Mississippi-born actor James Earl Jones dead at 93 – National & International News – MON 9Sep2024

Mississippi-born actor James Earl Jones dead at 93.

New polls show Trump with slight lead over Harris ahead of debate.

Mississippi-born actor James Earl Jones dead at 93

Acclaimed actor James Earl Jones has passed away in his Upstate New York home at the age of 93. Best known to moviegoers for his roles in the Star Wars franchise, “The Great White Hope” and “Field of Dreams”, Jones has also long been a fixture on the stage, performing both on Broadway and in London’s West End. Over his career, he won  three Tony Awards, two Emmys, and a Grammy. Although he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in Great White Hope, Jones never took home an Oscar for a singular performance. However in 2011, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Oscar. This makes Jones, by some definitions, and EGOT, one of the very few performers to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

Jones was born in Arkabutla, MS, (Tate County) in 1931, to mother Ruth, a school teacher, and father Robert Earl Jones, a prizefighter. A few years after James Earl was born, Robert Earl left the family seeking work up north in the Great Migration. Robert Earl himself went on to become an actor of note, one of the first prominent Black actors and leading men in film and stage. James Earl left Mississippi at about 5 years of age and went to live with his grandparents in Michigan.

Jones’ greatest assets were his memorable screen and stage presence as well as his instantly recognizable deep, mellifluous sonorous voice. A statement from CNN, who used Jones’ voice in its lead-in tag for decades (“This is CNN“) described his voice as “uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum”. However, as a young man Jones suffered from a severe stutter, which rendered him largely mute. Jones credited a high school English teacher for helping him overcome this impediment. The teacher discovered Jones had a gift for writing and reciting poetry, and used this to encourage Jones to use his voice more confidently to express his thoughts and feelings.

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New polls show Trump with slight lead over Harris ahead of debate

Tomorrow night, Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will debate on 9pm ET/ 8pm CT on ABC, though other networks will carry it as well. This is currently the only debate both candidates have agreed to, so the stakes are high, particularly for Harris.

The notoriously media-shy Harris has conducted only one 20-minute interview since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. While her campaign has seemingly avoided over exposing her out of caution, it means that her every appearance is relentlessly scrutinized, especially since Harris has also been hard to pin down on policy.

Now Harris has more than ever riding on a decent performance in her first (and possibly only) face-to-face showdown with Trump. A high quality New York Times/Sienna College poll shows Trump with a 1-point lead nationally over Harris. While Harris had a great deal of momentum when she first announced her candidacy, her honeymoon period seems to have come to an end following the Democratic National Convention last month. Polls also show that Harris and Trump are roughly neck-and-neck in the key swing states. 

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