Eddie Jones
A dependable and versatile character actor on television and in features for more than three decades, Eddie Jones was equally gifted at playing avuncular characters like "Pa" Kent on "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (ABC, 1993-97), as he was with more authoritative roles like the countless policemen, priests, and military figures that fleshed out his sizable resume. Born Arthur Edward Jones in Washington, Pennsylvania on September 18, 1934, he hitchhiked west to Los Angeles, California, where he was introduced to performing through a friend's invitation to an acting class. An apprenticeship in summer stock theater gave him the experience to pursue larger roles in regional theater, which culminated in a 1972 stint as Charles Durning's understudy in the original Broadway run of Jason Miller's "That Championship Season." More roles on the New York stage, including the original Broadway run of Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class" in 1978, preceded his first feature film appearance in Robert Mulligan's "Bloodbrothers" that same year. His solid build and doleful visage made him an ideal choice to play sober-minded working men, including an array of police officers and blue collar types in Sidney Lumet's "Prince of the City" (1981), Michael Cimino's "Year of the Dragon" (1985) and Roger Donaldson's "Cadillac Man" (1990), as well as numerous roles on television, most notably a recurring role on "The Equalizer" (CBS, 1985-89). By the 1990s, Jonas had confirmed his talent for diverse roles, as evidenced by a malevolent turn in Stephen Frears's "The Grifters" (1990) and a more heartfelt performance as a father pleading for his daughter's place on a women's baseball team in Penny Marshall's "A League of their Own" (1992). He also worked steadily in major features, television movies, and episodic series. The latter provided him with one of his most enduring characters, the kindly Jonathan "Pa" Kent, adoptive father of Superman on "Lois and Clark," which he remained with for the entirety of its four-year run. After its conclusion, he remained inordinately active in character roles, including the owner of the titular champion horse in "Seabiscuit" (2003), and enjoyed a personal triumph in 2002 by winning a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award as Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman." Jones's output slowed briefly in the 2000s, though he was still active as a guest star on "Veep" (HBO, 2012-19) and "Aquarius" (NBC, 2015-16). He made his last screen appearance in the 2018 short "Lost Dogs" before dying at the age of 84 at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on July 6, 2019.
Photos
Eddie Jones
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet |
|
Disconnect | Sheriff Bo Stevens (Character) | - | 2010 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Act Your Age | Harold (Character) | - | 2009 |
63% |
|
Fighting Tommy Riley | Marty Goldberg (Character) | $5.2K | 2004 |
61% |
|
The Terminal | Salchak (Character) | $77.0M | 2004 |
39% |
|
The Singing Detective | Moonglow Bartender (Character) | $336.5K | 2003 |
78% |
|
Seabiscuit | Samuel Riddle (Character) | $120.1M | 2003 |
62% |
|
Return to Me | Emmett McFadden (Character) | $32.7M | 2000 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Total Stranger | Judge Prestwich (Character) | - | 1998 |
80% |
|
Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 | Earl (Character) | $565.6K | 1998 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Day Lincoln Was Shot | Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Stranger in My House | Judge Prestwich (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | 87th Precinct: Lightning | Byrnes (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet |
|
Body Language | Mac Brophy (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | 87th Precinct | Byrnes (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Letter to My Killer | Wilson Hartwick (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Return of Ironside | Fisette (Character) | - | 1993 |
91% |
|
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom | C.D. Holloway (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Final Appeal | Det. Ayers (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story | Unknown (Character) | - | 1993 |
80% |
|
Sneakers | Buddy Wallace (Character) | $50.6M | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Matlock: The Assassination | Chief Colin Young (Character) | - | 1992 |
66% |
|
The Rocketeer | Malcolm the Mechanic (Character) | $46.5M | 1991 |
No Score Yet |
|
Us | Det. Harry Boland (Character) | - | 1991 |
91% |
|
The Grifters | Mintz (Character) | $10.1M | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Case Closed | Captain (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet |
|
Apprentice to Murder | Tom Kelly (Character) | $140.3K | 1987 |
40% |
|
The New Kids | Charlie McWilliams (Character) | - | 1985 |
53% |
|
Year of the Dragon | William McKenna (Character) | $18.6M | 1985 |
19% |
|
Invasion U.S.A. | Cassidy (Character) | $17.2M | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
Bloodbrothers | Blackie (Character) | - | 1978 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
93% | 90% | Veep | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2012 |
No Score Yet | 87% | Ghost Whisperer | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Judging Amy | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2003-2004 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Invisible Man | Unknown (Character) | 2000-2002 |
88% | No Score Yet | Michael Hayes | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
86% | 87% | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Jonathan Kent (Character) | 1993-1997 |
83% | No Score Yet | EZ Streets | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1996-1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Touched by an Angel | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | In the House | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bodies of Evidence | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Matlock | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1992 |
50% | No Score Yet | Dark Shadows | Bailiff Henry Evans (Character) | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Equalizer |
Lt. Brannigan (Character), Mr. Winslow (Guest Star) |
1986-1987 1989 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Spenser: For Hire | Unknown (Character) | 1985 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | To Have & to Hold | Unknown (Guest Star) |