- Born
- Died
- Nickname
- Robert Earl
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Robert Earl Jones was born on February 3, 1910 in Senatobia, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for The Sting (1973), Sleepaway Camp (1983) and Witness (1985). He was married to Ruth Connolly, Jumelle P. Jones and Ruth Williams. He died on September 7, 2006 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.
- SpousesRuth Connolly (1 child)Jumelle P. JonesRuth Williams
- Father of James Earl Jones and Matthew Earl Jones. Grandfather of Flynn Earl Jones.
- One-time sparring partner for world heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1937.
- Had a deep and mellifluous voice like that of his son James...with whom he appeared onstage in "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl", "Infidel Caesar" (both 1962) and "Of Mice and Men" (1967, portraying Crooks to James's Lennie).
- Dropped out of school in the third grade to work as a sharecropper. Also worked on the railroad until the Depression caused him to lose his job.
- Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Black Theatre Festival; also received an Oscar Micheaux Award and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
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