James Earl Jones

American actor (1931–2024)

James Earl Jones

Jones in 2001

Born| (1931-01-17)January 17, 1931

Arkabutla, Mississippi, U.S.

Died| September 9, 2024(2024-09-09) (aged 93)

Pawling, New York, U.S.

Education| University of Michigan (BA)
Occupation| Actor
Years active| 1953–2021
Works| Full list
Spouses|

* Julienne Marie

(m. 1968; div. 1972)​

* Cecilia Hart

(m. 1982; died 2016)​

Children| 1
Father| Robert Earl Jones
Awards| Full list

James Earl Jones's voice

Recorded December 2009 from the BBC Radio 4 program Front Row

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).[1][2][3][4] He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011.[5][6]

Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi during the Jim Crow era (the period of racial segregation in the Southern United States), Jones overcame a childhood stutter. A pre-med major in college, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. His deep voice was praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects.[7][8] Jones made his Broadway debut in the play Sunrise at Campobello (1957) and gained fame starring in several productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello (1964), Coriolanus (1965), Hamlet (1972), and King Lear (1973).[9]

For his roles on Broadway, Jones won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for playing a boxer in the Howard Sackler play The Great White Hope (1968) and a working class father in August Wilson's Fences (1987). He was also nominated for other Tonys for his roles as part of an elderly couple in On Golden Pond (2005) and as a former president in The Best Man (2012). Jones also acted in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can't Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.[10][11]

On film, Jones made his acting debut in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964). He reprised his role as a boxer in the film adaptation of The Great White Hope (1970), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He gained international fame for his voice role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise. Jones also appeared in The Man (1972), Claudine (1974), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), Best of the Best (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Sneakers (1992), The Sandlot (1993), The Lion King (1994), and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995).

## Early life and education

[edit]

Jones's father, Robert Earl Jones, in promotional still for the Langston Hughes play Don't You Want to Be Free? (1938)

James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on January 17, 1931,[12][13] to Ruth (née Connolly; 1911–1986), a teacher and maid, and Robert Earl Jones (1910–2006), a boxer, butler, and chauffeur. His father left the family shortly after James Earl's birth and later became a stage and screen actor in New York and Hollywood.[14] Jones and his father did not get to know each other until the 1950s, when they reconciled. He said in interviews that his parents were both of mixed African-American, Irish, and Native American ancestry.[15][16]

From the age of five, Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, John Henry and Maggie Connolly,[12] on their farm in Dublin, Michigan; they had moved from Mississippi in the Great Migration.[17] Jones found the transition to living with his grandparents in Michigan traumatic and developed a stutter so severe that he refused to speak. He said, "I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school."[17] He credited his English teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him end his silence.[14] Crouch urged him to challenge his reluctance to speak through reading poetry aloud to the class.[18][19]

In 1949, Jones graduated from Dickson Rural Agricultural School[20] (now Brethren High School) in Brethren, Michigan, where he served as vice president of his class.[21]

He attended the University of Michigan where he was initially a pre-med major.[14] He joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and excelled. He felt comfortable within the structure of the military environment and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow cadets in the Pershing Rifles Drill Team and Scabbard and Blade Honor Society.[22] After his junior year,[23] he focused on drama with the thought of doing something he enjoyed before, he assumed, he would have to go off to fight in the Korean War. Jones graduated from the university in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in drama.[12][24][25]

### Military service

[edit]

With the Korean War intensifying, Jones expected to receive orders to active duty and be deployed as soon as he received his commission as a second lieutenant. While he waited for his orders, he worked on the stage crew and acted at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan.[26] Jones was commissioned in mid-1953, after the Korean War's end, and reported to Fort Benning to attend the Infantry Officers Basic Course. He attended Ranger School and received his Ranger Tab. Jones was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 38th Regimental Combat Team.[27] He was initially to report to Fort Leonard Wood, but his unit was instead sent to establish a cold-weather training command at the former Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado.[28] His battalion became a training unit in the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. Jones was promoted to first lieutenant prior to his discharge.[29]

Jones moved to New York City, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing and worked as a janitor to support himself.[30][31]

## Career

[edit]

External audio

James Earl Jones talks with Studs Terkel on WFMT; 1968/02, 49:25, Studs Terkel Radio Archive[32]

### 1953–1972: Early roles and Shakespeare in the Park

[edit]

Jones began his acting career at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. In 1953, he was a stage carpenter, and between 1955 and 1957, he acted and was a stage manager. In his first acting season at the Ramsdell, he portrayed Othello.[33] His early career also included an appearance in the ABC radio anthology series Theatre-Five.[34] In 1957, he made his Broadway debut as understudy to Lloyd Richards in the short-lived play, The Egghead, by Molly Kazan.[35] The play ran only 21 performances,[36] but three months later, in January 1958, Jones created the featured role of Edward the butler in Dore Schary's Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre.[37]

Jones performs Othello's Act I, scene III monolog from Shakespeare's Othello at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009

During the early to mid 1960s, Jones acted in various works of William Shakespeare, becoming one of the best known Shakespearean actors of the time. He tackled roles such as Othello and King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet all at Shakespeare in the Park. In 1961, Jones appeared in an Off-Broadway production of The Blacks by Jean Genet, alongside eight subsequently prominent Black actors, including Roscoe Lee Browne, Cicely Tyson, Lou Gossett and others.[38] The New York Public Library has a collection of photographs of this production, including one of Tyson and Jones.[39] During a production of The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare in the Park, Stanley Kubrick saw George C. Scott play Shylock and Jones portray the Prince of Morocco. Kubrick was there initially to cast Scott in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), but then considered Jones saying "I'll take the black one too". Jones portrayed young Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier in the film, this would be his feature film debut.[40][41]

Jones would later play a surgeon and Haitian rebel leader in The Comedians, with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Alec Guinness.[23] In December 1967, Jones starred with Jane Alexander in Howard Sackler's play, The Great White Hope, at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Jones took the role of the talented but troubled boxer "Jack Jefferson", who is based on the real champion Jack Johnson. The play was a huge success when it moved to Broadway on October 3, 1968 and was well received, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Jones himself won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, and the Drama Desk Award for his performance.[42][43]

In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for the children's education series Sesame Street; these shorts, combined with animated segments, were shown to groups of children to gauge the effectiveness of the then-groundbreaking Sesame Street format. As cited by production notes included in the DVD release Sesame Street: Old School 1969–1974, the short that had the greatest impact with test audiences was one showing bald-headed Jones counting slowly to ten. This and other segments featuring Jones were eventually aired as part of the Sesame Street series itself when it debuted later in 1969 and Jones is often cited as the first celebrity guest on that series, although a segment with Carol Burnett was the first actually to be broadcast.[14] He also appeared on the soap opera Guiding Light.[23]

Jones and Jill Clayburgh in a stage production of Othello at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, California, on April 9, 1971

In 1970, Jones reunited with Jane Alexander in the film adaptation of The Great White Hope. This would be Jones's first leading film role. Jones portrayed boxer Jack Johnson, a role he had previously originated on stage. His performance was acclaimed by critics and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He was the second African-American male performer after Sidney Poitier to be nominated for this award.[14] Variety described his performance declaring, "Jones' recreation of his stage role is an eye-riveting experience. The towering rages and unrestrained joys of which his character was capable are portrayed larger than life."[44] In The Man (1972), Jones starred as a senator who unexpectedly becomes the first African-American president of the United States.[23]

### 1973–1983: Star Wars and rise to prominence

[edit]

In 1973, Jones played Hickey on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh[45] and starred in the title role of William Shakespeare's King Lear opposite Paul Sorvino, René Auberjonois, and Raul Julia at the New York City Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, which was recorded and broadcast in the PBS Great Performances series the following year.[46] In 1974, Jones played Lennie on Broadway in the 1974 Brooks Atkinson Theatre production of the adaptation of John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, with Kevin Conway as George and Pamela Blair as Curley's wife.[47]

In 1974, Jones co-starred with Diahann Carroll in the film Claudine,[13] the story of a woman who raises her six children alone after two failed and two "almost" marriages. The film is a romantic comedy and drama, focusing on systemic racial disparities black families face. It was one of the first major films to tackle themes such as welfare, economic inequality, and the typical marriage of men and women in the African American community during the 1970s. Jones and Carroll received widespread critical acclaim and Golden Globe nominations for their performances.[48] Carroll was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.[49]

In 1977, Jones played Balthazar in the television series  Jesus of Nazareth. That same year, he made his debut in his iconic voiceover role as Darth Vader in George Lucas's space opera blockbuster film Star Wars: A New Hope, which he would reprise for the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse in the film trilogy, with Jones dubbing Vader's dialogue in post-production because Prowse's strong West Country accent was deemed unsuitable for the role by director George Lucas.[50] At his own request, Jones was uncredited for the release of the first two Star Wars films,[51] though he would be credited for the third film and eventually also for the first film's 1997 "Special Edition" re-release.[52] As he explained in a 2008 interview:

> When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no, I'm just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I'll let them put my name on it.[51]

In 1977, Jones also received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents.[53] In late 1979, Jones appeared on the short-lived CBS police drama Paris.[54] Jones also starred that year in the critically acclaimed TV mini-series sequel Roots: The Next Generations as the older version of author Alex Haley.[14]

### 1985–1999: Established career

[edit]

In 1987, Jones starred in August Wilson's play Fences as Troy Maxson, a middle aged working class father who struggles to provide for his family.[23] The play, set in the 1950s, is part of Wilson's ten-part "Pittsburgh Cycle". The play explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. Jones won widespread critical acclaim, earning himself his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.[13] Beside the Star Wars sequels, Jones was featured in several other box office hits of the 1980s: the action/fantasy film Conan the Barbarian (1982),[23] the Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America (1988),[23] and the sports drama/fantasy Field of Dreams (1989)[23] which earned an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination.[55] He also starred in the independent film Matewan (1987),[23] which dramatized the events of the Battle of Matewan, a coal miners' strike in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia. He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his performance.[56]

Jones with President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush in 1992, receiving the Medal of Arts

In 1985, Jones lent his bass voice as Pharaoh in the first episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.[57] From 1989 to 1992, Jones served as the host of the children's TV series Long Ago and Far Away.[58] Jones appeared in several more successful films during the early-to-mid-1990s, including The Hunt for Red October (1990),[23] Patriot Games (1992),[23] The Sandlot (1993),[13] Clear and Present Danger (1994),[23] and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995).[23] He also lent his distinctive bass voice to the role of Mufasa in the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King.[12] In 1992, Jones was presented with the National Medal of the Arts by President George H. W. Bush.[12] Jones had the distinction of winning two Primetime Emmys in the same year, in 1991 as Best Actor for his role in Gabriel's Fire and as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave.[13][59]

Jones also performed voice work for The Simpsons: in the 1990 "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween special and in two other episodes.[13]

Jones played lead characters on television in three series. Gabriel's Fire[23] and a revamped version called Pros and Cons aired on ABC between 1990 and 1992. In both formats of that show, Jones played a former policeman wrongly convicted of murder who, upon his release from prison, becomes a private eye. In 1995, Jones starred in Under One Roof as Neb Langston, a widowed African-American police officer sharing his home in Seattle with his daughter, his married son and children, and Neb's newly adopted son.[60] The show was a mid-season replacement and lasted only six weeks, but earned him another Emmy nomination. He also portrayed Thad Green on "Mathnet", a parody of Dragnet that appeared in the PBS program Square One Television.[61] In 1998, Jones starred in the widely acclaimed syndicated program An American Moment (created by James R. Kirk and Ninth Wave Productions). Jones took over the role filled by Charles Kuralt, upon Kuralt's death.[62]

On July 13, 1993, accompanied by the Morgan State University choir, Jones spoke the U.S. national anthem before the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Baltimore.[63][64] In 1996, he recited the classic baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra,[65] and on June 1, 2007, he did the same before a Philadelphia Phillies home game.[66] In 1994, he performed the role of "Ebenezer Scrooge" alongside Martin Sheen and Robert MacNeil in a public reading of A Christmas Carol at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, which was broadcast on PBS.[67][68]

External videos

[1] Jones reciting the National Anthem at the 1993 MLB All Star Game

### 2000–2009: Career honors and other roles

[edit]

Jones guest-starred in many television shows over the years, including for NBC's Law & Order, and Frasier, ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Fox's medical drama House, and CBS' The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.[69]

In 2002, Jones received Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Also at the ceremony were fellow honorees Paul Simon, Elizabeth Taylor, and Chita Rivera. President George W. Bush joked, "People say that the voice of the president is the most easily recognized voice in America. Well, I'm not going to make that claim in the presence of James Earl Jones."[70] Those there to honor Jones included Sidney Poitier, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, and Courtney B. Vance.[71]

He also voiced the CNN tagline, "This is CNN", as a part of the network's tenth anniversary in 1990. As of 2024, the tagline is still used by CNN.[72][73] He lent his voice to the opening for NBC's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.[62] Jones narrated all 27 books of the New Testament in the audiobook James Earl Jones Reads the New Testament.[74] Although uncredited, Jones's voice is possibly heard as Darth Vader at the conclusion of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones told Newsday: "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know."[51]

On April 7, 2005, Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast in an African-American Broadway revival version of On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn.[14] In February 2008, he starred on Broadway as Big Daddy in a limited-run, all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,[13] directed by Debbie Allen and staged at the Broadhurst Theatre. In November 2009, James reprised the role of Big Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London's West End. That production also starred Sanaa Lathan as Maggie, Phylicia Rashad as Big Mamma, and Adrian Lester as Brick.

In 2009, for his work on film and television, Jones was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award by Forest Whitaker.[75]

### 2010–2022: Return to Broadway and final roles

[edit]

Jones in the 2010 revival of the play Driving Miss Daisy at the Theatre Royal in Sydney

In October 2010, Jones returned to the Broadway stage in Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy, along with Vanessa Redgrave at the Golden Theatre.[76] In November 2011, Jones starred in Driving Miss Daisy in London's West End, and on November 12 received an honorary Oscar in front of the audience at the Wyndham's Theatre, which was presented to him by Ben Kingsley.[77] In March 2012, Jones played the role of President Art Hockstader in Gore Vidal's The Best Man on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre: he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. The play also starred Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette (as candidate William Russell), Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack (as candidate Senator Joseph Cantwell), Jefferson Mays, Michael McKean, and Kerry Butler, with direction by Michael Wilson.[78][79]

Jones with Dame Angela Lansbury in 2013

In 2013, Jones starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in a production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Mark Rylance at The Old Vic, London.[80] From February to June 2013, Jones starred alongside Dame Angela Lansbury in an Australian tour of Driving Miss Daisy.[81] In 2014, Jones starred alongside Annaleigh Ashford as Grandpa in the Broadway revival of the George S. Kaufman comedic play You Can't Take It with You at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Ashford received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for her performance. On September 23, 2015, Jones opened in a new revival of The Gin Game opposite Cicely Tyson, at the John Golden Theater, where the play had originally premiered (with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy). The play had a planned limited run of 16 weeks.[82] It closed on January 10, 2016.

In 2013–2014, he appeared with Malcolm McDowell in a series of commercials for Sprint in which the two dramatically recited mundane phone and text-message conversations.[83][84] In 2015, Jones starred as the Chief Justice Caleb Thorne in the American drama series Agent X with actress Sharon Stone, Jeff Hephner, Jamey Sheridan, and others. The television series was aired by TNT from November 8 to December 27, 2015, running only one season and 10 episodes. Jones officially reprised his voice role of Darth Vader for the character's appearances in the animated TV series Star Wars Rebels[85][86] and the live-action film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016),[87][88] as well as for a three-word cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[89]

In 2019, he reprised his voice role of Mufasa for the CGI remake of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau, in which he was the only original cast member to do so.[90][91] According to Favreau, Jones's lines from the original film remained mostly the same.[92][93] Chiwetel Ejiofor, who voiced Mufasa's evil brother Scar in the remake, said that "the comfort of [Jones reprising his role] is going to be very rewarding in taking [the audience] on this journey again. It's a once-in-a-generation vocal quality."[92] Jones also reprised the role of King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America (2021), the sequel to Coming to America (1988); this was his final screen credit.[94][95]

In 2022, his voice was used via Respeecher software for Darth Vader in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.[96] During production, Jones signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing archival recordings of his voice to be used in the future to artificially generate the voice of Darth Vader.[97] In September 2022, Jones announced that he would retire from the role of voicing Darth Vader with future voice roles for Vader being created by that means.[98]

## Personal life and death

[edit]

Jones in 2013

### Marriages and illness

[edit]

In 1968, Jones married actress and singer Julienne Marie, whom he met while performing as Othello to her Desdemona in 1964.[99][100] They had no children and divorced in 1972.[101] In 1982, he married actress Cecilia Hart, who played Desdemona to his Othello shortly after they wed,[102] and with whom he had a son, Flynn.[103][104] Cecilia Hart died of complications from ovarian cancer on October 16, 2016. She was 68 years old.[105]

In April 2016, Jones spoke publicly for the first time in nearly 20 years about his long-term health challenge with type 2 diabetes. He was diagnosed in the mid-1990s after his doctor noticed he had fallen asleep while exercising at a gym.[106]

Jones was a devout Roman Catholic, having converted during his time in the military.[107][57] He described his narration of the New Testament as "his greatest honor".[108]

### Death and tributes

[edit]

Jones died at his home in Pawling, New York, on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93. He died surrounded by his family.[109][94][110] In a statement, CNN said that Jones "was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum. That remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about James."[111] Jones's alma mater, the University of Michigan, paid tribute to him by posting a "We Are Michigan" video narrated by Jones on Twitter.[112][113] The NAACP, SAG-AFTRA, The Public Theater, and MLB also paid tribute to Jones.[114] The Empire State Building in New York City was lit up to resemble Darth Vader.[115] Vice President Kamala Harris praised Jones, writing that "[He] used his voice to challenge America's thinking on civil rights and race, and he continued to move our nation forward through his art."[116] Former President Bill Clinton released a statement praising Jones as "a brilliant actor who brought to life some of the most iconic characters ever".[117] Actor Denzel Washington paid tribute to Jones calling him his "hero" adding, "I wasn't going to be as big as him. I wanted to sound like him. He was everything to me as a budding actor. He was who I wanted to be."[118] Numerous members of the entertainment industry also paid tribute to Jones including George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barry Jenkins, Spike Lee, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Courtney B. Vance, and Alec Baldwin.[119][120][121][122][123]

## Reception and legacy

[edit]

Following his death, The New York Times described Jones's career as "a prodigious body of work" and called him "one of America's most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career".[12] The Hollywood Reporter referred to Jones as "one of the most-admired American actors of all time".[13] The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw wrote, "like Sidney Poitier or Harry Belafonte or Paul Robeson, [Jones] was an African American actor with a beautiful voice which was the key to his dignity and self-respect as a performer; it was how his characters rose above racism and cruelty", and described Jones as "movie royalty".[124] Academy Award–winning actress Viola Davis said that Jones's career reflected "black excellence".[125]

Jones was recognized as a groundbreaker and pioneer for African Americans for his significant roles on stage and television.[12] In 1965, Jones became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama acting in As the World Turns.[126] Critic Clive Barnes said that Jones's theater roles were "like a black avenging angel ... Even when corrupted by misery, his presence has an almost moral force to it, and his voice rasps out an agony nearly too personally painful in its nakedness".[127] In 2011, Academy Award-nominated actor Alec Baldwin called Jones "one of the greatest actors in American history".[5] In 2022, the Cort Theatre was renamed after James Earl Jones, becoming the second Broadway venue named after a Black theatrical artist, the first being the August Wilson Theatre named after the playwright August Wilson.[128] The Cort Theatre was the same stage on which Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958.[129]

On May 16, 2025, the online video game Fortnite Battle Royale added a Darth Vader non-playable character to the game, which players can converse with via generative AI modeled after Jones' voice. Fortnite developer Epic Games received permission from Jones' estate to use his voice in the game and closely collaborated with his family to develop the AI voice model.[130] SAG-AFTRA filed a complaint against Epic Games in response.[131]

## Acting credits and accolades

[edit]

Main articles: James Earl Jones on screen and stage and List of awards and nominations received by James Earl Jones

Jones had an extensive career in film, television, and theater. He started out in film by appearing in the 1964 political satire film Dr. Strangelove as Lt. Lothar Zogg. He then went on to star in the 1970 film The Great White Hope as Jack Jefferson, a role he first played at Washington's Arena Stage in the world premier of Howard Sackler's play of the same name.[132]

On television, he received two Primetime Emmy Awards for his roles in thriller film Heat Wave (1990) and the crime series Gabriel's Fire (1991). He also acted in Roots (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Picket Fences (1994), and Homicide: Life on the Street (1997). Jones's television work includes playing Woodrow Paris in the series Paris between 1979 and 1980.[133] He voiced various characters on the animated series The Simpsons in three separate seasons (1990, 1994, 1998).[134]

Jones's theater work includes numerous Broadway plays, including Sunrise at Campobello (1958–1959), Danton's Death (1965), The Iceman Cometh (1973–1974), Of Mice and Men (1974–1975), Othello (1982), On Golden Pond (2005), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), and You Can't Take It with You (2014–2015).[42]

Formerly known as the Cort Theatre, now the James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway

Jones received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award. He also was the recipient of a Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. In 2011, he received an Academy Honorary Award.[135] As such, he has been described as being an EGOT, having won all four Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. There is debate as to if the definition of EGOT extends to non-competitive winners such as Jones, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, and Harry Belafonte.[136][137][138]

In 1985, Jones was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame[139][140] He was also the 1987 First recipient of the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action's Annie Glenn Award.[141] In 1991, he received the Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts. In 1992, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by George H. W. Bush.[12] He received the 1996 Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars.[142] Also in 1996, he was given the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member George Lucas.[143][144] In 2002, he was the featured Martin Luther King Day speaker for Lauderhill, Florida.[145] In 2011, he received the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award Recipient.[146] He also received an Honorary Academy Award on November 12, 2011.[5] He was the 2012 Marian Anderson Award Recipient.[147][148] Jones won the 2014 Voice Icon Award sponsored by Society of Voice Arts and Sciences at the Museum of the Moving Image. In 2017, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Harvard University.[149] He was honored with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.[150] In 2019, he was honored as a Disney Legend.[151] In March 2022, Broadway's Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor.[152][153]

## See also

[edit]

* African-American Tony nominees and winners
* List of black Academy Award winners and nominees
* List of actors with Academy Award nominations
* List of Golden Globe winners
* List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
* List of EGOT winners

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Knolle, Sharon (September 9, 2024). "James Earl Jones, EGOT Winner and 'Star Wars' Icon, Dies at 93". TheWrap. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
2. ^ Erbland, Kate (September 9, 2024). "James Earl Jones, Esteemed EGOT Winner and Iconic Voice of Darth Vader, Dead at 93". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
3. ^ Miller, Shannon (September 9, 2024). "R.I.P. James Earl Jones, EGOT-awarded actor and unmistakable voice of Darth Vader". AV Club. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
4. ^ Morgan, David (September 9, 2024). "James Earl Jones, Tony-winning actor and voice of Darth Vader, dies at age 93". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
5. ^ a b c Sperling, Nicole; Susan King (November 12, 2011). "Oprah shines, Ratner controversy fades at honorary Oscars gala". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
6. ^ "SAG to honor James Earl Jones". The Hollywood Reporter. October 2, 2008. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
7. ^ Hornaday, Ann (September 25, 2014). "James Earl Jones: A voice for the ages, aging gracefully". Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2016 - via washingtonpost.com.
8. ^ Moore, Caitlin (September 25, 2014). "James Earl Jones might have the most recognisable voice in film and television". Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016 - via washingtonpost.com.
9. ^ "About James Earl Jones". americantheatrewing.org. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
10. ^ "Acceptance Speech: James Earl Jones (2017)". Tony Awards. June 11, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
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## Bibliography

[edit]

* Jones, James Earl; Niven, Penelope (1993). James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons; Maxwell Macmillan International. ISBN 0-684-19513-5. OCLC 317228644.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Hornaday, Ann (September 27, 2014). "James Earl Jones: A Voice for the Ages, Aging Gracefully". The Washington Post.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to James Earl Jones.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Earl Jones.

* James Earl Jones at the American Film Institute Catalog
* James Earl Jones at IMDb
* James Earl Jones at the Internet Broadway Database
* James Earl Jones at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived) (archive)
* James Earl Jones at the TCM Movie Database
* James Earl Jones at Rotten Tomatoes
* James Earl Jones at Emmys.com
* Appearances on C-SPAN
* Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts (list; sortable in chronological and alphabetical order)
* Rare & Outstanding Clip of James Earl Jones Ordering Hot Dogs, from Gabriel's Fire 1990 (two minutes)
* See James Earl Jones as "Ebenezer Scrooge' in Bah Humbug! The Story of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol on the Internet Archive

Awards for James Earl Jones

* v
* t
* e

Academy Honorary Award

1928–1950|

* Warner Bros. / Charlie Chaplin (1928)
* Walt Disney (1932)
* Shirley Temple (1934)
* D. W. Griffith (1935)
* The March of Time / W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson (1936)
* Edgar Bergen / W. Howard Greene / Museum of Modern Art Film Library / Mack Sennett (1937)
* J. Arthur Ball / Walt Disney / Deanna Durbin and Mickey Rooney / Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela, Devereaux Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art Smith, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs, Loren L. Ryder, Harry D. Mills, Louis Mesenkop, Walter Oberst / Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey / Harry Warner (1938)
* Douglas Fairbanks / Judy Garland / William Cameron Menzies / Motion Picture Relief Fund (Jean Hersholt, Ralph Morgan, Ralph Block, Conrad Nagel) / Technicolor SA (1939)
* Bob Hope / Nathan Levinson (1940)
* Walt Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins, and the RCA Manufacturing Company / Leopold Stokowski and his associates / Rey Scott / British Ministry of Information (1941)
* Charles Boyer / Noël Coward / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1942)
* George Pal (1943)
* Bob Hope / Margaret O'Brien (1944)
* Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg, and the Republic Studio Sound Department / Walter Wanger / The House I Live In / Peggy Ann Garner (1945)
* Harold Russell / Laurence Olivier / Ernst Lubitsch / Claude Jarman Jr. (1946)
* James Baskett / Thomas Armat, William Nicholas Selig, Albert E. Smith, and George Kirke Spoor / Bill and Coo / Shoeshine (1947)
* Walter Wanger / Monsieur Vincent / Sid Grauman / Adolph Zukor (1948)
* Jean Hersholt / Fred Astaire / Cecil B. DeMille / The Bicycle Thief (1949)
* Louis B. Mayer / George Murphy / The Walls of Malapaga (1950)

1951–1975|

* Gene Kelly / Rashomon (1951)
* Merian C. Cooper / Bob Hope / Harold Lloyd / George Mitchell / Joseph M. Schenck / Forbidden Games (1952)
* 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation / Bell & Howell Company / Joseph Breen / Pete Smith (1953)
* Bausch & Lomb Optical Company / Danny Kaye / Kemp Niver / Greta Garbo / Jon Whiteley / Vincent Winter / Gate of Hell (1954)
* Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1955)
* Eddie Cantor (1956)
* Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers / Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson / Charles Brackett / B. B. Kahane (1957)
* Maurice Chevalier (1958)
* Buster Keaton / Lee de Forest (1959)
* Gary Cooper / Stan Laurel / Hayley Mills (1960)
* William L. Hendricks / Fred L. Metzler / Jerome Robbins (1961)
* William J. Tuttle (1964)
* Bob Hope (1965)
* Yakima Canutt / Y. Frank Freeman (1966)
* Arthur Freed (1967)
* John Chambers / Onna White (1968)
* Cary Grant (1969)
* Lillian Gish / Orson Welles (1970)
* Charlie Chaplin (1971)
* Charles S. Boren / Edward G. Robinson (1972)
* Henri Langlois / Groucho Marx (1973)
* Howard Hawks / Jean Renoir (1974)
* Mary Pickford (1975)

1976–2000|

* Margaret Booth (1977)
* Walter Lantz / Laurence Olivier / King Vidor / Museum of Modern Art Department of Film (1978)
* Hal Elias / Alec Guinness (1979)
* Henry Fonda (1980)
* Barbara Stanwyck (1981)
* Mickey Rooney (1982)
* Hal Roach (1983)
* James Stewart / National Endowment for the Arts (1984)
* Paul Newman / Alex North (1985)
* Ralph Bellamy (1986)
* Eastman Kodak Company / National Film Board of Canada (1988)
* Akira Kurosawa (1989)
* Sophia Loren / Myrna Loy (1990)
* Satyajit Ray (1991)
* Federico Fellini (1992)
* Deborah Kerr (1993)
* Michelangelo Antonioni (1994)
* Kirk Douglas / Chuck Jones (1995)
* Michael Kidd (1996)
* Stanley Donen (1997)
* Elia Kazan (1998)
* Andrzej Wajda (1999)
* Jack Cardiff / Ernest Lehman (2000)

2001–present|

* Sidney Poitier / Robert Redford (2001)
* Peter O'Toole (2002)
* Blake Edwards (2003)
* Sidney Lumet (2004)
* Robert Altman (2005)
* Ennio Morricone (2006)
* Robert F. Boyle (2007)
* Lauren Bacall / Roger Corman / Gordon Willis (2009)
* Kevin Brownlow / Jean-Luc Godard / Eli Wallach (2010)
* James Earl Jones / Dick Smith (2011)
* D. A. Pennebaker / Hal Needham / George Stevens Jr. (2012)
* Angela Lansbury / Steve Martin / Piero Tosi (2013)
* Jean-Claude Carrière / Hayao Miyazaki / Maureen O'Hara (2014)
* Spike Lee / Gena Rowlands (2015)
* Jackie Chan / Lynn Stalmaster / Anne V. Coates / Frederick Wiseman (2016)
* Charles Burnett / Owen Roizman / Donald Sutherland / Agnès Varda (2017)
* Marvin Levy / Lalo Schifrin / Cicely Tyson (2018)
* David Lynch / Wes Studi / Lina Wertmüller (2019)
* Samuel L. Jackson / Elaine May / Liv Ullmann (2021)
* Euzhan Palcy / Diane Warren / Peter Weir (2022)
* Angela Bassett / Mel Brooks / Carol Littleton (2023)
* Quincy Jones / Juliet Taylor (2024)
* Debbie Allen / Tom Cruise / Wynn Thomas (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Disney Legends Awards (2010s)

2011|

* Jodi Benson
* Barton "Bo" Boyd*
* Jim Henson*
* Linda Larkin
* Paige O'Hara
* Regis Philbin
* Anika Noni Rose
* Lea Salonga
* Raymond Watson
* Guy Williams*
* Bonita Granville Wrather*
* Jack Wrather*

2013|

* Tony Baxter
* Collin Campbell
* Dick Clark*
* Billy Crystal
* John Goodman
* Steve Jobs*
* Glen Keane
* Ed Wynn*

2015|

* George Bodenheimer
* Julie Reihm Casaletto
* Andreas Deja
* Johnny Depp
* Eyvind Earle*
* Danny Elfman
* Susan Lucci
* George Lucas
* Carson Van Osten

2017|

* Clyde Geronimi*
* Whoopi Goldberg
* Manuel Gonzales*
* Carrie Fisher*
* Mark Hamill
* Jack Kirby*
* Wayne Jackson
* Stan Lee
* Garry Marshall*
* Julie Taymor
* Oprah Winfrey

2019|

* Christina Aguilera
* Wing T. Chao
* Robert Downey Jr.
* Jon Favreau
* James Earl Jones
* Bette Midler
* Kenny Ortega
* Barnette Ricci
* Robin Roberts
* Diane Sawyer
* Ming-Na Wen
* Hans Zimmer

* Awarded posthumously

* Complete list
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play

* Anthony Hopkins (1975)
* John Wood (1976)
* Al Pacino (1977)
* Barnard Hughes (1978)
* Philip Anglim (1979)
* John Rubinstein (1980)
* Ian McKellen (1981)
* Christopher Plummer (1982)
* Harvey Fierstein (1983)
* Dustin Hoffman (1984)
* John Lithgow (1985)
* Ed Harris (1986)
* James Earl Jones (1987)
* Ron Silver (1988)
* Philip Bosco (1989)
* Nathan Lane (1990)
* Ron Rifkin (1991)
* Brian Bedford (1992)
* Ron Leibman (1993)
* Brian Bedford (1994)
* Ralph Fiennes (1995)
* Frank Langella (1996)
* David Morse / Christopher Plummer (1997)
* Anthony LaPaglia (1998)
* Brian Dennehy (1999)
* Stephen Dillane (2000)
* Richard Easton (2001)
* Alan Bates (2002)
* Eddie Izzard (2003)
* Kevin Kline (2004)
* Brían F. O'Byrne (2005)
* Richard Griffiths (2006)
* Frank Langella (2007)
* Mark Rylance (2008)
* Geoffrey Rush (2009)
* Liev Schreiber (2010)
* Bobby Cannavale (2011)
* James Corden (2012)
* Tracy Letts (2013)
* Bryan Cranston (2014)
* Alex Sharp (2015)
* Frank Langella (2016)
* Kevin Kline (2017)
* Andrew Garfield (2018)
* Jay O. Sanders (2019)
* Edmund Donovan (2020)
* No Award (2021)
* Ruben Santiago-Hudson (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Drama League Distinguished Performance Award

* Katharine Cornell (1935)
* Helen Hayes (1936)
* Maurice Evans (1937)
* Cedric Hardwicke (1938)
* Raymond Massey (1939)
* Paul Muni (1940)
* Paul Lukas (1941)
* Judith Evelyn (1942)
* Alfred Lunt (1943)
* Lynn Fontanne (1944)
* Mady Christians (1945)
* Louis Calhern (1946)
* Ingrid Bergman (1947)
* Judith Anderson (1948)
* Robert Morley (1949)
* Grace George (1950)
* Claude Rains (1951)
* Julie Harris (1952)
* Shirley Booth (1953)
* Josephine Hull (1954)
* Viveca Lindfors (1955)
* David Wayne (1956)
* Eli Wallach (1957)
* Ralph Bellamy (1958)
* Cyril Ritchard (1959)
* Jessica Tandy (1960)
* Hume Cronyn (1961)
* Paul Scofield (1962)
* Charles Boyer (1963)
* Alec Guinness (1964)
* John Gielgud (1965)
* Richard Kiley (1966)
* Rosemary Harris (1967)
* Zoe Caldwell (1968)
* Alec McCowen (1969)
* James Stewart (1970)
* Anthony Quayle (1971)
* Eileen Atkins / Claire Bloom (1972)
* Alan Bates (1973)
* Christopher Plummer (1974)
* John Wood (1975)
* Eva Le Gallienne (1976)
* Tom Courtenay (1977)
* Frank Langella (1978)
* Frances Sternhagen (1979)
* Roy Scheider (1980)
* Ian McKellen (1981)
* Milo O'Shea (1982)
* Edward Herrmann / Kate Nelligan (1983)
* Jeremy Irons (1984)
* Derek Jacobi (1985)
* Bernadette Peters (1986)
* James Earl Jones (1987)
* John Lithgow (1988)
* Pauline Collins (1989)
* Robert Morse (1990)
* Stockard Channing (1991)
* Glenn Close (1992)
* Stephen Rea (1993)
* Sam Waterston (1994)
* Cherry Jones (1995)
* Uta Hagen (1996)
* Charles Durning / Bebe Neuwirth (1997)
* Brian Stokes Mitchell (1998)
* Kathleen Chalfant (1999)
* Eileen Heckart (2000)
* Mary-Louise Parker / Gary Sinise (2001)
* Liam Neeson (2002)
* Harvey Fierstein (2003)
* Hugh Jackman (2004)
* Norbert Leo Butz (2005)
* Christine Ebersole (2006)
* Liev Schreiber (2007)
* Patti LuPone (2008)
* Geoffrey Rush (2009)
* Alfred Molina (2010)
* Mark Rylance (2011)
* Audra McDonald (2012)
* Nathan Lane (2013)
* Neil Patrick Harris (2014)
* Chita Rivera (2015)
* Lin-Manuel Miranda (2016)
* Ben Platt (2017)
* Glenda Jackson (2018)
* Bryan Cranston (2019)
* Danny Burstein (2020)
* Sutton Foster (2022)
* Annaleigh Ashford (2023)
* Sarah Paulson (2024)
* Nicole Scherzinger (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming

1970s|

* Tom Aldredge (1978)
* Geraldine Fitzgerald / Jack Gilford / Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Caroll Spinney (1979)

1980s|

* Melissa Sue Anderson / Maia Danziger / Butterfly McQueen / Fred Rogers (1980)
* Danny Aiello / Bill Cosby / Ken Howard / Marlo Thomas (1981)
* Robert Keeshan (1982)
* Cloris Leachman (1983)
* Dick Van Dyke (1984)
* John Carradine (1985)
* Pearl Bailey (1986)
* Madeline Kahn (1987)
* Philip Bosco (1988)
* Dana Barron / Jim Varney (1989)

1990s|

* Kevin Clash / Greg Spottiswood (1990)
* Tim Curry / Joanne Vannicola (1991)
* Josh Hamilton / Shari Lewis (1992)
* Shari Lewis / Dina Spybey (1993)
* Shari Lewis / Justin Whalin (1994)
* Shari Lewis / Hal Linden (1995)
* Kate Burton / Shari Lewis (1996)
* Donna Murphy / Fred Rogers (1997)
* Bill Nye / Robert Ri'chard (1998)
* Jordan Kiziuk / Fred Rogers (1999)

2000s|

* James Earl Jones / Shari Lewis (2000)
* LeVar Burton / Ossie Davis (2001)
* LeVar Burton / Kelsey Keel (2002)
* Ben Foster / Shia LaBeouf (2003)
* Jeff Corwin / Gena Rowlands (2004)
* Stockard Channing / Kevin Clash (2005)
* Kevin Clash / James McDaniel (2006)
* Eion Bailey / Kevin Clash / Caroll Spinney (2007)
* Bindi Irwin (2008)
* Kevin Clash (2009)

2010s|

* Kevin Clash / Joey Mazzarino (2010)
* Kevin Clash (2011)
* Kevin Clash (2012)
* Kevin Clash (2013)
* Jessica Honor Carleton (2014)
* Margot Kidder (2015)
* Jessica Lundy (2016)
* Isaac Kragten (2017)
* Dove Cameron (2018)
* Michela Luci (2019)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

1954–1975|

* Donald O'Connor (1954)
* Danny Thomas (1955)
* Phil Silvers (1956)
* Robert Young (1957)
* Robert Young (1958)
* Raymond Burr (1959)
* Robert Stack (1960)
* Raymond Burr (1961)
* E. G. Marshall (1962)
* E. G. Marshall (1963)
* Dick Van Dyke (1964)
* Leonard Bernstein / Lynn Fontanne / Alfred Lunt / Barbra Streisand / Dick Van Dyke (1965)
* Bill Cosby (1966)
* Bill Cosby (1967)
* Bill Cosby (1968)
* Carl Betz (1969)
* Robert Young (1970)
* Hal Holbrook (1971)
* Peter Falk (1972)
* Richard Thomas (1973)
* Telly Savalas (1974)
* Robert Blake (1975)

1976–2000|

* Peter Falk (1976)
* James Garner (1977)
* Ed Asner (1978)
* Ron Leibman (1979)
* Ed Asner (1980)
* Daniel J. Travanti (1981)
* Daniel J. Travanti (1982)
* Ed Flanders (1983)
* Tom Selleck (1984)
* William Daniels (1985)
* William Daniels (1986)
* Bruce Willis (1987)
* Richard Kiley (1988)
* Carroll O'Connor (1989)
* Peter Falk (1990)
* James Earl Jones (1991)
* Christopher Lloyd (1992)
* Tom Skerritt (1993)
* Dennis Franz (1994)
* Mandy Patinkin (1995)
* Dennis Franz (1996)
* Dennis Franz (1997)
* Andre Braugher (1998)
* Dennis Franz (1999)
* James Gandolfini (2000)

2001–present|

* James Gandolfini (2001)
* Michael Chiklis (2002)
* James Gandolfini (2003)
* James Spader (2004)
* James Spader (2005)
* Kiefer Sutherland (2006)
* James Spader (2007)
* Bryan Cranston (2008)
* Bryan Cranston (2009)
* Bryan Cranston (2010)
* Kyle Chandler (2011)
* Damian Lewis (2012)
* Jeff Daniels (2013)
* Bryan Cranston (2014)
* Jon Hamm (2015)
* Rami Malek (2016)
* Sterling K. Brown (2017)
* Matthew Rhys (2018)
* Billy Porter (2019)
* Jeremy Strong (2020)
* Josh O'Connor (2021)
* Lee Jung-jae (2022)
* Kieran Culkin (2023)
* Hiroyuki Sanada (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

* Anthony Quayle (1975)
* Ed Flanders (1976)
* Burgess Meredith (1977)
* Howard da Silva (1978)
* Marlon Brando (1979)
* George Grizzard (1980)
* David Warner (1981)
* Laurence Olivier (1982)
* Richard Kiley (1983)
* Art Carney (1984)
* Karl Malden (1985)
* John Malkovich (1986)
* Dabney Coleman (1987)
* John Shea (1988)
* Derek Jacobi (1989)
* Vincent Gardenia (1990)
* James Earl Jones (1991)
* Hume Cronyn (1992)
* Beau Bridges (1993)
* Michael A. Goorjian (1994)
* Donald Sutherland (1995)
* Tom Hulce (1996)
* Beau Bridges (1997)
* George C. Scott (1998)
* Peter O'Toole (1999)
* Hank Azaria (2000)
* Brian Cox (2001)
* Michael Moriarty (2002)
* Ben Gazzara (2003)
* Jeffrey Wright (2004)
* Paul Newman (2005)
* Jeremy Irons (2006)
* Thomas Haden Church (2007)
* Tom Wilkinson (2008)
* Ken Howard (2009)
* David Strathairn (2010)
* Guy Pearce (2011)
* Tom Berenger (2012)
* James Cromwell (2013)
* Martin Freeman (2014)
* Bill Murray (2015)
* Sterling K. Brown (2016)
* Alexander Skarsgård (2017)
* Jeff Daniels (2018)
* Ben Whishaw (2019)
* Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (2020)
* Evan Peters (2021)
* Murray Bartlett (2022)
* Paul Walter Hauser (2023)
* Lamorne Morris (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor

* Richard Widmark (1948)
* No Award (1949)
* Gene Nelson / Richard Todd (1950)
* No Award (1951)
* Kevin McCarthy (1952)
* Richard Burton (1953)
* Richard Egan / Steve Forrest / Hugh O'Brian (1954)
* Joe Adams / George Nader / Jeff Richards (1955)
* Ray Danton / Russ Tamblyn (1956)
* John Kerr / Paul Newman / Anthony Perkins (1957)
* James Garner / John Saxon / Patrick Wayne (1958)
* John Gavin / Bradford Dillman / Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (1959)
* George Hamilton / Barry Coe / Troy Donahue / James Shigeta (1960)
* Michael Callan / Mark Damon / Brett Halsey (1961)
* Warren Beatty / Richard Beymer / Bobby Darin (1962)
* Keir Dullea / Peter O'Toole / Omar Sharif / Terence Stamp (1963)
* Albert Finney / Stathis Giallelis / Robert Walker (1964)
* Harve Presnell / George Segal / Topol (1965)
* Robert Redford (1966)
* James Farentino (1967)
* Dustin Hoffman (1968)
* Leonard Whiting (1969)
* Jon Voight (1970)
* James Earl Jones (1971)
* Desi Arnaz Jr. (1972)
* Edward Albert (1973)
* Paul Le Mat (1974)
* Joseph Bottoms (1975)
* Brad Dourif (1976)
* Arnold Schwarzenegger (1977)
* No Award (1978)
* Brad Davis (1979)
* Ricky Schroder (1980)
* Timothy Hutton (1981)
* Ben Kingsley (1983)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording

1950s|

* The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows – Stan Freberg (1959)

1960s|

* Lincoln Portrait – Carl Sandburg (1960)
* FDR Speaks – Robert Bialek (producer) (1961)
* Humor in Music – Leonard Bernstein (1962)
* The Story-Teller: A Session with Charles Laughton – Charles Laughton (1963)
* Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Edward Albee (playwright) (1964)
* BBC Tribute to John F. Kennedy – That Was the Week That Was (1965)
* John F. Kennedy: As We Remember Him – Goddard Lieberson (producer) (1966)
* Edward R. Murrow - A Reporter Remembers, Vol. I: The War Years – Edward R. Murrow (1967)
* Gallant Men – Everett Dirksen (1968)
* Lonesome Cities – Rod McKuen (1969)

1970s|

* We Love You Call Collect – Art Linkletter & Diane Linkletter (1970)
* Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam – Martin Luther King Jr. (1971)
* Desiderata – Les Crane (1972)
* Lenny – Bruce Botnick (producer) & the Original Broadway Cast (1973)
* Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Harris (1974)
* Good Evening – Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (1975)
* Give 'em Hell, Harry! – James Whitmore (1976)
* Great American Documents – Henry Fonda, Helen Hayes, James Earl Jones, and Orson Welles (1977)
* The Belle of Amherst – Julie Harris (1978)
* Citizen Kane (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Orson Welles (1979)

1980s|

* Ages of Man: Readings from Shakespeare – John Gielgud (1980)
* Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein – Pat Carroll (1981)
* Donovan's Brain – Orson Welles (1982)
* Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Movie on Record – Tom Voegeli (producer) and Various Artists (1983)
* Lincoln Portrait – William Warfield (1984)
* The Words of Gandhi – Ben Kingsley (1985)
* Ma Rainey's Black Bottom – Mike Berniker (producer) & the Original Broadway Cast (1986)
* Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chips Moman, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Sam Phillips (1987)
* Lake Wobegon Days – Garrison Keillor (1988)
* Speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson – Jesse Jackson (1989)

1990s|

* It's Always Something – Gilda Radner (1990)
* Gracie: A Love Story – George Burns (1991)
* The Civil War – Ken Burns (1992)
* What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS – Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Robert O'Keefe (1993)
* On the Pulse of Morning – Maya Angelou (1994)
* Get in the Van – Henry Rollins (1995)
* Phenomenal Woman – Maya Angelou (1996)
* It Takes a Village – Hillary Clinton (1997)
* Charles Kuralt's Spring – Charles Kuralt (1998)
* Still Me – Christopher Reeve (1999)

2000s|

* The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. – LeVar Burton (2000)
* The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography – Sidney Poitier, Rick Harris, and John Runnette (producers) (2001)
* Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones – Quincy Jones, Jeffrey S. Thomas, Steven Strassman (engineers), and Elisa Shokoff (producer) (2002)
* A Song Flung Up to Heaven – Maya Angelou and Charles B. Potter (producer) (2003)
* Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them – Al Franken and Paul Ruben (producer) (2004)
* My Life – Bill Clinton (2005)
* Dreams from My Father – Barack Obama (2006)
* Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis – Jimmy Carter / With Ossie and Ruby – Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee (2007)
* The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama and Jacob Bronstein (producer) (2008)
* An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore – Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon, and Blair Underwood (2009)

2010s|

* Always Looking Up – Michael J. Fox (2010)
* The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Audiobook) – Jon Stewart (2011)
* If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) – Betty White (2012)
* Society's Child – Janis Ian (2013)
* America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't – Stephen Colbert (2014)
* Diary of a Mad Diva – Joan Rivers (2015)
* A Full Life: Reflections at 90 – Jimmy Carter (2016)
* In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox – Carol Burnett (2017)
* The Princess Diarist – Carrie Fisher (2018)
* Faith: A Journey for All – Jimmy Carter (2019)

2020s|

* Becoming – Michelle Obama (2020)
* Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth – Rachel Maddow (2021)
* Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation from John Lewis − Don Cheadle (2022)
* Finding Me – Viola Davis (2023)
* The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times – Michelle Obama (2024)
* Last Sunday in Plains: A Centennial Celebration – Jimmy Carter (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Kennedy Center Honorees (2000s)

2000|

* Mikhail Baryshnikov
* Chuck Berry
* Plácido Domingo
* Clint Eastwood
* Angela Lansbury

2001|

* Julie Andrews
* Van Cliburn
* Quincy Jones
* Jack Nicholson
* Luciano Pavarotti

2002|

* James Earl Jones
* James Levine
* Chita Rivera
* Paul Simon
* Elizabeth Taylor

2003|

* James Brown
* Carol Burnett
* Loretta Lynn
* Mike Nichols
* Itzhak Perlman

2004|

* Warren Beatty
* Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee
* Elton John
* Joan Sutherland
* John Williams

2005|

* Tony Bennett
* Suzanne Farrell
* Julie Harris
* Robert Redford
* Tina Turner

2006|

* Zubin Mehta
* Dolly Parton
* Smokey Robinson
* Steven Spielberg
* Andrew Lloyd Webber

2007|

* Leon Fleisher
* Steve Martin
* Diana Ross
* Martin Scorsese
* Brian Wilson

2008|

* Morgan Freeman
* George Jones
* Barbra Streisand
* Twyla Tharp
* Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey

2009|

* Mel Brooks
* Dave Brubeck
* Grace Bumbry
* Robert De Niro
* Bruce Springsteen

* Complete list
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

* v
* t
* e

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

* Raymond St. Jacques (1969)
* Jim Brown (1970)
* Donald Sutherland (1971)
* Billy Dee Williams (1972)
* No Award (1973)
* Bernie Casey (1974)
* James Earl Jones (1975)
* Bill Cosby (1976)
* Billy Dee Williams (1977)
* Paul Winfield (1978)
* Michael Jackson (1979)
* LeVar Burton (1980)
* Richard Pryor (1981)
* Louis Gossett Jr. (1982)
* Eddie Murphy (1983)
* Prince (1984)
* Adolph Caesar (1985)
* Gregory Hines (1986)
* Danny Glover (1987)
* Denzel Washington (1988)
* Morgan Freeman (1989)
* No Award (1990)
* Wesley Snipes (1991)
* Denzel Washington (1992)
* Denzel Washington (1993)
* No Award (1994)
* Denzel Washington (1995)
* Denzel Washington (1996)
* Djimon Hounsou (1997)
* Danny Glover (1998)
* Denzel Washington (1999)
* Denzel Washington (2000)
* Denzel Washington (2001)
* Denzel Washington (2002)
* Cuba Gooding Jr. (2003)
* Jamie Foxx (2004)
* Samuel L. Jackson (2005)
* Forest Whitaker (2006)
* Denzel Washington (2007)
* Will Smith (2008)
* Morgan Freeman (2009)
* Denzel Washington (2010)
* Laz Alonso (2011)
* Denzel Washington (2012)
* Forest Whitaker (2013)
* David Oyelowo (2014)
* Michael B. Jordan (2015)
* Denzel Washington (2016)
* Daniel Kaluuya (2017)
* Chadwick Boseman (2018)
* Michael B. Jordan (2019)
* Chadwick Boseman (2020)
* Will Smith (2021)
* Will Smith (2022)
* Colman Domingo (2023)
* Martin Lawrence (2024)

* v
* t
* e

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

1970s|

* Redd Foxx (1972)

1980s|

* Paul Winfield (1981)
* Howard Rollins (1982)
* Howard Rollins (1988)
* Danny Glover (1989)

1990s|

* No Award (1990)
* Blair Underwood (1991)
* James Earl Jones (1992)
* Dorian Harewood (1993)
* Blair Underwood (1994)
* Malik Yoba (1995)
* Malik Yoba (1996)
* Malik Yoba (1997)
* Eriq La Salle (1998)
* Eriq La Salle (1999)

2000s|

* Blair Underwood (2000)
* Eriq La Salle (2001)
* Michael Beach (2002)
* Steve Harris (2003)
* Taye Diggs (2004)
* Isaiah Washington (2005)
* Isaiah Washington (2006)
* Hill Harper (2007)
* Hill Harper (2008)
* Hill Harper (2009)

2010s|

* LL Cool J (2010)
* LL Cool J (2011)
* LL Cool J (2012)
* LL Cool J (2013)
* Shemar Moore (2014)
* Terrence Howard (2015)
* Sterling K. Brown (2016)
* Omari Hardwick (2017)
* Omari Hardwick (2018)
* Omari Hardwick (2019)

2020s|

* Regé-Jean Page (2020)
* Sterling K. Brown (2021)
* Nicco Annan (2022)
* Damson Idris (2023)
* Michael Rainey Jr. (2024)

* v
* t
* e

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

* Paul Winfield (1982)
* Danny Glover (1989)
* No Award (1990)
* Blair Underwood (1991)
* James Earl Jones (1992)
* Dorian Harewood (1993)
* Danny Glover (1994)
* Laurence Fishburne (1995)
* Wesley Snipes (1996)
* Laurence Fishburne (1997)
* Blair Underwood (1998)
* Sidney Poitier (1999)
* Danny Glover (2000)
* Gregory Hines (2001)
* Charles S. Dutton (2002)
* Charles S. Dutton (2003)
* Jamie Foxx (2004)
* Terrence Howard (2005)
* Kadeem Hardison (2006)
* Wendell Pierce (2007)
* Sean Combs (2008)
* Cuba Gooding Jr. (2009)
* Idris Elba (2010)
* Laurence Fishburne (2011)
* Cuba Gooding Jr. (2012)
* Idris Elba (2013)
* Blair Underwood (2014)
* David Alan Grier (2015)
* Courtney B. Vance (2016)
* Idris Elba (2017)
* Michael B. Jordan (2018)
* Jharrel Jerome (2019)
* Blair Underwood (2020)
* Kevin Hart (2021)
* Morris Chestnut (2022)
* Keith Powers (2023)
* Aaron Pierre (2024)

* v
* t
* e

National Medal of Arts recipients (1990s)

1990|

* George Abbott
* Hume Cronyn
* Jessica Tandy
* Merce Cunningham
* Jasper Johns
* Jacob Lawrence
* Riley "B.B." King
* David Lloyd Kreeger
* Harris & Carroll Sterling Masterson
* Ian McHarg
* Beverly Sills
* Southeastern Bell Corporation

1991|

* Maurice Abravanel
* Roy Acuff
* Pietro Belluschi
* John Carter Brown III
* Charles "Honi" Coles
* John Crosby
* Richard Diebenkorn
* R. Philip Hanes
* Kitty Carlisle Hart
* Pearl Primus
* Isaac Stern
* Texaco

1992|

* Marilyn Horne
* James Earl Jones
* Allan Houser
* Minnie Pearl
* Robert Saudek
* Earl Scruggs
* Robert Shaw
* Billy Taylor
* Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
* Robert Wise
* AT&T
* Lila Wallace

1993|

* Walter and Leonore Annenberg
* Cabell "Cab" Calloway
* Ray Charles
* Bess Lomax Hawes
* Stanley Kunitz
* Robert Merrill
* Arthur Miller
* Robert Rauschenberg
* Lloyd Richards
* William Styron
* Paul Taylor
* Billy Wilder

1994|

* Harry Belafonte
* Dave Brubeck
* Celia Cruz
* Dorothy DeLay
* Julie Harris
* Erick Hawkins
* Gene Kelly
* Pete Seeger
* Catherine Filene Shouse
* Wayne Thiebaud
* Richard Wilbur
* Young Audiences

1995|

* Licia Albanese
* Gwendolyn Brooks
* B. Gerald and Iris Cantor
* Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
* David Diamond
* James Ingo Freed
* Bob Hope
* Roy Lichtenstein
* Arthur Mitchell
* Bill Monroe
* Urban Gateways

1996|

* Edward Albee
* Sarah Caldwell
* Harry Callahan
* Zelda Fichandler
* Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero
* Lionel Hampton
* Bella Lewitzky
* Vera List
* Robert Redford
* Maurice Sendak
* Stephen Sondheim
* Boys Choir of Harlem

1997|

* Louise Bourgeois
* Betty Carter
* Agnes Gund
* Daniel Urban Kiley
* Angela Lansbury
* James Levine
* Tito Puente
* Jason Robards
* Edward Villella
* Doc Watson
* MacDowell Colony

1998|

* Jacques d'Amboise
* Antoine "Fats" Domino
* Ramblin' Jack Elliott
* Frank Gehry
* Barbara Handman
* Agnes Martin
* Gregory Peck
* Roberta Peters
* Philip Roth
* Sara Lee Corporation
* Steppenwolf Theatre Company
* Gwen Verdon

1999|

* Irene Diamond
* Aretha Franklin
* Michael Graves
* Odetta
* Juilliard School
* Norman Lear
* Rosetta LeNoire
* Harvey Lichtenstein
* Lydia Mendoza
* George Segal
* Maria Tallchief

* Complete list
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s

* v
* t
* e

Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

* Eddie Cantor (1962)
* Stan Laurel (1963)
* No Award (1964)
* Bob Hope (1965)
* Barbara Stanwyck (1966)
* William Gargan (1967)
* James Stewart (1968)
* Edward G. Robinson (1969)
* Gregory Peck (1970)
* Charlton Heston (1971)
* Frank Sinatra (1972)
* Martha Raye (1973)
* Walter Pidgeon (1974)
* Rosalind Russell (1975)
* Pearl Bailey (1976)
* James Cagney (1977)
* Edgar Bergen (1978)
* Katharine Hepburn (1979)
* Leon Ames (1980)
* No Award (1981)
* Danny Kaye (1982)
* Ralph Bellamy (1983)
* Iggie Wolfington (1984)
* Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (1985)
* Nanette Fabray (1986)
* Red Skelton (1987)
* Gene Kelly (1988)
* Jack Lemmon (1989)
* Brock Peters (1990)
* Burt Lancaster (1991)
* Audrey Hepburn (1992)
* Ricardo Montalban (1993)
* George Burns (1994)
* Robert Redford (1995)
* Angela Lansbury (1996)
* Elizabeth Taylor (1997)
* Kirk Douglas (1998)
* Sidney Poitier (1999)
* Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee (2000)
* Ed Asner (2001)
* Clint Eastwood (2002)
* Karl Malden (2003)
* James Garner (2004)
* Shirley Temple (2005)
* Julie Andrews (2006)
* Charles Durning (2007)
* James Earl Jones (2008)
* Betty White (2009)
* Ernest Borgnine (2010)
* Mary Tyler Moore (2011)
* Dick Van Dyke (2012)
* Rita Moreno (2013)
* Debbie Reynolds (2014)
* Carol Burnett (2015)
* Lily Tomlin (2016)
* Morgan Freeman (2017)
* Alan Alda (2018)
* Robert De Niro (2019)
* No Award (2020)
* Helen Mirren (2021)
* Sally Field (2022)
* Barbra Streisand (2023)
* Jane Fonda (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Special Tony Award

1947–1975|

* Dora Chamberlain / Ira and Rita Katzenberg / Jules Leventhal / Burns Mantle / P. A. MacDonald / Vincent Sardi Sr. (1947)
* Vera Allen / Paul Beisman / Joe E. Brown / Cast of The Importance of Being Earnest / Robert W. Dowling / Experimental Theatre Inc. / Rosalind Gilder / June Lockhart / Mary Martin / George Pierce / James Whitmore (1948)
* No Award (1949)
* Maurice Evans / Philip Faversham / Brock Pemberton (1950)
* Ruth Green (1951)
* Charles Boyer / Judy Garland / Edward Kook (1952)
* Danny Kaye / Beatrice Lillie (1953)
* No Award (1954)
* Proscenium Productions (1955)
* Fourth Street Chekov Theatre / City Center / The New York Public Library Theatre Collection / The Shakespearewrights / The Threepenny Opera (1956)
* American Shakespeare Festival / Jean-Louis Barrault / Robert Russell Bennett / William Hammerstein / Joseph Harbuck / Paul Shyre (1957)
* Mrs. Martin Beck / New York Shakespeare Festival (1958)
* Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay / John Gielgud / Cast of La Plume de Ma Tante (1959)
* Burgess Meredith and James Thurber / John D. Rockefeller III (1960)
* David Merrick / The Theatre Guild (1961)
* Brooks Atkinson / Richard Rodgers / Franco Zeffirelli (1962)
* Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore / Irving Berlin / W. McNeil Lowry (1963)
* Eva Le Gallienne (1964)
* Gilbert Miller / Oliver Smith (1965)
* Helen Menken (1966)
* No Award (1967)
* APA-Phoenix Theatre / Pearl Bailey / Carol Channing / Maurice Chevalier / Marlene Dietrich / Audrey Hepburn / David Merrick (1968)
* Leonard Bernstein / Carol Burnett / Rex Harrison / The National Theatre Company of Great Britain / The Negro Ensemble Company (1969)
* Noël Coward / Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt / New York Shakespeare Festival / Barbra Streisand (1970)
* Ingram Ash / Elliot Norton / Playbill / Roger L. Stevens (1971)
* Fiddler on the Roof / Ethel Merman / Richard Rodgers / The Theatre Guild-American Theatre Society (1972)
* The Actors Fund of America / John Lindsay / Shubert Organization (1973)
* Actors' Equity Association / A Moon for the Misbegotten / Candide / Peter Cook and Dudley Moore / Harold Friedlander / Bette Midler / Liza Minnelli / Theatre Development Fund / John F. Wharton (1974)
* Al Hirschfeld (1975)

1976–2000|

* George Abbott / Richard Burton / Circle in the Square Theatre / Thomas H. Fitzgerald / Mathilde Pincus (1976)
* Cheryl Crawford / Equity Liberty Theatre / Barry Manilow / National Theatre of the Deaf / Diana Ross / Lily Tomlin (1977)
* Irving Berlin / Stan Dragoti and Charles Moss (1978)
* Walter F. Diehl / Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center / Henry Fonda / Richard Rodgers (1979)
* Richard Fitzgerald / Helen Hayes / Mary Tyler Moore / Hobe Morrison (1980)
* Lena Horne (1981)
* Radio City Music Hall / The Actors Fund of America / Warner Communications (1982)
* No Award (1983)
* A Chorus Line / Peter Feller / La Tragedie de Carmen (1984)
* Yul Brynner / New York State Council on the Arts (1985)
* No award (1986)
* George Abbott / Jackie Mason (1987)
* Brooklyn Academy of Music (1988)
* No Award (1989)
* No Award (1990–1992)
* Oklahoma! (1993)
* Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy (1994)
* Carol Channing / National Endowment for the Arts / Harvey Sabinson (1995)
* No Award (1996)
* Bernard B. Jacobs (1997)
* Edward E. Colton / Ben Edwards (1998)
* Uta Hagen / Arthur Miller / Isabelle Stevenson (1999)
* Dame Edna: The Royal Tour / T. Edward Hambleton (2000)

2001–present|

* Paul Gemignani (2001)
* Julie Harris / Robert Whitehead (2002)
* Cy Feuer / Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (2003)
* James M. Nederlander (2004)
* Edward Albee (2005)
* Sarah Jones / Harold Prince (2006)
* No Award (2007)
* Robert Russell Bennett / Stephen Sondheim (2008)
* Jerry Herman (2009)
* Alan Ayckbourn / Marian Seldes (2010)
* Athol Fugard / Philip J. Smith (2011)
* Actors' Equity Association / Hugh Jackman (2012)
* Bernard Gersten / Ming Cho Lee / Paul Libin (2013)
* Jane Greenwood (2014)
* John Cameron Mitchell / Tommy Tune (2015)
* Sheldon Harnick / Marshall W. Mason / National Endowment for the Arts / Miles Wilkin (2016)
* James Earl Jones (2017)
* John Leguizamo / Andrew Lloyd Webber / Chita Rivera / Bruce Springsteen (2018)
* Rosemary Harris / Marin Mazzie / Terrence McNally / Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company / Jason Michael Webb / Harold Wheeler (2019)
* The Broadway Advocacy Coalition / David Byrne's American Utopia / Freestyle Love Supreme / Graciela Daniele (2020/21)
* Angela Lansbury / James C. Nicola (2022)
* Joel Grey / John Kander (2023)
* Jack O'Brien / George C. Wolfe / Alex Edelman / Abe Jacob / Nikiya Mathis (2024)
* Harvey Fierstein / Marco Paguia, David Oquendo, Renesito Avich, Gustavo Schartz, Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera, Jesus Ricardo, Eddie Venegas, Hery Paz, and Leonardo Reyna / Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone, and Edward Pierce (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play

1947–1975|

* José Ferrer / Fredric March (1947)
* Henry Fonda / Paul Kelly / Basil Rathbone (1948)
* Rex Harrison (1949)
* Sidney Blackmer (1950)
* Claude Rains (1951)
* José Ferrer (1952)
* Tom Ewell (1953)
* David Wayne (1954)
* Alfred Lunt (1955)
* Paul Muni (1956)
* Fredric March (1957)
* Ralph Bellamy (1958)
* Jason Robards Jr. (1959)
* Melvyn Douglas (1960)
* Zero Mostel (1961)
* Paul Scofield (1962)
* Arthur Hill (1963)
* Alec Guinness (1964)
* Walter Matthau (1965)
* Hal Holbrook (1966)
* Paul Rogers (1967)
* Martin Balsam (1968)
* James Earl Jones (1969)
* Fritz Weaver (1970)
* Brian Bedford (1971)
* Cliff Gorman (1972)
* Alan Bates (1973)
* Michael Moriarty (1974)
* John Kani and Winston Ntshona (1975)

1976–2000|

* John Wood (1976)
* Al Pacino (1977)
* Barnard Hughes (1978)
* Tom Conti (1979)
* John Rubinstein (1980)
* Ian McKellen (1981)
* Roger Rees (1982)
* Harvey Fierstein (1983)
* Jeremy Irons (1984)
* Derek Jacobi (1985)
* Judd Hirsch (1986)
* James Earl Jones (1987)
* Ron Silver (1988)
* Philip Bosco (1989)
* Robert Morse (1990)
* Nigel Hawthorne (1991)
* Judd Hirsch (1992)
* Ron Leibman (1993)
* Stephen Spinella (1994)
* Ralph Fiennes (1995)
* George Grizzard (1996)
* Christopher Plummer (1997)
* Anthony LaPaglia (1998)
* Brian Dennehy (1999)
* Stephen Dillane (2000)

2001–present|

* Richard Easton (2001)
* Alan Bates (2002)
* Brian Dennehy (2003)
* Jefferson Mays (2004)
* Bill Irwin (2005)
* Richard Griffiths (2006)
* Frank Langella (2007)
* Mark Rylance (2008)
* Geoffrey Rush (2009)
* Denzel Washington (2010)
* Mark Rylance (2011)
* James Corden (2012)
* Tracy Letts (2013)
* Bryan Cranston (2014)
* Alex Sharp (2015)
* Frank Langella (2016)
* Kevin Kline (2017)
* Andrew Garfield (2018)
* Bryan Cranston (2019)
* Andrew Burnap (2020/21)
* Simon Russell Beale (2022)
* Sean Hayes (2023)
* Jeremy Strong (2024)
* Cole Escola (2025)

* v
* t
* e

People who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

listed by duration and year of completion

Competitive EGOTs|

* Richard Rodgers (1946–1962)
* Helen Hayes (1932–1977)
* Rita Moreno (1962–1977)
* John Gielgud (1948–1991)
* Audrey Hepburn (1954–1994)
* Marvin Hamlisch (1974–1995)
* Jonathan Tunick (1978–1997)
* Mel Brooks (1967–2001)
* Mike Nichols (1961–2001)
* Whoopi Goldberg (1985–2002)
* Scott Rudin (1984–2012)
* Robert Lopez (2004–2014)
* John Legend (2006–2018)
* Andrew Lloyd Webber (1980–2018)
* Tim Rice (1980–2018)
* Alan Menken (1990–2020)
* Jennifer Hudson (2007–2022)
* Viola Davis (2001–2023)
* Elton John (1987–2024)
* Benj Pasek (2017–2024)
* Justin Paul (2017–2024)

Honorary recipients|

* Barbra Streisand (1964–1970)
* Liza Minnelli (1965–1990)
* James Earl Jones (1969–2011)
* Harry Belafonte (1954–2014)
* Quincy Jones (1964–2016)
* Frank Marshall (2019–2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Latvia
* Korea
* Poland
* Israel

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards
* Emmy Awards
* FID

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Synchronkartei

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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*[div.]: divorced
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