The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526802
OCTOBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME J ames Earl Jones, an ac- claimed actor of stage and screen and a 1955 University of Michigan graduate, passed away on Sept. 9 at age 93. He died at his home in Pawling, N.Y., from type 2 diabetes. Along with his laundry list of iconic roles in the movies, he was also well-known in the Wolverine community as the voice of U-M football's pregame hype video that has played in Michigan Stadium since 2015. "This is the University of Michigan, where we respect integrity and honor ex- cellence," Jones intones in the reel that plays before U-M takes the field. "We are loyal Wolverines. Standing for Midwest- ern values, hard work, determination and an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. We are the best university in the world. Stu- dents and athletes and professors achiev- ing at the highest level. This is our legacy and our future. We are proud members of the Big Ten Conference in pursuit of na- tional championships. We have won more games than any team in the country. No one has won more. We believe in football … championship football. We shy away from no challenge or opponent. We bow to no man. We bow to no program. We are Michigan." Jones was one of the few entertainers to achieve EGOT status as a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. He won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy and three Tony Awards in addi- tion to an Honorary Academy Award he was given in 2011 by Ben Kingsley. Jones was best known for his role as the iconic Darth Vader, the villain of the origi- nal "Star Wars" trilogy, starting in 1977. "George [Lucas] had hired Da- vid Prowse, but he wanted a so-called 'darker voice,'" Jones said in the "Empire of Dreams" documentary, recalling how he landed the star-making turn as Vader. "Not in terms of ethnic, but in terms of timbre. The rumor is that he thought of Orson Welles, and then probably thought that Orson would be too recognizable. So, what he ends up is picking a voice that was born in Mississippi, raised in Michi- gan and was a stutterer. And that hap- pened to be my voice." U-M president Santa Ono weighed in on Jones' passing, calling his pregame hype video "inspirational" in the com- munity. "Mourning the death of University of Michigan graduate James Earl Jones," Ono said on X, formerly known as Twit- ter. "Your inspirational career and your inspiring words — heard at every home game — move us as a university commu- nity. We will miss you. RIP." Former football head coach Jim Har- baugh, who recently returned to X after a four-year hiatus, paid tribute to Jones and his role at Michigan. "James Earl Jones has passed!" Har- baugh said. "He carved a magi- cal moment in our lives with his introduction of The Michigan football team each home game… 'WE ARE MICHIGAN' and memories of my growing up with his part in 'Sandlot' and 'Field of Dreams' LEGEND!" It was Jim and Jack Harbaugh who had the idea in 2015 to re- cruit Jones to record the now- iconic voiceover. "Just getting to talk to him on the phone was amazing [ini- tially]," Harbaugh told 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit in 2015. "Actually, some friends who went to Michigan and work at ESPN suggested the idea of videotap- ing Mr. Jones in the segment. It was an amazing experience to watch Mr. James Earl Jones do the voiceover piece. It must have been what it was like to watch Wil- lie Mays take batting practice, back in that time." The Harbaughs wrote the voiceover piece, but the idea of adding Jones came later on in the process. Ultimately, Jack Harbaugh landed on the now-famous idea. "We were talking about if we could get this person to do the voiceover, and after we wrote the script, we were thinking who we could get to do the voiceover. We were racking our brains. There were a couple good names in the back of our brains, and my dad goes: 'How about James Earl Jones?'" Harbaugh recalled. "How could it get any better than that?" Jones was also known as the voice of CNN, in addition to film roles in "Conan The Barbarian," "Field Of Dreams," "The Sandlot," "Coming To America" and an iconic voice role as Mufasa in "The Lion King." ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS U-M Alum With Special Football Connection James Earl Jones Dies At 93 Jones lent his iconic voice to narrate the U-M football team's hype video, which has been played in Michigan Stadium since 2015. His soundtrack has remained the same while the video is updated annually. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS