Robert Earl Jones (February 3, c. 1910 - September 7, 2006) was an American actor. One of the movies he was in the 1973 movie "The Sting". He also was in the 1984 movie "The Cotton Club" and the 1983 movie "Trading Places". His year of birth is reported as between 1900 and 1911. The most often is 1910 as reported by the Social Security Administration. He was also the father of James Earl Jones. He died in Englewood New Jersey of natural causes.