Jones previously portrayed an Oscar nominee for Jack Jefferson, America's first black heavyweight champion, in 1970s The Great White Hope. His film career began with Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) narrated by Diahann Carroll, Terrence Mann in character in Field of Dreams (1989), and the awesome Mr. Myrtle as The Sandlot (1993). around.
On stage, Jones won two Tony Awards for Best Actor. The first was in 1968 for his portrayal of Jack Jefferson in Howard Sackler's The Great White Hope, and the second in 1986 for his performance as Troy Maxon in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences Oscar, and in 2017 won a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement.
Jones was notable for being one of the few to be nominated for an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. She was the first actress to win two Emmys in the same year, which is amazing.
"You can't be an actor like me and be in some very bad movies like me," Jones once said, looking back at his career. However, I stand before you with great pride, utmost gratitude and utter awe.
Jones endured a crippling incident as a child, which makes his incredible journey to become one of America's most celebrated artists all the more remarkable but his legacy has dazzled audiences around the world receiving and encouraging.
