James Earl Jones and his late wife had just one kid together, a multiracial adult son named Flynn. Since then, Flynn has made a life using a special ability he inherited from his father.
Robert Earl Jones and Ruth Connolly, the parents of James Earl Jones, were of African American ancestry. The actor also has Irish and Native American (Cherokee and Choctaw) ancestry, according to IMDb.
The star’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Parthenia Connolly, was an indentured servant who was born in Ireland. She married a man only known as Brice, who adopted her last name as he was a slave and couldn’t have his own.
Before James was even born, his parents divorced. His maternal grandparents, Maggie Anderson and John Henry Connolly, reared him as a result, which made for an intriguing upbringing.
His grandparents had characteristics that made life difficult for the aspiring actor. The chapter that follows, in which we analyze James’ upbringing, contains further information regarding Maggie and John Henry’s opinions and actions.
James claimed in a September 2014 interview that he was raised on farms in Michigan and Mississippi in a “loosely wound” family. His guardians were John and Maggie, the latter of whom was described as “a distinctive, fiercely independent individual.”
The actor remembered his grandmother as being unexpected and out of the ordinary. Maggie was anti-Mississippi throughout the war, saying that she was fine with Adolf Hitler attacking it. She is African American, Cherokee, and part Choctaw Indian.
Maggie admired the family’s German mailman, who was tormented and never got a break in the community. Because she viewed Japanese people as people of color, she thought they were alright.
Due to the war effort, her family was forced to keep her indoors. James talked about his upbringing and said that he started taking part in Michigan’s summer stock theater in the 1950s without displaying any resentment.
First to come, his grandmother took a seat in the front row to observe him. The actor claimed that Maggie’s life was rife with drama and that James was the only one to address it in his play, making Maggie his ideal audience.
The Methodist family once relocated from Mississippi to Michigan and once went to church in an all-White church in a nearby town. The congregation began chanting a song as soon as the family entered, which infuriated Maggie because she is of Choctaw Indian descent.
African-Irish John Henry, however, advised them to give them the benefit of the doubt because perhaps it was all they knew. By claiming that the congregation sung the Black song to “serenade” them, he minimized the situation.
Despite John Henry’s hypotheses, Maggie interpreted everything as an insult while her husband saw it as “a lack of cultural assimilation,” and the family continued to live as a result.
James, who was born during segregation in Mississippi, claimed that the army saved him from becoming a farm boy. He had the opportunity to study medicine at a university, but he soon realized he wasn’t very good at it because he didn’t learn the material well.
The actor subsequently changed his course of study to drama, following in the footsteps of his playing father. James was never raised by Robert and never met him because he left the family not long after James was born.
But when James was a senior in high school, he noticed his father’s pictures in major publications. Despite having a deep voice that has made him renowned, the celebrity began stuttering at age five, which has affected his speech his entire life.
When a tank was needed in the army, a damaged one was repaired before heading into battle, which is how James described his voice as being “salvaged.” He revealed that each role he accepted was an effort to rediscover his voice.
Cecilia Hart, the daughter of a retired army colonel from Springfield, Virginia, was married to James in 1982. The actor claimed that he fell in love with her father first, then his wife.
When he arrived to ask the Harts for their approval to marry their daughter, Cecilia’s mother opposed. She was concerned about her daughter having children of mixed race because the Harts were White, but James responded:
What do you know? No matter what, I’m going to have black children. Your concerns center on your grandchildren.
His answer made Cecilia’s mother happy, and she appeared to give her the go-ahead. James’ wife was a Wyoming native who had previously been married to actor Bruce Weitz. She was a theater and movie actress.
On November 29, 2019, Flynn, like his father, wed actress Lorena Monagas in Tarrytown, New York.
She was Jame’s second wife and they were married in March 1982. They were together for 34 years. She received a Drama Desk Award nomination in 1977 for her performance in “Dirty Linen & New-Found-Land.”
On episodes like “Three’s Company,” “Emergency!” “Law & Order,” “Quincy M.E.” and “MacGyver,” Cecilia appeared as a guest star. Sadly, James’ wife passed away in October 2016 at the age of 68 following a year-long battle with ovarian cancer.
James was chosen to play the major act in the Broadway production of “Othello” in 1982, while Cecilia took on the role of Desdemona. It was James’ first experience acting in a Shakespeare play while the actress was carrying their child live on stage at the moment.
That same year, Flynn Earl Jones was welcomed. He has generally avoided the spotlight, but in 1994, he attended the premiere of “The Lion King,” in which James played the role of Mufasa, together with his parents.
Flynn has a voice that is similar to his father’s and has been used for audiobooks. The audiobook version of “Heartthrob,” which was recorded by James’ son in 2019, was made accessible on all platforms, including Amazon, in March of that year.
The books “New World,” “Revenge,” “Lions in the Sky,” and others that Flynn has voiced or narrated are among those that are all accessible on Audible. On November 29, 2019, Flynn, like his father, wed actress Lorena Monagas in Tarrytown, New York.
James’ kid works as his father’s helper in addition to doing voiceovers, giving him things like pouring him coffee the way he wants it. Sadly, he doesn’t appear to be very active on social media.
1,518