LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series 鈥淭his Is Us,鈥 has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday.
Jones' manager, Dan Spilo, said in an emailed statement the actor died 鈥渄ue to a long-standing pulmonary issue.鈥
鈥淭hroughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him," Spilo said.
Jones had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital.
On 鈥淭his Is Us,鈥 Jones played William 鈥淪hakespeare鈥 Hill, a biological father whose life is renewed through his relationship with the family of his son Randall Pearson, played by Sterling K. Brown.
鈥淥ne of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us,鈥 after Jones' death. 鈥淭he world is a little less bright. Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed.鈥
Jones played a more central role in the series' early seasons, but appeared in some form in all six seasons of the show, which included time-jumping narratives offering recurring opportunities for its actors even after their characters' deaths.
Jones won Emmys for best guest actor in a drama series in 2018 and 2020 and was nominated for two more.
鈥淩on was the best of the best 鈥 on screen, on stage, and in real life,鈥 鈥淭his Is Us鈥 creator said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. 鈥淢y God: what an actor. I don鈥檛 think I ever changed a single take of his in a cut because everything he did was perfect.鈥
Jones spent most of his career in the theater before and after 鈥淭his Is Us,鈥 returning to Broadway even after his transplant forced him to learn to breathe and walk again.
鈥淢y whole life has been the stage,鈥 Jones said in a late 2021 interview with the , in which he revealed he had quietly been suffering from respiratory problems since about the time he began on 鈥淭his Is Us.鈥
鈥淭he idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death,鈥 Jones said.
He was nominated for a Tony Award and won a 2022 Drama Desk Award for the Broadway role as a truck-stop cook in playwright Lynn Nottage's 鈥淐lyde's.鈥
A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Jones graduated from nearby Ramapo College, where he had intended to study jazz but switched to theater during his sophomore year. He spent the late 1970s and early 1980s traveling the country, working as a bus driver in Southern California for several years.
In the mid 1980s he moved to New York, where his career got a jumpstart when he began hanging out and collaborating at the Nuyorican Poets Caf茅, a vital creative hub for poetry, hip-hop and the performing arts.
A breakout role came in 1994, when he landed the lead in playwright Cheryl West's drama, 鈥淗oliday Heart.鈥
He would spend the ensuing decades constantly in the theater, often in Off Broadway plays in New York, including a title turn as Shakespeare's 鈥淩ichard III鈥 at The Public Theater, and in roles with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
Jones also had TV guest stints on 鈥淢r. Robot,鈥 鈥淟uke Cage鈥 and 鈥淟isey's Story.鈥
His film appearances included 2006's 鈥淗alf Nelson鈥 with Ryan Gosling and 2019's 鈥淒olemite Is My Name鈥 with Eddie Murphy.
He is survived by his daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones.
