The Broadway community honored the memory of James Earl Jones, four-time nominated and two-time Tony Award®-winning actor and recipient of the 2017 Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement, whose career spanned almost seven decades on Broadway. Mr. Jones passed away on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93. On September 26, 2024, the Committee of Theatre Owners dimmed the lights of Broadway theaters in New York at 6:45pm, in his honor.
In addition to his Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement, Mr. Jones was further honored by the Broadway community on September 12, 2022, when the Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.
“James Earl Jones was a true pillar of the Broadway industry, providing unforgettable experiences to multiple generations of theatregoers – all while accumulating many well-deserved honors, awards, and achievements for his iconic performances in other entertainment fields. While we acknowledge and celebrate Jones’ significant legacy across multiple mediums, we are particularly proud of his legacy on Broadway, and are grateful for the many memorable performances with which he graced our stages,” said Jason Laks, Interim President of The Broadway League.
Jones’ Broadway career began in 1957 as an understudy in The Egghead – only a decade later, he received his first Tony Award® for his work in The Great White Hope. He would go on to star in such stage classics as the original production of August Wilson’s Fences, The Iceman Cometh, Of Mice and Men, Othello, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Driving Miss Daisy, among many other notable productions. He performed on Broadway as recently as 2016 in The Gin Game, starring alongside Cicely Tyson.
During this long and storied career, he was nominated for four Tony Awards®, winning two for The Great White Hope (1969 Best Actor in a Play) and Fences (1987 Best Actor in a Play), in addition to being the recipient of the 2017 Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement. Jones’ Tony Awards® also contributed to his inclusion in a small but distinguished cohort of “EGOT” (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winners.
On Broadway Jones’ credits included: The Egghead (1957); Sunrise at Campobello (1958); The Cool World (1960); Infidel Caesar (1962); Danton’s Death (1965 Revival); A Hand is on the Gate (1966); The Great White Hope (1968 Winner Best Actor In A Play); Les Blancs (1970); The Iceman Cometh (1973 Revival); Of Mice and Men (1974 Revival); Paul Robeson (1978); A Lesson From Aloes (1980); Othello (1982 Revival); “MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys (1982); Fences (1987 Winner Best Actor In A Play); On Golden Pond (2005 Revival, Nominee Best Actor in A Play); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008 Revival); Driving Miss Daisy (2010); Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (2012 Revival, Nominee Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role In A Play); You Can’t Take It With You (2014 Revival); and The Gin Game (2015 Revival). Mr. Jones was also in the Broadway Tour of “MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys (1983).
Mr. Jones’ Broadway biography can be found on the Internet Broadway Database.
