Broadway Theaters Will Dim Their Lights to Honor James Earl Jones

Stage and screen legend James Earl Jones will be honored by Broadway on September 26 at 6:45 PM with a dimming of the exterior lights of Broadway theaters.

Jones, the namesake of Broadway’s James Earl Jones Theatre and the 2017 recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, passed away September 9 at the age of 93.

Though best known for some of his film roles, including lending his voice to Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, Jones had his start in the theater, first understudying in the play The Egghead in 1957.

He earned Tony Awards for The Great White Hope and Fences. His stage credits also include Sunrise at Campobello, Of Mice and Men, The Iceman Cometh, The Gin Game, Driving Miss Daisy, You Can’t Take It With You, The Best Man, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed in his honor in 2022.