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Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ Actor Who Won 2 Emmys, Dies at 66

Ron Cephas Jones attends the LA Premiere of "Truth Be Told," at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Ron Cephas Jones attends the LA Premiere of "Truth Be Told," at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
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Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ Actor Who Won 2 Emmys, Dies at 66

Ron Cephas Jones attends the LA Premiere of "Truth Be Told," at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Ron Cephas Jones attends the LA Premiere of "Truth Be Told," at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday.

Jones' manager, Dan Spilo, said in an emailed statement the actor died “due to a long-standing pulmonary issue.”

“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,” Spilo said.

Jones had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital.

On “This Is Us,” Jones played William “Shakespeare” Hill, a biological father whose life is renewed through his relationship with the family of his son Randall Pearson, played by Sterling K. Brown.

“One of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us,” Brown said in an Instagram post after Jones' death. “The world is a little less bright. Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed.”

Jones played a more central role in the series' early seasons, but appeared in some form in all six seasons of the show, which included time-jumping narratives offering recurring opportunities for its actors even after their characters' deaths.

Jones won Emmys for best guest actor in a drama series in 2018 and 2020 and was nominated for two more.

“Ron was the best of the best — on screen, on stage, and in real life,” “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “My God: what an actor. I don’t think I ever changed a single take of his in a cut because everything he did was perfect.”

Jones spent most of his career in the theater before and after “This Is Us,” returning to Broadway even after his transplant forced him to learn to breathe and walk again.

“My whole life has been the stage,” Jones said in a late 2021 interview with the The New York Times, in which he revealed he had quietly been suffering from respiratory problems since about the time he began on “This Is Us.”

“The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death,” Jones said.

He was nominated for a Tony Award and won a 2022 Drama Desk Award for the Broadway role as a truck-stop cook in playwright Lynn Nottage's “Clyde's.”

A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Jones graduated from nearby Ramapo College, where he had intended to study jazz but switched to theater during his sophomore year. He spent the late 1970s and early 1980s traveling the country, working as a bus driver in Southern California for several years.

In the mid 1980s he moved to New York, where his career got a jumpstart when he began hanging out and collaborating at the Nuyorican Poets Café, a vital creative hub for poetry, hip-hop and the performing arts.

A breakout role came in 1994, when he landed the lead in playwright Cheryl West's drama, “Holiday Heart.”

He would spend the ensuing decades constantly in the theater, often in Off Broadway plays in New York, including a title turn as Shakespeare's “Richard III” at The Public Theater, and in roles with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

Jones also had TV guest stints on “Mr. Robot,” “Luke Cage” and “Lisey's Story.”

His film appearances included 2006's “Half Nelson” with Ryan Gosling and 2019's “Dolemite Is My Name” with Eddie Murphy.

He is survived by his daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones.

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Entertainment

For Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, ‘Practical Magic 2’ Heals Old Wounds

US-Australian actress Nicole Kidman attends the US premiere of "Practical Magic 2" at Directors Village theater in Los Angeles, on August 31, 2026. (AFP)
US-Australian actress Nicole Kidman attends the US premiere of "Practical Magic 2" at Directors Village theater in Los Angeles, on August 31, 2026. (AFP)
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For Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, ‘Practical Magic 2’ Heals Old Wounds

US-Australian actress Nicole Kidman attends the US premiere of "Practical Magic 2" at Directors Village theater in Los Angeles, on August 31, 2026. (AFP)
US-Australian actress Nicole Kidman attends the US premiere of "Practical Magic 2" at Directors Village theater in Los Angeles, on August 31, 2026. (AFP)

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman view “Practical Magic” very differently today than they did when they made it 28 years ago.

In 1998, the film received mixed reviews and had a modest box office performance. It has since become a cult favorite, embraced by a new generation who found the romantic comedy through social media clips.

The two Oscar winners are returning to their roles of witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens in “Practical Magic 2,” in theaters on Sept. 10, giving them a chance to reckon with the original’s rocky reception and its unlikely second life.

Both films trace their roots to Alice Hoffman’s novels: “Practical Magic,” published in 1995, inspired the original film, while her 2021 novel “The Book of Magic” expands the Owens family’s story and provides inspiration for the sequel.

Bullock recalls a promotional push for the original film that became memorable for the wrong reasons.

“I had so much trauma from the press junket from the first one because it was brutal,” Bullock recalls. “We were not well-received because we were ‘too much,’ ‘too witchy,’ ‘too many women,’ ‘too many tones.’ I’m like, ‘Have you lived a day in a life as a woman?’”

“We didn’t stumble, but it stumbled, but it didn’t really stumble. Maybe it needed to marinate a little bit. We were marinating,” said Bullock. “But here we are, and how lucky are we that we’re still here to be able to go reap the benefits and the rewards of our work?”

The movie eventually found the audience it had missed in theaters, and Bullock said she realized there had been a reappraisal about six years ago.

“I was still harboring so much shame,” she said. “I was like, ‘the things that were said, I’m sorry, we thought we were doing something nice.’ And turns out we did. It was just 28 and change years too early.”

For Kidman, the film’s resurgence became personal.

“People started just coming into my life who would go, 'You want to know what my favorite film of yours is? ‘Practical Magic.’ And suddenly I was like, ‘What? Wow, OK,’” she said.

When it came time to make the sequel, Bullock sat down with her children and their friends to watch the original.

“I wanted fresh eyes,” she said. “Because we were embarking on the new chapter, the new baby witches coming in. I wanted to understand it from a point of view I didn’t have. I wanted to see what they had to say.”

As producers, Bullock and Kidman also faced the practical realities of mounting a legacy sequel on a budget. Among the challenges was recreating one of the original film’s most recognizable elements: the Owens house.

The production rebuilt the house on a London back lot as a full structure, rather than the temporary exterior shell used for the original film.

“It was an incredibly tough fiscal time. We were hedging the dollar,” Bullock said. “We’re not a big superhero film, so you don’t get the luxury of a big price tag.”

Kidman added: “And we also knew the responsibility of bringing it in on a certain price because then you go, 'OK, we can breathe a bit,'” she said. “I think when a budget blows out, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, the stress.’ And we don’t need any more stress in our lives. It’s stressful enough.”

The sequel continues the story of the younger generation of Owens women, with Joey King and Maisie Williams playing Kylie and Antonia Owens, the daughters of Sally.

“I really appreciate that it’s like a passing of the baton. I think it’s beautiful,” King said. “It just felt like we were stepping into their world and doing this with them, and it’s a real gift and honor to be considered the people who are taking the batons.”

Producer Denise Di Novi, who also produced the original and cast King in her first leading role in 2010's “Ramona and Beezus,” said the new characters could carry the story forward.

“We would love to make a third one, and I think there’s so much more to do with Kylie and Antonia,” she said. “At the end of the movie, spoiler alert, but you kind of feel like the Sally and Gillian characters are kind of the elder aunts, you know, and Kylie and Antonia are the ones launching off into the world as witches.”

Williams is also hoping to expand on the younger Owens women’s story: “We’re so there for it. There’s so much more of ‘Book of Magic’ that we didn’t get to explore,” she said.

Entertainment

At Venice, Ellen Burstyn Reflects on Playing Marilyn Monroe and a Lifetime in Movies

US actor Ellen Burstyn receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from Venice Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco (R) during the Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, 07 September 2026. (EPA)
US actor Ellen Burstyn receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from Venice Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco (R) during the Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, 07 September 2026. (EPA)
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At Venice, Ellen Burstyn Reflects on Playing Marilyn Monroe and a Lifetime in Movies

US actor Ellen Burstyn receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from Venice Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco (R) during the Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, 07 September 2026. (EPA)
US actor Ellen Burstyn receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from Venice Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco (R) during the Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, 07 September 2026. (EPA)

Of all the roles Ellen Burstyn might have been offered in her 90s, that of Marilyn Monroe, who died at 36, seemed fairly unlikely. But then one day Maggie Gyllenhaal came to her apartment to talk about a wild idea: What if she played Monroe at 100?

“It sounded like a good idea to me,” Burstyn told The Associated Press.

Their 17-minute short film, “Flesh Impact,” is having its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival, where Burstyn, 93, is receiving a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Though Burstyn never met Monroe, there was overlap. They shared a massage therapist, who would tell stories about his late friend. He even told Burstyn that she was actually quite like Monroe, and lent her one of Monroe's old books called “The Thinking Body,” which had some treasures like old receipts, inside.

“I knew that she was not what she presented as her persona and that actually that’s a persona that she created,” Burstyn said. “She created the whole concept of Marilyn Monroe and played it.”

Once, she saw her in a nightclub and Monroe nodded at her.

“She was so startlingly beautiful and she caught my eye and ... I felt that she recognized me,” Burstyn said. “I was very early in my career. And the fact that she recognized me, I just felt so honored and pleased.”

The Monroe short came about in somewhat unconventional fashion, through the luxury car company Genesis, whose chief marketing officer Amy Marentic approached Gyllenhaal about doing something around what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday in June.

Gyllenhaal asked for a weekend to think about it, and landed on Marilyn, at 100, “doing basically the most vulnerable, one of the most vulnerable things I think an actor can do, which is audition, alone on a stage.”

Burstyn was the first actor she thought of.

“I just had this feeling maybe this is an opportunity for her to think about things in a new way,” Gyllenhaal said.

The two found that they shared a similar language and approach to the work.

“We are interested in the depth of what’s being revealed. And we both want to go there,” Burstyn said. “If we’re going to be doing anything, we’re gonna be doing it from there.”

Though nothing has really changed very much in how Burstyn chooses roles over the years — she just wants to be moved or challenged — having a set populated largely by women was a far cry from how things were when she was starting out.

“When I first started working, which was 150 years ago, there were no women on the set. There were no women crew. There was no woman behind the camera. ... If a woman was on set, that meant that she was an actress,” Burstyn said in a news conference Monday. “Then, slowly, thanks to blessed Gloria Steinem who just died, the consciousness started to change.”

Burstyn is also in a feature film, Kornél Mundruczó’s, “Place to Be” alongside Taika Waititi that’s playing at the festival. And, she said, she’s feeling “slightly overwhelmed” by the whole thing.

“I have been asking myself, why do I deserve this? What have I done? It’s a long career,” she said. “And I finally came to it today that I wouldn’t have had this career without my training.”

Perhaps that is a bit modest for someone who has won an Oscar, for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” a Tony and two Emmys for her acting. In her over 50 years in the business, she’s appeared in around 150 films, and is currently serving as a co-president of The Actors Studio. Burstyn even teaches acting classes occasionally, continuing the legacy of her mentor and acting coach Lee Strasberg.

“Her artistry, which could illuminate pain and everyday resilience with dignity, irony and courage, remains an absolute model of authenticity in performance and civic engagement within the craft of acting,” festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

Sitting alongside Gyllenhaal the day before the big award, she described her outfit, a gown, and wondered if it was too much. Her director assured her it wasn’t: This was her day.

“I’m just really very happy to be here and very grateful to receive this award and grateful to this lady who put me in this interesting and deep and funny and wonderful movie,” Burstyn said.

Entertainment

‘Widow’s Bay’ Dominates with 8 Emmys at Early Ceremony and ‘The Pitt’ Takes 4

Linda Cardellini, left, and David Harbour with their Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for "DTF St. Louis" during night two of the Television Academy's 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP)
Linda Cardellini, left, and David Harbour with their Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for "DTF St. Louis" during night two of the Television Academy's 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP)
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‘Widow’s Bay’ Dominates with 8 Emmys at Early Ceremony and ‘The Pitt’ Takes 4

Linda Cardellini, left, and David Harbour with their Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for "DTF St. Louis" during night two of the Television Academy's 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP)
Linda Cardellini, left, and David Harbour with their Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for "DTF St. Louis" during night two of the Television Academy's 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP)

“Widow’s Bay” ran away with eight early Emmys for its debut season Sunday at a ceremony eight days before the main awards show and telecast, while “The Pitt” had a strong second-year showing with four of its own and Rob Reiner posthumously won an acting Emmy nearly nine months after his killing.

“DTF St. Louis” won big with six awards in the limited series categories, with co-stars and veteran actors David Harbour and Linda Cardellini both becoming first-time Emmy winners.

“Widow’s Bay,” the Apple TV horror comedy with Matthew Rhys as the mayor of a small New England town dealing with a centuries-old curse, won categories including cinematography, sound, music and production design.

Betty Gilpin won best guest actress in a comedy for her role on the show, and read a rapid-fire comic poem as her acceptance speech. It included the lines “our business is stupid, but actors are the bomb” and “let’s all lean more toward Sam Shepard and less toward Sam Altman.”

HBO Max’s day-in-the-life medical series “The Pitt” — the year’s top nominee with 25 and the reigning best drama winner for its first season — had wins Sunday in categories including prosthetic makeup and best guest actor in a drama for 73-year-old first-time nominee Ernest Harden Jr.

Harden, who won for portraying the last days of Louie Cloverfield, the emergency room’s constant presence and constantly struggling alcoholic on “The Pitt,” wept when his name was called.

“I am just on cloud 25,” he said backstage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “I’m not saying it’s a complete surprise because ‘The Pitt’ is such a powerful show to come from, but just to get it in your hands is unreal.”

Harden’s first speaking role was in the 1975 Robert Redford-Faye Dunaway thriller “Three Days of the Condor” and he had a three-season role on the sitcom “The Jeffersons” in the 1970s, but has acted for decades without awards recognition.

Singer-songwriter Andrew Bird and Gavin Brivik won for original music and lyrics for a song they wrote about the character.

“It's not a music-heavy show,” Bird said backstage. “But they gave us a beautiful moment with a character that we love.”

The Television Academy hands out well over 100 primetime Emmys, and most of them are being presented this weekend in a pair of ceremonies. They were previously known as the Creative Arts Emmys but have now been rebranded as simply the first two nights of the 78th Emmy Awards.

The weekend's awards primarily go to behind-the-scenes crew members, but they include the guest-acting awards that tend to go to bigger names. The shows' star power got a boost when five categories normally on the main telecast were bumped to the earlier weekend, among them best supporting actor in a limited series, won by Harbour in his third nomination, and best supporting actress in a limited series, won by Linda Cardellini in her fourth nomination in an elite TV career that included roles on “Freaks and Geeks” and “Mad Men.”

“Thank you to everybody who along the way through the years helped me get to this moment of a real dream come true,” Cardellini said from the stage, through tears.

At a ceremony that otherwise moved at a blazing-fast clip with a breezy mood, a long, thoughtful ovation came when Reiner was announced as best guest actor in a comedy for his work on “The Bear.” Reiner's friend and fellow “Bear” guest star Jamie Lee Curtis was among those in the crowd paying him tribute.

Reiner was killed along with his wife Michele Singer Reiner in December, and their son, who has pleaded not guilty, has been charged with stabbing them to death. His win came about 50 years after winning two Emmy Awards for his acting on “All in the Family.”

Saturday and Sunday's ceremonies will be edited together to air Sept. 12 on FXX and stream on Hulu the following day. The primetime Sept. 14 ceremony, also at the Peacock Theater and hosted by Mariska Hargitay, will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock.

Both “Widow's Bay" and “The Pitt” can add up to six more Emmys to their totals on that final night.

“Pluribus,” another Apple TV Emmy rookie from “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan that could challenge “The Pitt” in the top drama categories, won four trophies Sunday night including editing, production design and sound mixing.

Shailene Woodley won best guest actress in a drama for her role on “Paradise." It was her first Emmy.

“Spider-Noir,” the Nicolas Cage series, which was canceled after one season last week by Amazon Prime Video, won five Emmys including visual effects and stunts.

Hargitay was among this weekend’s winners, getting two Emmys for the documentary she directed about her mother, Jayne Mansfield, “My Mom Jayne,” to go with the best actress in a drama Emmy she won in 2006 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Bad Bunny won his first career Emmy Award for his Super Bowl halftime show, which took seven trophies at the first of the weekend's ceremonies on Saturday.