Legendary actor and EGOT Jones died Monday at the age of 93.
Fences – Analysis of the staging in Act 1, Scene 3 – "How come you never liked me?"
By Courtney B. Vance
Courtney B. Vance is a Tony- and Emmy-winning actor and the president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Vance knew legendary actor James Earl Jones as "Jimmy." The two first met in the 1980s when they starred in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Fences, which won four Tony Awards, including Jones' for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play. Here, Vance reflects on the Fences family, their enduring friendship, and his final visit to see his father onstage.
James lived in upstate New York, and I was there about six months ago. The whole family was there, and we were all laughing, talking about old times. He said to me, "Courtney, they've got me in this bubble, I think I'm going to live to be 100." I said, "Jimmy, I know you will." We didn't get a chance to reflect on our experience with "Fences," what that time in our lives meant to us. That's my only regret.
