Cuban legend Luis Tiant passes at 83

WOW One of the biggest names ever to come from my country island Cuba and former Red Sox pitcher Cuban legend Luis Tiant passes away at 83. I remember as a kid my dad would talk about him A LOT as he was a major icon in Cuban baseball here in America and really did a lot to open the eyes of scouts, and people in MLB (Major League Baseball) in terms of scouting Latin America for talent.

With an amazing whirling, twisting delivery a style on his own in the history of the sport Luis Tiant turned his performances into theatrical magic. While in his prime in the 1970's, you didn’t need a radio or television to know that Tiant was pitching at Fenway Park. Throughout the packed houses he pitched in front of, cries of “Looie, Looie, Looie!” echoed around Kenmore Square and other parts of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The lovably charismatic El Tiante as he came to be known throughout his memorable career was said that “Luis had the kind of unforgettable presence that made you feel like you were part of his world,” said Red Sox principal owner John Henry in a statement. “He was a pitcher with incredible talent, accomplishing so much with a style uniquely his own. But what truly set Luis apart was his zest for life, embracing every moment with an infectious spirit, even in the face of his many challenges. He channeled everything into his love for the game and the people around him. He was magnetic and had a smile that could light up Fenway Park. Luis was truly one of a kind and all of us at the Red Sox will miss him.”

But he left behind a legacy that won’t be forgotten by those who knew him, played with him or cheered for him. "At least people still remember me and remember what I did all those years,” Tiant said in a 2017 interview with MLB.com. “I know what I've had to do with my life, and I'm lucky. I'm lucky I played all those years. God gave me the opportunity to play. What more can you ask? You can't ask for more than that." His teammates never asked for more than what Tiant gave them. “Nobody was a tougher competitor or a better teammate. He meant too much to us, and to the fans. We all loved him,” wrote Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski in the foreword of Tiant’s autobiography, “Son of Havana,” which was published in 2019. In a 19-year Major League career, the Cuban native had a career record of 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA, pitching for Cleveland (1964-69), Minnesota (’70), Boston (’71-78), the Yankees (’79-80), Pittsburgh (’81) and the Angels (’82). When fellow Cuban Tony Oliva was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, he stood on the stage on a stifling hot Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., and noted that Tiant deserved to be there also.

Though Tiant never got the call from the Hall, the three-time All-Star led the American League in Baseball Reference WAR for pitchers in 1968 and was in the top 10 in seven other seasons. That '68 season was the Year of the Pitcher and Tiant played the part better than anyone not named Bob Gibson or Denny McLain, posting a 1.60 ERA in the first of his eventual four 20-win seasons. The 1975 World Series, in which the upstart Red Sox played a compelling seven-game set before ultimately falling to Cincinnati’s vaunted Big Red Machine, turned Tiant into a household name. But for the gritty righty, the son of a Negro Leagues star (Luis Tiant Sr.), it all started in Cuba, where he was born on Nov. 23, 1940. Tiant followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming an ace in his homeland during his youth. The problem was that Cuba didn’t have professional baseball once Fidel Castro took power in 1959. For three seasons from 1959 through ’61 Tiant pitched for the Mexico City Tigers, hoping he would be noticed by a pro scout. Tiant got his wish when Cleveland purchased his contract from Mexico City for $35,000 prior to the '62 season. Any remorse Tiant might have had for fleeing to the United States straight from Mexico City was eliminated by a letter his father had written him a couple of months earlier that was quoted in Tiant’s autobiography:

“Don’t come home. Castro is not going to allow any more professional sports here no baseball or boxing. If you do come home, I don’t think you’ll be able to get out again. They are not letting many people leave the island, especially young men of military age.” Years after his father, a lefty, had dominated in the Negro Leagues, Luis Jr. carved his own path in the United States, starting with parts of three seasons in the Minors. In 1964, Tiant got his break when Cleveland needed a starter for a July 19 game at Yankee Stadium against a team that was in the middle of a dynasty. All Tiant did in his debut was fire a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts while out dueling the legendary Whitey Ford. “I was not nervous, but had a little tension,” Tiant said in a 2009 documentary about his life, “Lost Son of Havana.” “You’re pitching against best team in baseball, you’re a rookie. That day was my day. They let me do what my father couldn’t do.” When Tiant started the ’68 All-Star Game, many Cubans including his father watched him on television as a Major Leaguer for the first time. By the time '69 came Tiant started to have arm problems and his ERA swelled to 3.71. In ’70, he started 6-0 for the Twins, but disaster soon struck. Tiant felt a popping sensation on a breaking ball during a start and learned that he had a broken scapula. Medical science not being what it would evolve into, doctors suggested to Tiant he would never pitch again.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Luis Tiant.

Anyone who met him, on or off the mound, knew he was a true force. A fixture of Fenway and Fort Myers well beyond his playing days, El Tiante was family.

We send our love to his wife, Maria, their children, and grandchildren. pic.twitter.com/idhRVDc76P

— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 8, 2024

Cut by the Twins the day before camp broke in '71, Tiant was signed to the Braves’ Minor League system, but he was released after a month. The Red Sox signed him two days later, and it wound up being one of the best moves in club history. Still building his arm strength back up after the Red Sox recalled him from the Minors, Tiant went 1-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 21 appearances. There weren’t many expectations for Tiant entering '72, but that was the season he reinvented himself. Lacking the dazzling fastball he once had, Tiant recreated his delivery into one that nobody had ever seen before. Perhaps Joe Garagiola described it best to the NBC audience years later. “If you’re sitting in center field, you got to see his eyeballs. Look at that,” Garagiola said. There was a method to Tiant’s madness, which he explained in the documentary. “I knew I needed something different,” he said. “I had to do something so I could hide the ball better to keep me back more. It gave me more power. I changed my delivery completely.” For the Red Sox, Tiant turned into an utter force, winning 81 games in a four-season span (1973-76).

“Luis embodied everything we love about this game: resilience, passion, and an undeniable sense of belonging to something greater than himself,” said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner in a statement. “He was a cornerstone of the Red Sox pitching staff for years, with an unmatched grit and tenacity on the mound. His ability to rise in the most pressure-filled moments especially his complete-game performances cemented his place as a true legend." In '75, it all came together for Tiant, on and off the field. With relations between the United States and Cuba softening a little that year, United States Senator Edward Brooke from Massachusetts wrote a letter to Castro asking for Tiant’s parents to be permitted to fly from Cuba to Boston to see their son for the first time in 14 years. Senator George McGovern, who had already scheduled a trip to Cuba to discuss other business, hand-delivered the letter to Castro, who granted the request. In fact, Castro said that Tiant’s parents could remain in the United States for as long as they wished. Luis Sr. and Isabel Rovina Vega Tiant arrived in Boston in August 1975.  Luis Jr., by then a husband and a father, wept with joy when his parents walked off the plane. One of the most emotional moments took place on Aug. 26 of that '75 season, when the Red Sox invited the elder Tiant to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on a night his son was starting against the Angels. While Luis Sr. fired a strike, his son held his dad’s sport coat from just behind the mound and beamed with pride.

We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of three-time All-Star Luis Tiant, who has passed away at 83.

Luis started three games for the @RedSox in the ‘75 World Series, with two complete games and 25.0 innings pitched. He accompanied @MLB on the 2016… pic.twitter.com/GHkwzwJvQI

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 8, 2024

The real fun started in October. Tiant started Boston’s postseason run with a Game 1 American League Championship Series shutout against an Athletics team that had won the World Series the three previous years. Then came the Fall Classic, which Tiant opened by not only firing another shutout against the heavy-hitting Reds at Fenway, but he also jump-started his team’s six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh with a lead off single followed by some of the most humorous base running of all time. On a sacrifice bunt by Dwight Evans, the throw by Johnny Bench to second was low. The bulky Tiant, wearing his warm up jacket, basically rolled over second base as the ball traveled into the short outfield. Tiant had Boston coaches, players and fans gasping for air when he started toward third, but somehow stumbled back into second safely. On an RBI single by Yaz, Tiant originally missed home plate, but then tip-toed back before the Reds could throw it back in as the park lit up with a combination of joy and laughter.

Then came the pure guts of Game 4 in Cincinnati in which the Red Sox needed a win to tie up the Series. It took a whopping 155 pitches from Tiant, but he got the job done, leading Boston to a pulsating 5-4 victory. "In my time, that's what we did we finished games," Tiant said in 2017. "My father used to tell me, 'What you start, you finish.' That's how you learned and you grew up that way. Now, it's different. They are protected more. I guess you have to because there's a lot of money involved. A lot of guys want to keep pitching but they come out." Boston’s 4-3 loss in Game 7 was heartbreaking, especially on the heels of the euphoria created by Bernie Carbo and Carlton Fisk a day earlier. It is surely no coincidence that all three victories the Red Sox had in that Fall Classic were started by Tiant. In his post-playing days, it became clear which of his teams Tiant identified most with: He settled in the Boston area and eventually opened up a Cuban food stand on the street outside Fenway Park, where he would smoke cigars and converse with fans.

Tiant also became a fixture at Red Sox Spring Training and loved to pass those days riding around the complex in a golf cart while laughing with former teammate Jim Rice. “Luis had a style of pitching that was as memorable as it was effective, but to me, the rarer gift was his ability to lift you up with just a smile,” said Red Sox president & CEO Sam Kennedy in a statement. “When you were with him, you were reminded of what really matters. Whether you were a teammate, a fan, or just someone fortunate enough to share a conversation, Luis had a way of making you feel special, like you were a close friend. "His legacy on the mound is undeniable, but all of us today are mourning the man, the friend, the mentor who connected generations of fans and players. I am gutted by the news of his passing and will miss him more than words can express. Spring Training won’t be the same without Luis’s infectious energy spreading throughout camp.” Poignantly, Tiant at last visited Cuba in 2007 during a celebration of his 67th birthday. It was there he visited family members, friends and teammates he hadn’t seen in 46 years. Many scenes from that trip were included in the '09 documentary, which originally aired on ESPN.

As he headed back to his second home of Boston after the emotional trip, Tiant offered this: “I feel better, my heart is better, my head is better. I guess I can say, I can close my book now. If I die, I die happy. Now, I’m a free man. I feel free inside of me. Full of good inside of me. That’s a feeling nobody can take away from me now.”

MLB’s hit king Pete Rose passes away

The 70's & 80's would not have been so much fun to watch MLB without a few key names and one which was above and beyond the best from the era he played in. Nobody got more hits before, and since Pete Rose the single handed greatest Major League Baseball’s all-time hit king, and sadly he has died at 83. What a tragic life after Baseball this once amazingly loved and great talented player. While his fame and fan love never left him a simple mistake in judgement after he retired cost him the Hall of Fame. Unless you have never paid attention to his story or are too young to know his tale is one of major up's and sad lows.

When I said this man could hit! Boy check out these numbers all time best with 4,256 hits over a 24-season career. He stood out for his all-in effort, sliding head-first and running even when a pitcher walked him a style that earned him the nickname, first derisively, then admiringly, “Charlie Hustle.” He played for three World Series champion teams the Reds’ stacked “Big Red Machine” roster in 1975 and 1976, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 – was voted to the National League’s All-Star team 17 times, and won both the National League Rookie of the Year award (1963) and the Most Valuable Player award (1973).

Sadly for all his onfield success it was his gambling on his own team and his denials which cost him a budding baseball managerial career and kept the sport’s most prolific hitter from enjoying its highest honor. MLB hired a lawyer to investigate Rose in early 1989 after it received reports he bet on MLB games. MLB’s Rule 21 says personnel who bet on games in which they have a “duty to perform” will be declared permanently ineligible. The Lawyer John Dowd’s report concluded Rose bet on the sport, including Reds games in 1985 and 1986, when he was both a Reds player and the team’s manager, and 1987, when he was just the manager. Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Rose from baseball for life in August 1989, and said he could apply for reinstatement after one year after demonstrating a “redirected, reconfigured, rehabilitated life.”

But Rose was in denial in more ways than one, for years saying he didn’t bet on baseball or the Reds. On the day he was banned, he said he thought he’d be “out of baseball for a very short period of time.” In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame passed a rule saying any player on the sport’s permanent ineligible list would not appear on its ballot. It wasn’t until 2004 that Rose publicly admitted betting on baseball and the Reds, though he denied ever betting against his own team. He wrote in his 2004 autobiography, “My Prison Without Bars,” that he turned to betting as a way “to recapture the high I got from winning batting titles and World Series.” He continued with “I had huge appetites, and I was always hungry. It wasn’t that I was bored with the challenges of managing the Reds I just didn’t want the challenges to end,” he wrote in his book. We all know that he knew the penalty for gambling on games in which he was involved was a permanent ban, “so I denied the crime,” he wrote. The denials and subsequent suggestions that Rose still wasn’t telling the whole truth were damaging.

Giamatti never got to consider a reinstatement, as he died eight days after banning Rose. In 2007, Rose told ESPN Radio that he bet on the Reds “every night” when he managed the team. But Dowd told ESPN2 the next day that Rose didn’t bet when certain Reds players pitched. That, New York Times baseball writer Murray Chass wrote, could improperly tip people that he wasn’t confident in winning those games. In 2015, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred turned down Rose’s request for reinstatement, saying Rose admitted only to having bet on baseball in 1987 while he was just managing the Reds, and that Rose claimed he couldn’t remember evidence in Dowd’s report pointing to him betting while he still was playing in 1985 and 1986. Rose’s comments “provide me with little confidence that he has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct,” Manfred wrote.

After sometime Rose seemed to have given up on entering the Hall of Fame in his lifetime. Betting on baseball was one of the things he would take back if he could, he wrote in his 2019 autobiography, “Play Hungry.” “I’m not a man who goes around saying sorry, but on this one, I’m truly sorry,” he wrote. “I know that if I ever make the Hall of Fame in some way, it’s sure to be long after I’m gone from this world,” he wrote. “But I want you to know how I loved baseball, and that I lived a life dedicated to the sport, and played the game the way it should be played always all out.”

Peter Edward Rose was born in 1941 and raised in Cincinnati, son to LaVerne and Harry Francis “Pete” Rose, a bank clerk and semi-pro baseball and football player. He idolized his dad, watching him play football until the elder Rose stopped playing in his early 40s. He focused singularly on sports to make his father proud. “Everything I ever wanted out of life started and ended with loving my dad and wanting to make him proud of me,” Rose wrote in “Play Hungry.”

Rose said he became a great hitter not from natural skill, but through sheer will and practice; his father’s decision to have hit from either side of the plate when he was 9; his willingness as a pro to ask for tips from great hitters like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays; and doing homework on opposing pitchers. “I knew what every pitcher threw. I knew when he was going to throw it. The day of the game, I knew how I was going to approach (Sandy) Koufax or (Don) Drysdale or (Juan) Marichal or (Bob) Gibson,” Rose told “OutKick 360” in 2022.

After high school his uncle a Reds scout got him a tryout with the Reds, who signed him to a minor league deal in summer 1960. By the end of first full season in the minors in 1961, the second baseman had turned heads with the second-best batting average in his league .331 and by running flat-out every play even after being walked. The trait would rub opponents the wrong way, but he didn’t care. “You make your own skill by working harder and trying harder than anyone,” he wrote in “Play Hungry.”

In 1963, his first year in the majors, that effort earned him the nickname “Charlie Hustle.” Various accounts say the Yankees’ pitcher Whitey Ford gave the nickname to him sarcastically at spring training, either after seeing him run after a walk, or running in pregame practice. But Rose’s style would grow on Cincinnati fans. He hit .273 in his Rookie of the Year campaign, and in 1965 led the league in hits (209) and a batting average of .312. That would be the first of 16 seasons in which he hit at least .300; the first of 10 seasons with 200 or more hits (a Major League record); and the first of seven years leading the league in hits.

Defense wasn’t his strength, but he was versatile: He was the only player in Major League history to play more than 500 games at five different positions: First base, second, third, left field and right field. He still earned two Gold Glove awards for fielding excellence as an outfielder in 1969 and 1970.

His hustle sometimes stirred controversy. In the 1970 All-Star game – ostensibly an exhibition – he ran over American League catcher Ray Fosse at the plate, forcing Fosse to miss the ball and allowing Rose to score the winning run. Fosse’s shoulder was fractured and he didn’t enjoy the same level of playing success afterward. “He did his job and I did mine,” Rose wrote in “Play Hungry.” “Neither of us did anything wrong.” Such a play likely wouldn’t be allowed in today’s game; a 2014 MLB rule says runners can’t collide with catchers if a slide could avoid it, and catchers can’t block the runners’ path without having the ball.

Rose played for the Reds until 1978 often leading off for a lineup that included future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez and the Phillies from 1979 to 1983. He played half a season for the Montreal Expos in 1984 before being traded back to Cincinnati, where he’d be both player and manager through 1986. At age 44, he broke Ty Cobb’s Major League record of 4,191 career hits on September 11, 1985, driving No. 4,192 into left-center at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium against the San Diego Padres. The game stopped for about seven minutes as the crowd cheered, with Rose standing on first and eventually crying as he collected hugs and handshakes from opponents, teammates and his 14-year-old son, Pete Rose Jr. The Reds released him as a player the following year, but he’d manage the team until MLB banned him in 1989, ending his managerial run with a .525 winning percentage.

Rose also holds MLB records for games played (3,562) and at-bats (14,053). He spent some of his latter years living in Las Vegas, trading on his baseball success and betting notoriety and spending hours a day selling autographs at or near various casinos. Sometimes, on the weekend of baseball Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, New York, he also would hold autograph sessions at a nearby bookstore. From 2021 to at least April 2023, he worked on “Pete Rose’s Daily Picks,” a podcast where he gave sports betting advice. While Cooperstown didn’t admit him into its Hall of Fame, the Reds got him into theirs with the commissioner’s permission. In June 2016, fans cheered as the Reds inducted him into the team’s Hall of Fame during an on-field ceremony at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. The hometown boy described the love affair he’d had with the fans.

“You motivated me to play the way I did. I wasn’t diving for me. I was diving for you. I was hitting for you. I was trying to score runs for you,” he said. The Reds gave him a statue outside the ballpark in 2017, depicting him sliding head-first. That was the perfect way to capture Rose, said Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame catcher. “How are you going to get a line-drive statue? This (the slide) is what Pete is, and the way we’ll always remember” him, Bench told reporters in 2017. Divorced from this first wife and separated from his second in 2011, Rose’s survivors include a longtime fiancée and children including Rose Jr., who played a month in MLB for the Reds in 1997.

MUSIC ICON Tito Jackson Passes AWAY! RIP!

This is being said with great sadness but the music industry has lost another amazing musician, and true legend and icon the one and only Tito Jackson of the world famous family The Jacksons. 

Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson was born on October 15, 1953 he will always be remembered as an American musician, an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960's and 1970's with the Motown label and later had continued success with the group on the Epic label in the late 1970's and 1980's. Tito began a solo career in 2003 performing as a blues musician. Throughout his career, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards,^[1] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5.

Jackson was born Toriano Adaryll Jackson at St. Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, on October 15, 1953. Born the third of ten children of the Jackson family: Rebbie, Jackie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon, Michael, Randy, and Janet who lived in a two-bedroom house in Gary. His father, Joseph, was a steel mill worker, and played R&B in a band, the Falcons, with his brother Luther. His mother, Katherine, is a Jehovah's Witness. She played the piano and the clarinet. At ten years of age, Tito was caught playing his father's guitar after he broke a string. After fixing the string, Joe demanded that he play for him. Once he was finished, Joe bought him his own guitar, and convinced Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine to form a singing group. He was impressed with the vocals of Jackie and Jermaine.

In 1964, Marlon and Michael both joined the group the Jackson 5 after Katherine discovered that they could sing. Katherine is a country-and-western fan, and she sang harmonies with her sons. Before Motown signed them, the brothers spent years rehearsing at home. After school they rehearsed for hours, played a gig, did homework, and got to bed.

In June 1972, Jackson married Delores "Dee Dee" Martes at the age of 18, and the couple divorced in 1988. In 1994, Martes was found deceased floating in a swimming pool. The death was originally ruled accidental. Later, Los Angeles businessman Donald Bohana was charged with and, in 1998, found guilty of second-degree murder.

The couple have three sons Taj (born 1973), Taryll (born 1975),, and TJ (born 1978) who comprise the R&B / pop group 3T. Jackson has nine grandchildren.

Michael Jackson's memorial service was held at the Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. To honor him, Tito and his brothers Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine, and Randy Jackson served as pallbearers wearing a single spangly white glove and sunglasses.

On the 12th anniversary of Michael's passing, Jackson turned to Michael's music in remembrance he told Manchester Evening News in a 2021 interview. In the interview, Jackson says that because of his brother’s passing, the month of June is difficult to deal with. He also defended his brother from allegations levied against him.

On September 15, 2024, Jackson suffered a heart attack and died while driving to Oklahoma from New Mexico. He was 70.

Actor Chad McQueen Passes - RIP

The movie The Karate Kid has seen a real resurgence in popularity thanks to the Cobra Kai show but we all loved the original The Karate Kid movie who grew up watching it over, and over, and will no doubt remember the actor Chad McQueen who played on of Johnny Lawrence best friends when he got his big break in 1984 when cast in the hit movie. While in the film “The Karate Kid” playing "Dutch" where not only did he really look the part. But also played him as vicious as there would be in the Cobra Kai crew on that movie.

The hilarious part was in real life he was a very humble and actually nice person and too boot a legacy name actor in that he was the son of screen Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, and now it's saddens me to report that he has died at age 63. 

Way too young if you ask me and with deepest condolences I write this because he was set to return in a Cobra Kai episode but didn't end up in it where he was going to reprise his role as "Dutch" ... Remember again in the movie he played one the adversary of Ralph Macchio’s lead character.

McQueen’s attorney, Arthur H. Barens, told The Associated Press that he died on Wednesday. The actor followed in his father’s footsteps, both on screen and on the motor racing circuit. His wife, Jeanie Galbraith, posted a tribute to him on Instagram with their son Chase and daughter Madison. The family announced his death “with a heavy heart,” adding: “His remarkable journey as a loving father to us, along with his unwavering commitment to our mother, truly exemplified a life filled with love and dedication. 

His passion for racing not only highlighted his exceptional talent, but also served as a way to honor his father’s legacy, a testament to the values instilled in him. He passed his passion, knowledge and dedication down to us and we will continue not only his legacy but our grandfathers as well.”

McQueen is also survived by his son from a former relationship, Steven R. McQueen an actor who appeared in “The Vampire Diaries.” Chad McQueen reprised his role in “The Karate Kid Part II” sequel in 1986, and appeared in several other films, and also produced two documentaries about his father: “I Am Steve McQueen” in 2014 and “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” the following year.

“I didn’t find acting fun anymore,” McQueen said in a 2005 interview with AP. “So, I decided to give racing a total commitment.” In a separate Instagram post, McQueen’s son Chase wrote: “Knowing you’re now reunited with the your (sic) Dad and Sister brings me some comfort. Until we ride again I love you.”

Also paying tribute to him online was Jon Hurwitz, one of the creators of “Cobra Kai,” the “Karate Kid” revival that has proven a hit for Netflix. He said he and his colleagues had met with McQueen to discuss a return to the series. Posting on X, Hurwitz described McQueen as a “Karate Kid legend,” adding: “Unfortunately, Chad was unable to join us when it came time to shoot. At the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be. But Dutch will always be remembered as a badass’ badass in the Miyagiverse. He kicked ass.” 

He added: “The fandom mourns a Karate Kid legend today. I’m so grateful I had the honor of spending an afternoon with him. Sending much love and strength to his wonderful family. May Chad rest in peace.”

James Earl Jones Rest in Peace

Wow this broke my heart... The voice of my favorite cinematic character of all times has passed away as we have lost the incredible Icon James Earl Jones. Not just the voice of Lord Vader but also the voice of many iconic roles. His voice was one for the ages, be it as a Lord of the Sith in "Star Wars" to King of the jungle in "The Lion King" the mans voice was one you can recognize for his voice was one for the ages. But he was more than a voice... He was a true cinema GEM, and one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema period.

Born January 17, 1931 not just an American actor of films but he was also very known for his amazing years of work in theater. He was one of the few performers to have achieved the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). Jones has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances on stage and screen, and "one of the greatest actors in American history".

Being born In 1931 at Arkabutla, Mississippi, he had a stuttering issue since childhood. Just picture this Darth Vader with a stuttering issue! But some would shy away from public speaking due to this curse it wasn't something James Earl Jones would do as he said that poetry and acting helped him overcome the challenges of his disability. A pre-med major in college, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. 

His deep voice was praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects. Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 in Sunrise at Campobello (1957). He gained prominence for acting in numerous productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. Jones worked steadily in theater, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a boxer in The Great White Hope (1968), which he reprised in the 1970 film adaptation, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

Jones won his second Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as a working class father in August Wilson's Fences (1987). He was nominated for Tony awards for his roles as part of an aging couple in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond (2005), and a former president in the Gore Vidal play The Best Man (2012). Other Broadway performances include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can't Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015–2016). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.

Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Claudine (1974). Jones gained international fame for his voice role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, beginning with the original 1977 film. Jones' other notable roles include in Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Sandlot (1993), and The Lion King (1994). Jones reprised his roles in Star Wars media, The Lion King (2019), and Coming 2 America (2021).

He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985. He was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009 and the Honorary Academy Award in 2011.

From the age of five, Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, John Henry and Maggie Connolly, on their farm in Dublin, Michigan; they had moved from Mississippi in the Great Migration. Where Jones found the transition to living with his grandparents in Michigan traumatic and developed a stutter so bad that he refused to speak. He said, "I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school." He credits his English teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him end his silence. Crouch urged him to challenge his reluctance to speak through reading poetry aloud to the class.

Jones graduated from Dickson Rural Agricultural School In 1949 (now Brethren High School) in Brethren, Michigan, where he served as vice president of his class. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was initially a pre-med major. He joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and excelled. He felt comfortable within the structure of the military environment and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow cadets in the Pershing Rifles Drill Team and Scabbard and Blade Honor Society. After his junior year, he focused on drama with the thought of doing something he enjoyed, before, he assumed, he would have to go off to fight in the Korean War. After four years of college, Jones graduated from the university in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in drama.

But for all his work over the years it was In 1977, Jones made his debut in his iconic voiceover role as Darth Vader in George Lucas' space opera blockbuster film Star Wars: A New Hope, which he would reprise for the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse in the film trilogy, with Jones dubbing Vader's dialogue in post production because Prowse's strong West Country accent was deemed unsuitable for the role by director George Lucas. At his own request, Jones was uncredited for the release of the first two Star Wars films, though he would be credited for the third film and eventually also for the first film's 1997 "Special Edition" re-release. As he explained in a 2008 interview:

When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no, I'm just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I'll let them put my name on it.

In 1977, Jones also received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents. In late 1979, Jones appeared on the short-lived CBS police drama Paris, which was notable as the first program on which Steven Bochco served as executive producer. Jones also starred that year in the critically acclaimed TV mini-series sequel Roots: The Next Generations as the older version of author Alex Haley.

The year 1987 saw Jones starring in August Wilson's play Fences as Troy Maxson, a middle aged working class father who struggles to provide for his family. The play, set in the 1950's, is part of Wilson's ten-part "Pittsburgh Cycle". The play explores the evolving African American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. Jones won widespread critical acclaim, earning himself his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. 

Beside the Star Wars sequels, Jones was featured in several other box office hits of the 1980's: the action/fantasy film Conan the Barbarian (1982), the Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America (1988), and the sports drama/fantasy Field of Dreams (1989) which earned an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. He also starred in the independent film Matewan (1987). The film dramatized the events of the Battle of Matewan, a coal miners' strike in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia. He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his performance.

In 1985, Jones lent his bass voice as Pharaoh in the first episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible. From 1989 to 1992, Jones served as the host of the children's TV series Long Ago and Far Away. Jones appeared in several more successful films during the early-to-mid 1990's, including The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), The Sandlot (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). He also lent his distinctive bass voice to the role of Mufasa in the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King. In 1992, Jones was presented with the National Medal of the Arts by President George H. W. Bush. Jones had the distinction of winning two Primetime Emmys in the same year, in 1991 as Best Actor for his role in Gabriel's Fire and as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave.

He might be gone but he will never be forgotten as he's sealed a legacy unmatched by many... 

(January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) Rest in Peace.