GREAT WHITE HOPE, THE (1970) Photo of James Earl Jones – 2

Vintage original 14 x 11” (36 x 28 cm.) double weigbt photo, USA. With the credit/agency stamp on back of photographer Lawrence Schiller, along with the stamp of Transworld Feature Syndicate. Fine.

James Earl Jones’ career was catapulted to eminence by his appearance in the role of mythic African American boxer Jack Johnson in the play THE GREAT WHITE HOPE by Howard Sackler, first on the Broadway stage, and subsequently in the equally acclaimed film, directed by Martin Ritt. Photographer Schiller was well known for his portraits of such 1960’s icons as the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, and Paul Newman.

This photo is a dramatic image of a smiling, shirtless Johnson (Jones) defiantly confronting a white rival.