“Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue,” read a statement from the actor’s representative shared by People. “Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him.”
The statement continued, “He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning performance for his role in Clyde’s on Broadway.”
Jones (pictured) played William Hill in This Is Us, the biological father of Sterling K. Brown's Randall Pearson. Jones won two Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, one in 2018 and his second in 2020.
His television credits include (guest) roles on Law & Order, New York Undercover, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Blacklist, Banshee, Mr. Robot, The Get Down and Luke Cage. Most recently, Jones also appeared in Truth Be Told (2019) and had recurring roles on Law & Order: Organized Crime and Better Things.
Posthumously, Jones will appear in the fourth season of National Geographic's anthology series Genius, titled Genius: MLK/X, about the lives of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
Jones' film roles include He Got Game (1998), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Half Nelson (2006), Across the Universe (2007), Venom (2018), The Holiday Calendar (2018) and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).