WithJames Earl Jones, there was always the voice.
It poured over you, thick as molasses.
It sounded regal, even when he was playing a humble ex-ballplayer instead of a king.
James Earl Jones in ‘Field of Dreams'©Universal/Everett Collection
(Or even that of another Black performer.)
Jones took up space in every possible way.
That imposing screen presence proved a double-edged sword throughout Jones screen career, but especially early on.
As was so often the case, its not his movie.
And Jones absolutely steals the movie out from under him.
But he found opportunities whenever possible to play around with his own image.
In the second-ever episode ofSesame Street,he recited the alphabetin his familiar stentorian tones.
But the real voice, and the master thespian attached to it, has been silenced.
