Acting

Robert Earl Jones

Born February 3, 1910 · Tate County, Mississippi, USA

Died September 7, 2006 · aged 96

Robert Earl Jones (February 3, 1910 – September 7, 2006), sometimes credited as Earl Jones, was an American actor and professional boxer. One of the first prominent black film stars, Jones was a living link with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, having worked with Langston Hughes early in his career. Jones was best known for his leading roles in films such as Lying Lips (1939) and la…

Known For

Trading Places

Trading Places · 1983

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

The Sting

The Sting · 1973

MovieComedyCrime

A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.

Witness

Witness · 1985

MovieCrimeDrama

While protecting an Amish boy—the sole witness to a brutal murder—and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life comes under threat.

The Cotton Club

The Cotton Club · 1984

The Cotton Club

MovieCrimeDrama

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

Maniac Cop 2

Maniac Cop 2 · 1990

MovieActionHorror

Undead cop Matt Cordell rises from the grave, and is after the criminals who murdered him in prison.

Sleepaway Camp

Sleepaway Camp · 1983

Years after a terrible boating accident, Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where a series of bizarre and violent "accidents" begin to claim the lives of various campers.

Proof of the Man

Proof of the Man · 1977

Proof of the Man

MovieDramaCrime

When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime.

Odds Against Tomorrow

Odds Against Tomorrow · 1959

Odds Against Tomorrow

MovieCrimeDrama

An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

Filmography

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Trading Places

Trading Places · 1983

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Attendant

The Sting

The Sting · 1973

MovieComedyCrime

A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.

Luther Coleman

Witness

Witness · 1985

MovieCrimeDrama

While protecting an Amish boy—the sole witness to a brutal murder—and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life comes under threat.

Custodian

The Cotton Club

The Cotton Club · 1984

The Cotton Club

MovieCrimeDrama

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

Stage Door Joe

Maniac Cop 2

Maniac Cop 2 · 1990

MovieActionHorror

Undead cop Matt Cordell rises from the grave, and is after the criminals who murdered him in prison.

Harry

Sleepaway Camp

Sleepaway Camp · 1983

Years after a terrible boating accident, Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where a series of bizarre and violent "accidents" begin to claim the lives of various campers.

Ben

Proof of the Man

Proof of the Man · 1977

Proof of the Man

MovieDramaCrime

When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime.

Wilshire Hayward

Odds Against Tomorrow

Odds Against Tomorrow · 1959

Odds Against Tomorrow

MovieCrimeDrama

An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

Jazz Club Patron (uncredited)

Wild River

Wild River · 1960

MovieDramaRomance

A young bureaucrat for the Tennessee Valley Authority goes to rural Tennessee to oversee the building of a dam. He encounters opposition from the local people, in particular a farmer who objects to his employment (with pay) of local black laborers. Much of the plot revolves around the eviction of a stubborn octogenarian from her home on an island in the river, and the young man's love affair with that woman's widowed granddaughter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

Sam Johnson (uncredited)

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor · 2012

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor

Allison Kramer suffers recurring nightmares and selective amnesia. She returns to camp to discover the truth only to find dark memories coming to life before her very eyes. In her exploration she encounters a sleazy ranger and kindly hunter. Death awaits them, as the secrets of infamous killer Angela Baker are revealed.

Ben (archive footage)

The Secret of the Purple Reef

The Secret of the Purple Reef · 1960

The Secret of the Purple Reef

MovieDramaCrime

When a man mysteriously vanishes on his ship in the Caribbean, his two brothers journey there to investigate his disappearance.

Tobias

Cockfighter

Cockfighter · 1974

A man who trains fighting cocks vows to remain silent until one of his birds wins a championship.

Buford

The Displaced Person

The Displaced Person · 1977

The Displaced Person

MovieDramaTV Movie

A conscientious but driven Polish refugee disrupts the hierarchy of power on a Georgia farm in the 1940s.

Astor

A Billion for Boris

A Billion for Boris · 1984

A Billion for Boris

In this family-friendly sequel to Freaky Friday, teenaged Boris realizes that his television set is somehow receiving broadcasts from the future, so he starts betting piles of cash on horse races and making himself outrageously rich. Boris is on top of the world...until he discovers that something this good doesn't come without a price.

Grandaddy

Rain Without Thunder

Rain Without Thunder · 1993

Rain Without Thunder

MovieScience FictionDrama

In 2042, it’s illegal for women to get abortions. After a girl and her mother are sentenced to life behind bars, a reporter investigates why.

Old Lawyer

One Potato, Two Potato

One Potato, Two Potato · 1964

One Potato, Two Potato

Study of interracial marriage in the 1960s. A white divorcée falls in love with and marries an African-American man. When her ex-husband sues for custody of her child, arguing that a mixed household is an improper place to raise the girl, the new husband fights for his parental rights in court, fighting against a judge who represents the prejudices of the era.

William Richards

Pie in the Sky

Pie in the Sky · 1964

Rural runaway finds himself in Manhattan.

Farmer

Cold River

Cold River · 1982

Based on the novel Winterkill, by William Judson, Cold River is the story of an Adirondack guide who takes his young daughter and step-son on a long camping trip in the fall of 1932. When winter strikes unexpectedly early (a natural phenomenon known as a 'winterkill' - so named because the animals are totally unprepared for a sudden, early winter, and many freeze or starve to death), a disastrous turn of events leaves the two children to find their own way home without food, or protection from the elements.

The Trapper

Lying Lips

Lying Lips · 1939

MovieDramaMusic

A nightclub singer refuses to "date" customers, so she's framed for the murder of her aunt.

Detective Wenzer

The Notorious Elinor Lee

The Notorious Elinor Lee · 1940

The Notorious Elinor Lee

Gangsters use a woman to get to a boxer and convince him to throw a big fight.

Benny Blue

Great Performances

Great Performances · 1971

Great Performances

SeriesComedyDocumentary

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Creon

Lou Grant

Lou Grant · 1977

SeriesComedyDrama

The trials of a former television station manager turned newspaper city editor, and his journalist staff.

The Defenders

The Defenders · 1961

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights demonstrators, a schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography, and a physician charged in a mercy killing.

Joe Dean

Kojak

SeriesCrimeDrama

A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.

Judge

The Sophisticated Gents

The Sophisticated Gents · 1981

The Sophisticated Gents

SeriesDramaMystery

The 25-year reunion of members of a black athletic-social club brings together nine of its members for the first time to honor their old coach but is marred by a murder investigation involving one of the gents.

Big Ralph Joplin