Remembering the remarkable lives of James Earl Jones and Frankie Beverly

This week on the Podcast Brew we do a deep dive into the life and work of the legendary James Earl Jones and Frankie Beverly.

We’ve also asked our fellow PCUers to share their favorite performances by James Earl Jones.

Sherri:
When asked “What’s your favorite James Earl Jones performance”, it’s hard to choose with the large breadth of roles and personas he embodied. From Roots to Field of Dreams to Fences on Broadway this man has done so much. 

The one role that displayed how he used the depth of his talents, King Jaffe Joffer, Coming to America. The movie is a comedy and everyone is playing for the laughs except Mr. Jones. He was king of his country and he stayed regal in every scene.  

Mr. Jones will be missed.

Doug: 
While many people espouse Jones’s cinematic work, so few remember that he was a brilliant stage performer. His work on stage would always elicit a huge emotional reaction from audiences – especially his performances in Shakespearean plays and Othello was no exception. 

Ivana:
He will always be my Mufasa, but I did love seeing him in Coming To America. I guess I see him as a king and my favorite roles are ones that reflect that.

Lady Faith:
Of all of the many wondrous productions that James Earl Jones has been in, the one that first came to mind was Claudine. First you have the beautiful Diahann Carroll, then you hear that voice, the voice of James Earl Jones. The movie was groundbreaking for how it showed the hypocritical policy of the welfare system that forces folx to jump through hoops when they need help. If Claudine had a job instead of assistance her aid would be cut off, instead of continuing until the job pay could take over and giving her financial training to move forward. It showed the frustration of a system built to disenfranchise people while mixing humor with pathos so that the truth of the welfare system can be seen. James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll make you laugh, cry and shake your head in full agreement.

Ron:
Leon Carter in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is one of my favorite performances of James Earl Jones’ and if you haven’t seen this movie we need to change that.

You can listen to our retrospective of both artist here!