James Earl Jones A Voice In The

James Earl Jones: A Voice In The Crowd Essay, Research Paper

James Earl Jones: A Voice in the Crowd

March 19, 1996

People all around the world know the voice of James Earl Jones. From

Star Wars fans listening to the voice of Darth Vader to news junkies who hear a

voice that dramatically intones AThis is CNN@ just before all the cable network=

s station breaks to children who hear the stately voice of the majestic Mufasa,

the king of the jungle in Walt Disney Pictures= animated The Lion King – people

know this deep harmonious voice belongs to this consummate actor of stage and

screen.

James Earl Jones was born January 17th, 1931, in Arkabutala Township,

Mississippi. His natural parents, Ruth and Robert Earl, moved away to the

Mississippi Delta when he was an infant. Raised for the rest of his young life

by his maternal grandparents, James Earl developed a close relationship with the

Connollys. AMaggie and John Henry were always there, day by day, and they became

for me, once and for all, my mama and my papa@ (18) .

Less than three years later, the Connollys moved to Dublin Michigan

where James Earl and his >brother= Randy grew up in a remodelled chicken barn.

His early school life had a great impact on his style of speech and diction. AOn

my first day at school, I could not believe my ears,@ recalls Jones, AThey

called me James Earrrrl instead of James Uhl, as it had sounded in the

South@(40).

After the initial shock of hearing Northern dialect, Jones Aquickly

absorbed this different rhythm and style@ and embarked on the first half of a

long vocal journey leading to his distinctive speaking style. Until he was 14

years old, James Earl Jones rarely spoke mostly due to shyness, preferring

silence to the sound of his own voice.

Around the age of 10, James Earl Jones witnessed his brother, Randy,

having an epileptic seizure. His grandmother applied the only remedy she knew -

a thimbleful of bluing dye – and told James Earl to run for help. After

travelling a mile through a Michigan blizzard and recalling the sight of his

brother on the floor with Ablue liquid spilled out of his mouth,@ Jones= epic

battle with stuttering began. At a local store, Jones panicked and couldn=t

speak. After a time, he Afinally calmed down and the words came. The doctor was

called. Randy recovered. But the stuttering – that stayed.@(42)

The same year his brother almost died, Jones was sexually assaulted by

the minister of a church he attended. The incident scarred him for life. Jones

recalls, AI was afraid and very confused. I was on my guard from then on…I had

no need for words@(54).

The Aturning point@ in Jones= ability to cope with stuttering

came in Professor Donald Crouch=s English classroom in high school. After

falling in love with Longfellow=s AThe Song of Hiawatha,@James Earl was inspired

to write a poem about his love for grapefruit. He patterned his work after

Longfellow=s cadence and rhyme scheme. When Professor Crouch accused Jones of

plagiarism Jones was forced to recite his work from memory in front of the class

(63).

Considering his honour of greater value than the teasing of his

classmates James Earl approached the front of the room to avoid academic

disgrace: AI was shaking as I stood up, cursing myself. I strained to get the

words out, pushing from the bottom of my soul. I opened my mouth — and to my

astonishment, the words flowed out smoothly, every one of them. There was no

stutter. All of us were amazed, not so much by the poem as by the

performance@(66).

The voice of James Earl Jones was a new sound to himself and everyone

around him. AMy voice had changed, almost without my awareness, so in addition

to the novelty of being able to speak, I could now speak in a deep, strong

voice@(67). Crouch and Jones became inseparable for the remaining three years

of high school, resurrecting the powers of speech in the young lad through

public speaking, debating, orating and acting.

The training he received from Crouch enabled Jones to win a public

speaking championship and a college scholarship to the University of Michigan.

In 1947, he enrolled intending to pursue a medical degree. He worked several

jobs and enrolled in US Army Reserve Officers Training Corps to support his

college career. But science took its toll on Jones, and he changed majors to

the study of drama but Atechnically, because there was not an official degree in

drama then at the university, (his) degree had to be in English@(75).

James Earl Jones= first introduction to the semi-professional theatre

was a casting call for a campus production of The Birds by Aristophanes.

Intending to read for one of the minor parts, Jones was surprised when he was

asked to audition for, and was later cast as the lead role of Epops, the King of

the Birds. Less than a year

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