From the silver screen to the Broadway stage, legendary actor James Earl Jones has tapped into the power of his craft to bring forth memorable and compelling stories. The Mississippi native is receiving a special honor for his contributions to the arts. According to Deadline, New York’s Cort Theatre was recently renamed after Jones.

The 110-year-old theater—which has served as the backdrop for noteworthy productions that include “As You Like It, Sunday in New York” and Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee’s “Purlie Victorious”—is one of the performance spaces where Jones started his Broadway career. In 1958, he starred in the Cort Theatre’s “Sunrise at Campobello”; a play that captured former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s battle with polio disease.

Throughout his career—which spans over 70 years—he was cast in several Broadway productions, including “The Cool World,” “Danton’s Death,” “A Hand is on the Gate,” and “Les Blancs.” He was also featured in “Of Mice and Men,” “Paul Robeson,” “Othello,” “Fences,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and most recently “The Gin Game” in which he starred alongside the late trailblazing actress Cicely Tyson. He’s acted in 21 Broadway shows, two of which were at the Cort Theatre. The institution is overseen by the Shubert Organization, the nation’s oldest professional theater company. Continue Reading