James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93.

Jones had too many memorable roles to begin to recount (that’s what you all are here for), but I’ll best remember him for idiosyncratic reasons as the navigator of the B-52 in Dr. Strangelove, and the voice of the delightfully absurd and absurdly delightful hype video that plays just before the kickoff of football games on the three trillion dollar scoreboard at his alma mater. I described this spectacle in A FAN’S LIFE:

Just before the kickoff of every football game at Michigan Stadium, a so-called hype video is played on the enormous high definition scoreboards.  Interspersing replays of moments of athletic triumph with glimpses of other famous alumni and notable historical events — John F. Kennedy giving the speech on the Michigan Union steps announcing the formation of the Peace Corps, etc. – it is narrated in the unforgettable voice of James Earl Jones, Class of 1955 (To describe Jones’s voice as “resonant” would be like saying the Pacific has some water in it).

“This is the University of Michigan,” the voice of Darth Vader and CNN intones.  “Where we respect integrity and honor excellence. We are loyal Wolverines, standing for Midwestern values, hard work, determination, and an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”  (The latter is a charming oxymoron employed by the school’s current football coach, Jim Harbaugh, to describe how he attacks the challenges of his job). “We bow to no man, we bow to no program, we are Michigan.”

As the video gradually whips the crowd into a chauvinistic frenzy, Jones reaches the climax of his peroration: WE ARE THE BEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD, he declares. 

RIP