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James Earl Jones, legendary actor and Catholic convert, dies at 93

September 9, 2024 Catholic News Agency 4
James Earl Jones attends the “The Gin Game” Broadway opening night after party at Sardi’s on Oct. 14, 2015, in New York City. / Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Sep 9, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

James Earl Jones, a distinguished actor of stage and screen who was a convert to the Catholic faith, died Monday at age 93. 

Known for lending his booming voice to such characters as Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” saga and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” Jones’ career spanned nearly seven decades. 

He was one of the few entertainers, male or female, to have earned the coveted “EGOT” slate of acting awards: an Emmy (for TV), Grammy (for music), Oscar (for movies), and Tony (for the stage).

Born in poverty in Mississippi, Jones overcame a stutter early in life in part by discovering a gift for poetry. He joined the military after graduating from college, moving to New York after serving to pursue acting full time. 

A prolific stage actor who became well known as a Shakespearean, Jones also entertained generations of moviegoers with dozens of roles. These included perhaps his most famous voice performances — the unimpeachable lion monarch Mufasa and the inimitable Sith menace Darth Vader — as well as memorable live-action appearances in “The Sandlot” and “Field of Dreams.”

Jones did not talk much about his Catholic faith but said in a 1987 interview that he converted to the faith during his time serving in the military. He said that while discerning whether to stay in the military or pursue his true passion — acting — the only things that he had in his life that were “not geared toward the art of killing” were his Catholic faith “and the complete works of Shakespeare.”

In 1985, he voiced Pharaoh in the first episode of Hanna-Barbera’s “The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.” He also recorded an audio edition of the King James version of the New Testament.

Jones died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, according to his agent.

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Catholic comedian Jim Gaffigan to host Al Smith dinner; Trump, Harris to attend

September 9, 2024 Catholic News Agency 1
Jim Gaffigan attends SiriusXM’s “Unfrosted” Town Hall at SiriusXM Studios on April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. / Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 9, 2024 / 17:06 pm (CNA).

Six-time Grammy-nominated Catholic comedian Jim Gaffigan will host the 2024 Al Smith Dinner on Oct. 17, an annual event organized by the Archdiocese of New York that the two major presidential candidates — former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — are expected to attend.

Gaffigan posted a copy of an invitation on X that lists Trump and Harris as guests along with the stand-up comedian listed as master of ceremonies. In his post, Gaffigan joked that he was unfamiliar with the names of the two presidential candidates.

“I’m so honored to be MC-ing this year’s Al Smith Memorial Dinner on Oct. 17,” Gaffigan said. “Too bad I don’t recognize those two names in the middle of the invitation. Anyone ever heard of them?”

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, first held in 1945, is organized to raise money for charitable causes in the archdiocese. In 2023, the archdiocese raised $7.1 million for people in need. The black-tie affair is named after the first Catholic to be nominated for president by a major party — four-term New York Gov. Al Smith, who was the Democratic Party’s 1928 presidential nominee.

Gaffigan, who has acted in dozens of movies and has performed numerous stand-up comedy specials, has been a staunch critic of Trump.

Gaffigan frequently references his Catholic faith in his stand-up comedy. For example, in the 2018 comedy special “Noble Ape,” he discusses saints and patronage.

“Of course, I’m talking about Catholic saints because I’m Catholic,” he says in the special. “I’m not a good Catholic. Like if there was a test for Catholics, I would fail. But then again, most Catholics would fail, which is probably why there’s not a test.”

In September 2015, Gaffigan performed at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia, which was attended by Pope Francis during his papal visit to the United States. In June of this year, he met the pontiff at the Vatican with 100 other comedians, including Stephen Colbert and Chris Rock. 

At The New Yorker Festival in 2015, Gaffigan spoke about a “fear of being associated with being Catholic” in the entertainment industry. 

“I’m Catholic,” he said. “98% of my friends are atheist or agnostic. I was an atheist until I met my wife. I was raised Catholic.”

Gaffigan has deviated from Church teaching on at least one issue by promoting homosexual pride and civil marriages.

The comedian ventured into political discourse during the 2020 presidential election to criticize Trump. He Tweeted that Trump is “a traitor and a con man who doesn’t care about you” and called him “a liar and a criminal” in August 2020. Gaffigan also alleged that “Trump is not pro-life and obviously not Christian or a decent person” when a Twitter user asked Gaffigan whether he was still pro-life.

Both Trump and then-candidate Joe Biden attended the 2020 Al Smith Dinner, which was held a little more than a month before the election. Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both attended in 2016. At both events, following tradition, the two candidates delivered humorous remarks, skewering themselves and each other.

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