# Ron Cephas Jones
**Ron Cephas Jones** (January 8, 1957 – August 19, 2023) was an American actor of film, stage and television, best known for playing William "Shakespeare" Hill, the biological father of Randall Pearson ([Sterling K. Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/sterling-k-brown)), on the NBC drama *This Is Us*. He won [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards) for the role in 2018 and 2020 and spent most of his career on stage in New York theater.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1957, Paterson, New Jersey; August 19, 2023, at age 66[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) |
| Signature role | William "Shakespeare" Hill on *This Is Us* (2016–2022), biological father of Randall Pearson[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) |
| Emmy record | Four consecutive nominations, 2017–2020, for *This Is Us*; won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2020[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/me-and-my-emmy/ron-cephas-jones) |
| Broadway recognition | Tony Award nomination and 2022 Drama Desk Award for Lynn Nottage's *Clyde's*[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) |
| Education | Ramapo College, theater major (switched from jazz); graduated 1978[4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones) |
| Other notable roles | Bobby Fish in *Luke Cage*, Leander "Shreve" Scoville in *Truth Be Told*, films *Half Nelson* (2006) and *Dolemite Is My Name* (2019)[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0429171/) |
| Family | Daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones, an actor known for originating Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds in *Hamilton*[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/me-and-my-emmy/ron-cephas-jones) • [4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones) |
## Early life and beginnings
Jones was born in [Paterson, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/paterson-new-jersey), and enrolled at nearby Ramapo College intending to study jazz, but switched his major to theater during his sophomore year, graduating in 1978.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones) He then spent roughly eight years away from the art form, traveling the country and working as a bus driver in [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) for several years.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones)
In the mid-1980s he moved to New York, where his career took shape around the [Nuyorican Poets Café](https://www.edgepedia.org/nuyorican-poets-cafe), a creative hub for poetry, hip-hop and the performing arts.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) In another account of this period, after his daughter Jasmine was born he taught high school by day and read poetry at East Village artist gatherings in the evenings, where a casting agent discovered him.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/celebrating-life) His breakout role came in 1994, when he took the lead in playwright Cheryl West's drama *Holiday Heart* while performing in a play based on the [Billie Holiday](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-holiday) song "Don't Explain."[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones)
## Stage career
Jones spent the following decades consistently in the theater, often in [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) productions in New York, with a title turn as Shakespeare's *Richard III* at [The Public Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-public-theater), including a stripped-down 95-minute Mobile Shakespeare Unit version staged in a different New York venue at each performance, and roles with the [Steppenwolf Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/steppenwolf-theatre-company) in Chicago.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ron-cephas-jones/) His credits also included *Of Mice and Men* on Broadway, *Prometheus Bound* at the Getty Villa, *Head of Passes* at Steppenwolf, *Hurt Village* and *Two Trains Running* at Signature, *Between Riverside and Crazy* at Second Stage, and *Jesus Hopped the A Train* and *Our Lady of 121st Street* with LAByrinth.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cephas-Jones/)
Late-career recognition came with Lynn Nottage's *Clyde's*, his first starring Broadway role, which ran from November 2021 to January 2022; Jones played a truck-stop cook and was nominated for a Tony Award and won a 2022 Drama Desk Award.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [4](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones)
## This Is Us and the Emmy wins
In 2016 Jones was cast as William "Shakespeare" Hill in *This Is Us*, a role he later called "probably the best I've ever had in film and television."[9](https://www.dailyactor.com/actor-tips/ron-cephas-jones-this-is-us-best-ive-ever-had/) William is the biological father of Randall Pearson, whose life is renewed through his relationship with Randall's family, and Jones played a more central part in the series' early seasons while appearing in some form in all six seasons, since the show's time-jumping narrative gave actors opportunities even after their characters' deaths.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
The role produced four consecutive Emmy nominations from 2017 through 2020. The first, in 2017, was in the supporting actor category; the next three came as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, which he won in 2018 for the episode "A Father's Advice" and again in 2020 for "After The Fire."[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) Series creator Dan Fogelman said after Jones's death that he did not think he had ever changed a single take of Jones's in a cut, "because everything he did was perfect."[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
In 2021, Jones and his daughter Jasmine presented the 73rd Emmy nominations together as an Emmy-winning father-daughter pair.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones)
## Television and film work
Beyond *This Is Us*, Jones built a steady screen career in guest and recurring roles. His early appearances included *New York Undercover* and *Law & Order* in 1996 and [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s film *He Got Game* in 1998.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ron-cephas-jones/) Later credits included [Mr. Robot](https://www.edgepedia.org/mr-robot) (2015), [Baz Luhrmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/baz-luhrmann)'s *The Get Down* (2016), Bobby Fish on *Marvel's Luke Cage* (2016–2018), Dr. Hyde on Hulu's *Looking for Alaska* (2019), Leander "Shreve" Scoville on Apple TV+'s *Truth Be Told* (2019–2023) opposite Octavia Spencer, and roles in *Lisey's Story* and *Law & Order: Organized Crime* (both 2021).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0429171/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ron-cephas-jones/) • [8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cephas-Jones/)
His film appearances included *Half Nelson* (2006) with [Ryan Gosling](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-gosling) and *Dolemite Is My Name* (2019) with [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy), in which he played the scene-stealing inspiration for the Dolemite character.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) • [8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cephas-Jones/)
## Health and death
Jones had quietly suffered from respiratory problems from about the time he began on *This Is Us*, as he revealed in a late 2021 New York Times interview, saying "My whole life has been the stage" and "The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death."[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) In 2020 he underwent a double lung transplant because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital, then returned to Broadway even though the transplant had forced him to relearn how to breathe and walk.[2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
He died on August 19, 2023, in Los Angeles at age 66; his manager, Dan Spilo, attributed the death to "a long-standing pulmonary issue."[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec) Sterling K. Brown and Dan Fogelman were among those who paid public tribute, and Jones was included in the Television Academy's in memoriam observances at the 75th [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards).[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
## References
1. [Ron Cephas Jones, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ron-cephas-jones)
2. [Ron Cephas Jones, 'This Is Us' actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/9fe33f51d6af70c735b58a06153db8ec)
3. [Me and My Emmy: Ron Cephas Jones, Emmy magazine / Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/me-and-my-emmy/ron-cephas-jones)
4. [Ron Cephas Jones On Stage, New York Theatre Guide](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ron-cephas-jones)
5. [Ron Cephas Jones, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0429171/)
6. [Celebrating Life, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/celebrating-life)
7. [Ron Cephas Jones, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ron-cephas-jones/)
8. [Ron Cephas Jones, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Ron-Cephas-Jones/)
9. [Ron Cephas Jones on 'This Is Us', Daily Actor](https://www.dailyactor.com/actor-tips/ron-cephas-jones-this-is-us-best-ive-ever-had/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Jo to Kl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license