'Luke, I Am Your Daddy...'
So... I never thought I'd be doing a FH piece featuring a nude scene from Darth Vader, but here we are. I reference Darth Vader, as until recently, I really only knew actor James Earl Jones from his voice work as Darth Vader and on CNN. I really wasn't aware of his impressive film career pre-Star Wars, his rich career on stage, nor that he once was indeed a crush worthy hunk.
When actress Diahann Carroll died last year, I was struck yet again, with how little I'd seen of her work. I was fascinated by her impact and history, and wanted to see more of her work. When TCM recently aired the 1974 film Claudine in there The Essentials series, I was looking forward to checking it out.
The Great White Hope (1970)
I knew Carroll was nominated for an Oscar for the role, and knew James Earl Jones was in the cast, but when the hot garbage man appeared at the beginning of the film, it took a few seconds to connect the actor I was watching was actually James. I'm not sure I loved the film's story as much as I enjoyed watching two such accomplished actors on screen together.
Claudine (1974)
Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones star in this unique love story about a single mother who finds unlikely love with a garbage man as they both struggle to get ahead in a system that’s gamed against them.
My respect for the actor only increased when listening to Ben Mankiewicz discuss the film with director Ava DuVernay. It was interesting hearing that Earl Jones had lost his interest in film, not feeling as challenged as he did on stage, and it took some convincing to get him to take the role.
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