In an announcement by SAG President Alan Rosenberg, he said "James Earl Jones' distinguished career on stage, in film, on television, in commercials and as a vocal presence without peer commands our admiration and respect. His long and quiet devotion to advancing literacy, the arts and humanities on a national and local scale deserves our appreciation. It is our honor to bestow the Guild's highest tribute on this extraordinary actor."

Jones is a very accomplished actor on the stage and screen, but as the statement also read, "Today, Jones' 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 and those who hear him intone 'This is CNN' while watching the news." Click on this link if you want to hear him say "This is CNN" (which I really remember hearing myself for the first time when Operation Desert Storm began back in January 1991).

I figured this would be as good a time as any to publish my top 10 list for James Earl Jones movies. Though he made quite an impact on 80s movies, I decided to do a more comprehensive list. So without further ado, here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 JAMES EARL JONES MOVIES:

10. Soul Man (1986) as "Professor Banks" - A horrible premise for a movie. Does anybody really think C. Thomas Howell looks like a black man even with the makeup on?

9. The Great White Hope (1970) as boxer "Jack Jefferson" - He received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this role

8. Conan the Barbarian (1982) as "Thulsa Doom" - This was my brother's favorite movie for a period of time growing up, so we probably watched it more times than I am willing to admit. His character ends up getting his head chopped off by Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Conan" and we get to see his head roll down hundreds of stairs. Seeing that left quite an impression on me. Here is a link to the original trailer for Conan the Barbarian which features a little footage of "Thulsa Doom" in it.

7. The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) as "Admiral James Greer" - Not sure why, but I have never been a big fan of this series based on the Tom Clancy novels featuring the "Jack Ryan" character.

6. Sneakers (1992) as NSA Agent "Bernard Abbott" - Part of an outstanding cast which includes Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, David Strathairn and Sidney Poitier.

5. The Lion King (1994) as the voice of "King Mufasa" - This movie ranks on my list of Best Animated Feature Films. Here is a link to watch a short scene featuring "Mufasa" imparting wisdom during a father-son discussion.

4. Coming to America (1988) as "King Jaffe Joffer" - Plays the father of Eddie Murphy's "Prince Akeem" character. Ranks highly on my Best Eddie Murphy Movies list and is definitely one of my very favorite 80s comedies.

3. Field of Dreams (1989) as "Terence Mann" - This movie ranks highly on my Best Baseball Movies list and Jones delivers one of my favorite monologues of all time. Here is a link to watch this scene where he tells Kevin Costner's character that "People will come."

2. The Sandlot (1993) as "Mr. Mertle" - This movie also ranks highly on my Best Baseball Movies list, but also ranks on my Most Underrated Movies list. Jones plays a small role mostly near the end of the film as a now blind, former baseball player who owns the dog known only as "the Beast."

1. Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) as the voice of "Darth Vader" - There are not many sounds more recognizable than the voice of the dark lord from the revolutionary George Lucas trilogy. Here is a link to watch one of the first scenes from the original Star Wars where we are introduced to "Vader" and witness that powerful voice. Jones was not even originally credited in the first two movies because he felt he was part of the 'special effects' since his voice was added in later. He finally agreed to take credit in the third movie since by that time the voice had become iconic.

There's my list. Six of the movies listed above were from the 80s, so obviously James Earl Jones made a significant impact on movies of that decade. Can you imagine "Darth Vader" with any other voice now? I can't. Here is a short video discussing how Jones came to get that unforgettable role:

As mentioned earlier, Jones has been an advocate for advancing literacy. In fact, back in 1969 he participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series called Sesame Street. Some of his segments were included in the show when it debuted that year including the short video below featuring a bald-headed Jones slowly counting to 10:

To think that Jones actually overcame a childhood stutter that became so severe he refused to speak out loud all the way until he began high school. A teacher helped him to gain confidence through forced public speaking. Now, that voice is instantly recognizable and Jones is credited as an outstanding orator. It is simply amazing how life plays out some times.

Jones was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 1972 and to the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress in 1993. He currently serves on the Actors Fund of America's Board of Advisors. He introduced President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1993 Inaugural festivities. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Michigan (his alma mater) in 1970 and Honorary Doctorates in Fine Arts from Princeton University in 1980 and Yale University in 1982, He is the recipient of the Medal of Spoken Language from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1981), the Joseph Plateau Life Achievement Award from the Flanders Film Festival (1995), the Eleanor Roosevelt Center Val-Kill Medal (1998) and a career award from the National Board of Review (1995). In 2004 he was honored with the Harvard Foundation Humanitarian Award and the Actors Fund's Julie Harris Lifetime Achievement Award. ...And he got to be the voice of "Darth Vader" too!!!

That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I came across this performance from the show America's Got Talent which I thought was a pretty amazing illusionist. I have no idea how this guy pulls this one off. Wanted to share it here...

Quote of the day: "When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language." -James Earl Jones