Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2 is a 1990 American action horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the sequel to Maniac Cop and stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner and Bruce Campbell.-Plot:...
(1990) - Rain Without ThunderRain Without ThunderRain Without Thunder is a 1992 movie directed by Gary Bennet and starring Betty Buckley and Jeff Daniels. The film is set fifty years in the future from the time of production. Although the Planned Parenthood v...
(1992)