West News Wire: Ron Cephas Jones, an Emmy-winning actor, passed away at age 66.
In a statement to news channels on Saturday, a representative for Jones said, “Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue.”
The statement said, “Anyone who had the good pleasure to know him sensed his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness, and heart throughout the length of his career. The large audience could see Ron’s inner beauty and soul via his multi-Emmy award-winning performance on This is Us. His daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones is his sole heir.
Jones is most recognised for his portrayal as William Hill, Sterling K. Brown’s Randall Pearson’s biological father, on the television series “This Is Us.”
Brown wrote a memorial to the actor in response to the news of his passing, saying, “Life imitated art today, and one of the most magnificent persons the world has ever seen is no longer with us. Now that [Jones] is gone, the world is a little less rosy. You are cherished, brother. And we will miss you. I’ll see you when I get there, but in the next stage of existence, keep them laughing.
Jones won an Emmy for Outsating Guest Actor for his role in “This Is Us” in 2018 and another in 2020. That same year, his daughter earned her first Emmy, making the pair the first-ever father-daughter winners in the same year.
“This Is Us” co-star Mandy Moore also posted a tribute to the late actor on Saturday, “Getting to know and work with Ron on the wild ride of ‘This Is Us’ was the greatest gift- he was pure magic as a human and an artist I will treasure all of the moments forever.”
Along with “This Is Us,” Jones was known for “Mr. Robot,” The Get Down,” “Luke Cage,” “Looking For Alaska” and “Truth Be Told.”
The star revealed to The New York Times in 2021 that he privately battled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and received a double lung transplant at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in 2020, where he was a patient for almost two months.
Jones shared he had to learn to breathe, eat and walk again after the surgery.
After recovering, Jones made a Tony-nominated return to Broadway in 2022 with the play Clyde’s.
