James Earl Jones receives an Oscar onstage in London

James Earl Jones has received an honorary Oscar on the London stage, to the surprise of his matinee audience. Jones, currently starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy – said he was “plain gobsmacked” as he accepted the award. The 80-year-old was presented with his Oscar on stage by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Jones, whose film credits include Patriot Games and The Hunt for Red October, remains best known as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars. The honour formed part of the 3rd annual Governors Awards, which also saw chat show queen Oprah Winfrey and make-up artist Dick Smith receive honorary awards.

Jones was due to receive his Oscar in person but decided he did not want to interrupt his run in the London play. Instead, he accepted it via video link.

via BBC News

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.