Emmy Award winner Ron Cephas Jones died Saturday at age 66, according to a report from People magazine.
“Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue,” a representative for Jones told People.
“Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” the representative continued.
The actor was renowned for his portrayal of William Hill in the acclaimed series “This Is Us.”
He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony-nominated. Drama Desk Award-winning performance in “Clyde’s” on Broadway.
Jones’ talent was evident to a vast audience through his multi-Emmy award-winning performance on the NBC program “This Is Us.”
In “This Is Us,” he was celebrated for his role as William Hill, the biological father of Randall Pearson, a character played by Sterling K. Brown.” His outstanding performance earned him guest acting Emmys in 2018 and 2020.
His daughter Jasmine received her first Emmy in 2020, which made them the first father-daughter duo to achieve this honor in the same year.
In an interview with The New York Times in 2021, Jones revealed he had been privately battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He underwent a double lung transplant at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in 2020 where he remained under care for nearly two months, the People report noted.
Reflecting on his Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play “Clyde’s,” he confided to Today in June 2022 that it served as a motivation for his swift recovery.
“I don’t want to say a miracle, but I was very fortunate,” Jones stated. “I had great doctors. It still was a very difficult and arduous recovery. I’m recovering for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t get new lungs and start running track,” the actor continued. “It’s a procedure that you have to constantly work on your body. Medication is involved and therapy.”
Jones also recounted a poignant moment to Entertainment Weekly in May 2022, where he expressed gratitude to his colleagues during a challenging health episode on his last day on set.
“You cats held me when I was struggling and you didn’t let me go,” he said. “You’ve been there for a very difficult part of my life. I’m a walking miracle.”
“My whole life has been the stage,” added Jones. “The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death.”
Jones was also a member of New York’s off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company. Among his theatrical roles, he played Crooks in Broadway’s 2014 rendition of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”
Jones was cast in the fourth installment of the historical anthology series “Genius: MLK/X” to portray Elijah Muhammad, a pivotal figure in the Nation of Islam and mentor to Malcolm X, according to a Deadline report.
This role will be remembered as his last credited performance.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
