August 26, 2008

Tickets available for James Earl Jones event

James Earl Jones
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The talk, which is 7:30 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse, is part of Experience Liberal Arts, a monthlong celebration highlighting programs in the College of Liberal Arts. The tickets are free, but required. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to Purdue faculty, staff, students and retirees on Thursday (Aug. 28), and to the general public on Friday (Aug. 29) at campus box offices. There will be a limit of two tickets per person.

Phone orders will be taken by calling the Purdue box office at (800) 914-SHOW or (765) 494-3933. Orders will not be mailed and must be picked up in person at the Stewart Center box office between time of order and up until 15 minutes prior to the event start time. Tickets that are not picked up by 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 2 will be released. Campus box offices are open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and the Office of the Provost.

The instantly recognizable voice featured on CNN, Jones has appeared on stage, television and movies in performances such as Mufasa in "The Lion King" and Darth Vader in "Star Wars," as well as "Field of Dreams," "Patriot Games" and "The Hunt for Red October."

Jones' career began in theater when he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival. He earned Daniel Blum's Theater World Award as Most Promising Personality in "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl" in 1962. In 1969 he won a Tony Award for his performance as boxer Jack Johnson in the Broadway hit "The Great White Hope." The same role also garnered him an Oscar nomination for the 1970 film adaptation. He won a second Tony Award in 1987 for August Wilson's "Fences." Jones also is the recipient of four Emmys, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. Jones was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992 and the John F. Kennedy Center Honor in December 2002.

In 1991 he won two Emmy Awards, as best actor in a drama series for "Gabriel's Fire" and as best supporting actor in a miniseries or special for the TNT movie "Heat Wave." In addition, he received the 1992 Best Actor Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Experience Liberal Arts month will feature a variety of lectures, films, performances, events and exhibits that reflect the college's ongoing coursework and research in the arts, humanities, and social and behavioral sciences. Information about events during October is available at: https://www.cla.purdue.edu/experience/events/

The College of Liberal Arts is home to the departments of anthropology, communication, English, foreign languages and literatures, health and kinesiology, history, philosophy, psychological sciences, sociology, speech, language and hearing sciences, and visual and performing arts. The college's other programs are: African American studies, American studies, Asian studies, Asian American studies, classical studies, comparative literature, film studies, Italian studies, Jewish studies, linguistics, medieval studies, philosophy and literature, religious studies and women's studies.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Chris Sharp, director of alumni relations and special events, (765) 494-7884, ctsharp@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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