Voices and Silences (Limelight) - Softcover

(Limelight). As this book explores the upbringing of James Earl Jones so does it discover his beginnings as an actor. As Jones delves deeply into his memory, so we venture deep into the rural south of his origins and early life, deep into his turbulent family history, and deep into the roles he's played both on the stage and on screens large and small. In the new epilogue that concludes this edition, Jones now in his seventies remembers the personal and professional events of the decade since the book's original publication.

James Earl Jones is a renowned and beloved actor who has achieved success in television, film, and theater. Jones's voice is known by people of all ages and walks of life?the "Star Wars" fans who know him as the voice of Darth Vader, children who know him as Mufasa from Disney's "The Lion King. "In addition to the many awards he has received as an actor--two Tonys, four Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Cable ACEs, two OBIEs, five Drama Desks, and a Grammy--Jones has been honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992 and the John F. Kennedy Center Honor in December 2002.? He also was honored by the Screen Actors Guild with the Lifetime Achievement Award in January of 2009.

James Earl Jones?most recently?starred in the Broadway production of? "Driving Miss Daisy" with Vanessa Redgrave. He lives in Pawling, New York.

Penelope Niven is the author of critically acclaimed biographies of poet Carl Sandburg and photographer Edward Steichen, as well as Swimming Lessons, a memoir, and Voices and Silences, coauthored with the actor James Earl Jones. She is the recipient of three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Thornton Wilder Visiting Fellowship at the Beinecke Library at Yale, and other fellowships and awards.