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Guess Who's a Cherokee -- James Earl Jones
by Christina Berry

This is the third article in the series "Guess Who's a Cherokee." Check each month to find a new Cherokee profiled. Some are obvious while some will really surprise you. Hope you enjoy.

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is the voice of a generation. I would venture to say he has the most recognized voice in contemporary American culture. He was, afterall, the voice of Darth Vader. He is also the voice of CNN and Verizon. Jones is a recent inductee into the Cherokee Honor Society and a proud Cherokee mixed-blood. His film career includes numerous, too many to list here, memorable performances. Notably, he starred in the 1995 film Cry, the Beloved Country about Apartheid in South Africa, and he gave an Oscar nominated perfomance as a black Heavyweight champion boxer who is in love with a white woman in the 1970 film The Great White Hope.

As someone who grew up watching Star Wars, and CNN for that matter, I find Jones' voice very comforting and familiar. So it fascinates me to find out that he started taking acting lessons to help control a stuttering problem, a problem that he still struggles with today.

In 2000, James Earl Jones narrarated Black Indians: An American Story, an independent documentary film made by (Cherokee-owned) Rich-Heape Films of Dallas and directed by Cherokee tribal member Chip Richie. The film explores an area of indigenous intermarriage which has, for the most part, been overlooked thus far.

Shop for James Earl Jones movies on Amazon.com