Appeared on stage with his son in "Infidel Caesar" (1962), "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl" (1962) and "Of Mice and Men" in 1967.
Divorced twice.
Dropped out of school in the third grade to work as a sharecropper. Also worked on the railroad until the Depression caused him to lose his job.
Father of James Earl Jones and Matthew Earl Jones. Grandfather of Flynn Earl Jones.
Father-in-law of Cecilia Hart.
Had a deep, mellifluous voice like that of his son.
Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Black Theatre Festival; also received an Oscar Micheaux Award and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
One-time sparring partner for world heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1937.
Ran in the New York City Marathon several times, including in 1996! (source: New York Amsterdam News).
Was at one time a boxer.
Was blacklisted in the early 1950s and called before the House Un-American Activities Committee because of his involvement in the leftist movement of the late 1930s.