James Earl Jones to receive Lifetime Achievement Award

The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing have officially announced that two-time Tony Award winner James Earl Jones will be honored with the "Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre" Award at The 71st Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Mr. Jones released the following statement:

"In 1975 when I came to NY to study acting, my father - the actor Robert Earl Jones - took me on a 'Grand Tour.' The first night was to the opera Tosca starring Leontyne Price. I loved the singing, but I didn't understand the format of opera. The second night was Swan Lake starring Margot Fontaine. The movement of the bodies just seemed like magic. The third night was Pal Joey. I was captivated by the warmth of the light on stage. I was not inspired to sing and dance, but I knew I wanted to be in the warmth of the stage light. The fourth night was Arthur Miller's The Crucible. By contrast, it created a cold world, coldness between human beings, but the ideas that Arthur Miller was able to evoke onstage were blazing hot. I knew I wanted to be a part of this and to explore the stage."

James Earl Jones is a veteran to the Broadway stage and won Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for 'The Great White Hope' (1969) and 'Fences' (1987). He was also nominated in the same category for his performances in 'On Golden Pond' (2005) and 'Gore Vidal's The Best Man' (2012) and nominated for an Olivier Award for his role in 'A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' in London's West End. He was last seen on Broadway in 'The Gin Game' alongside Cicely Tyson, which ran from September 2015 to January 2016 at the Golden Theatre. His other Broadway credits include 'You Can't Take It With You' (2014), 'Driving Miss Daisy' (2010), 'Othello' (1982), 'Of Mice and Men' (1974), 'The Iceman Cometh' (1973) and his Broadway debut 'Sunrise at Campobello' (1958), amongst many others. He is also widely known for his film work and earned a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2012 for films such as "Conan the Barbarian," "Coming to America" and "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," or his voice work as Darth Vader in "Star Wars" and Mufasa in "The Lion King."

Other recipitions of this year's Special Recognition Awards include dancer and choreographer Baayork Lee, who will be honored with the 2017 Isabelle Stevenson Award, and Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser - two of the most successful general managers in the theatre industry - who will receive the 2017 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.

As previously announced, Tony and Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey is set to host The 71st Annual Tony Awards, the biggest night in Broadway's theatre calendar. This will be Mr. Spacey's first time as Host of the prestigious awards.

The nominations for this year's Tony Awards will be announced by Jane Krakawski and Christopher Jackson on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. All Broadway productions in the 2016-2017 season, who officially open on or before the eligibility cut-off date of Thursday, April 27, 2017 (and meet all other requirements) can be considered for nominations.

Continuing the tradition, CBS will broadcast the ceremony live, as it has done since 1978.