Who Mentored James Earl Jones?
Celebrated actor James Earl Jones is known for his powerful and critically acclaimed motion picture, television, and theater performances. He earned worldwide acclaim and his first Tony Award in the role of Jack Johnson, the first heavyweight-boxing champion in Howard Sackler’s The Great White Hope. His second Tony came as a result of his performance in August Wilson’s play Fences. I was raised by my grandparents, and I would say that my grandfather was, and still is, my hero. Outside of the family, my most influential role model was a high school English teacher, Donald Crouch. Professor Crouch was a former college teacher who had worked with Robert Frost, among others. He had retired to a farm near the small Michigan town where I lived, but when he discovered that there was a need for good teachers locally, he came to teach at my small agricultural high school. Growing up, I had a hard time speaking because I was a stutterer and felt self-conscious. Professor Crouch discovered that I
