Eddie Jones Passes On

Eddie Jones, who played Pa Kent on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and appeared in such movies as The Rocketeer (1991) and A League of Their Own (1992), died on July 6 2019 at the age of 84.

Eddie Jones was born in Washington, Pennsylvania on September 18 1934. As a young man he hitch-hiked to California. He was working as a gas station attendant when he was discovered by an agent, thus beginning his acting career. He made his film debut in Bloodbrothers in 1978. In the late Seventies he appeared in the films On the Yard (1978) and The First Deadly Sin (1980). In the Eighties he appeared in such films as Prince of the City (1981), Q (1982), C.H.U.D. (1984), The New Kids (1985), Year of the Dragon (1985), Invasion U.S.A. (1985), The Believers (1987), Apprentice to Murder (1988), American Blue Note (1989), Stanley & Iris (1990), Cadillac Man (1990), and The Grifters (1990). In the Eighties he appeared in such movies as The Rocketeer (1991), A League of Their Own (1992), Sneakers (1992), True Friends (1998), Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998), Stranger in My House (1999), and Return to Me (2000). In the Naughts he appeared in such films as The Singing Detective (2003), Seabiscuit (2003), The Terminal (2004), Fighting Tommy Riley (2004), and Disconnect (2010). In the Teens he appeared in the movies Act Your Age (2011), Mercy (2014), and On the Road to Hollywood True Stories (2017).

In addition to appear in movies and on television, Eddie Jones also had a career on stage. He appeared in Curse of the Starving Class at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in 1978. He also appeared off Broadway in An Act of Kindness (1980), The Freak (1982), Triple Feature (1983), and April Snow (1988). He made his Broadway debut in 1972 in That Championship Season and appeared again on Broadway in Devour the Snow.

Mr. Jones also had an extensive career on television. In the Eighties he had a recurring role on The Equalizer. He appeared in the mini-series Doubletake, I'll Take Manhattan, and The Kennedys of Massachusetts. He guest starred on the shows Tales from the Darkside, Spenser for Hire, Tattingers, It's Gary Shandling's Show, The Young Riders, WIOU, and Grand. In the Nineties, Eddie Jones had a regular role on the primetime reboot of Dark Shadows. He played Jonathan Kent on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He had a regular role on the SyFy series The Invisible Man. He guest starred on Matlock, Cheers, Bodies of Evidence, Touched by an Angel, EZ Streets, Party of Five, and Hyperion Bay. From the Naughts into the Teens he guest starred on Judging Amy, Crossing Jordan, Ghost Whisperer, Veep, and Aquarius.

Eddie Jones was an extremely versatile actor. He may be best known as Pa Kent on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, the slightly old-fashioned, but gentle source of wisdom for Clark Kent. It was only a few years earlier that he played the drunken pilot Malcolm in The Rocketeer. Over the years he played everything from Marla Hooch's loving father who begs baseball scout Ernie Capadino to give her a chance even though she "ain't pretty" to NSA officer Buddy Wallace in Sneakers to War Admiral owner Samuel Riddle. Over the years he played everything from police officers to judges to men of the cloth. Eddie Jones always brought sincerity to any role he played, particularly when he played loving parents such as Jonathan Kent and Dave Hooch.