Is there another James Earl Jones??

[willep]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:07am

Check out that male ensemble...is that THE James Earl Jones??
Complete Cast for Patti LuPone Annie Get Your Gun

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:15am

Glad he's keepin' it real. And such a versatile talent to go back into the chorus after all these years.

LOL

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:17am

I'm told he likes to take parts like this so he can remain humble.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:23am

This may be another case like "Vanessa Williams," where there were two actresses with the same name working in fairly high profile jobs. One was the actress we all know and love. The other was the girl on Melrose Place (as I recall, Season 1, at least--I didn't watch it).

SAG and Equity, etc., asked the MP actress to change her name, but she refused, saying that it was her "birth" name, which it was. There was a brief talk about legal action, but everyone pretty much agreed that if it is your real name, no organization or union has a legal right to demand that you change it, much as they'd like to "encourage" you to do so.

So for a while, we had "Vanessa L. Williams." She was doing what she could to distinguish herself. She later dropped the "L" again when the other actress wasn't so much of a confusion for audiences anymore.

If this is accurate, and his name is legally "James Earl Jones," they can't ask him to change it. Although common sense would tell you to do it anyway.

Check your OBCRs and you'll see that "Elizabeth Taylor" was in the original Broadway cast of West Side Story.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:25am

I thought the issue was that the non-fabulous Vanessa Williams had her SAG card first.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 9:34am

Re Vanessa Williams: The one "we all know and love" was in the film SOUL FOOD in 1997, and three years later "the other" Vanessa Williams starred in the Showtime series albeit a different character. I believe the latter played the Vivica A. Fox role.

Updated On: 8/4/10 at 09:34 AM

[BroadwayNick]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 12:23pm

Most of the actors in the new Annie Get Your Gun at Ravinia are all Chicago actors, as Ravinia is just outside of the city. James Earl Jones is a Chicago based actor. Usually he goes by James Earl Jones III but he must have dropped it for some reason. I saw him play Mitch Mahoney in the Chicago production of Spelling Bee. I assume its the same actor.

[tazber]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 12:30pm

It is his evil twin brother.

[PeterJamesZielinski]

Posted: 8/4/10 at 4:37pm

If it's a Chicago production that's James Earl Jones II. Great voice and a really good actor as well.