The simpson s adaptation of the raven in treehouse of horror will forever be one of the greatest moments of that show. The poem, read by james earl jones, remains intact, more or less, but with dan castellanetas homer simpson providing the unnamed narrators. Jones has one of the most recognisable voices in englishlanguage popular culture having voiced darth vadar in the original star wars trilogy, episodes ivvi. The first treehouse of horror installment aired in 1990 as part of the second season, and its onscreen title was the simpsons halloween special. Hear classic readings of poes the raven by vincent price. American actor james earl jones has had an extensive career in film, television, and theatre. Feb 23, 2020 james earl jones has voiced multiple characters on the simpsons and first appeared in the very first treehouse of horror halloween special. Stream the raven edgar allan poe james earl jones by nbudrovich from desktop or your mobile device. The simpsons present edgar allan poes the raven, and. James earl jones 33 character images behind the voice. The simpsons and tim burtons vincent, here are 14 readings of the poem by the worlds most mellifluous voices. He could read stereo instructions and i would be entertained for hours. Hungry are the damned in this parody of the 89th episode of the twilight zone, to serve man, the simpsons are abducted by aliens, who plan to take them back to their home planet, but lisa becomes suspicious of their intentions.
Bart tells his second scary story to lisa called hungry are the damned. James earl jones was born in arkabutla, mississippi, on january 17, 1931, to ruth williams jones 19111986, a teacher and maid, and robert earl jones 19102006, a boxer, butler, and chauffeur. Read about edgar allan poe the raven the simpsons by james earl jones and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Edgar allan poethe raven read by james earl jones duration. James earl jones born january 17, 1931 is an academy awardnominated and tony awardwinning actor, known for his work on stage, in film, and on television since the 1960s. James earl jones reads edgar allan poes the raven and. In 2006, james earl jones, who guest starred in treehouse of horror and treehouse of horror v, was named seventh on igns top 25 simpsons guest appearances list. However, his greatest contribution to pop culture is supplying the deep, menacing voice of darth vader in the star wars. The simpsons the complete second season dvd, 2009, 4disc. In the story, serak prepared the simpson family as dinner while the spaceship was heading to rigel 7. It appeared to work as he has since starred in many films over a 40year period, beginning with the stanley kubrick classic dr.
He also voiced the emperor of the night in pinocchio and the emperor. The simpsons brings poes masterful words into the realm of popular culture by having james earl jones recite the poem. The voice of darth vader is still the only voice actor to play a character in all three. James earl jones reads the raven in an episode of the simpsons. Is it a shame that we now think of the raven as a halloween yarn fit for the treehouse of horror or any number of enjoyable exercises in spooky oratoryrather than the theoretical thought experiment its author seemed to intend. James earl jones reads othello at white house poetry jam. James earl jones has appeared in several episodes of the show, and voiced several characters.
The raven, one of edgar allan poes most famous poems published in 1845 makes for a great dramatic reading around halloween. Horror comedy cartoon the simpsons treehouse of horror. At an early age, he started to take dramatic lessons to calm himself down. The poem, read by james earl jones, remains intact, more or less, but with dan castellanetas homer simpson providing the unnamed narrators voice. Take a visual walk through his career and see 33 images of the characters hes voiced and listen to 9 clips that showcase his performances. Serak the preparer is a rigellian who is the cohort of kang and kodos. In treehouse of horror, homer hears the tale and imagines himself as the narrator. After graduating from the university of michigan where he was studying medicine, he was a united states army officer in the korean war.
James earl jones guest starred in all three segments. Find the latest tracks, albums, and images from edgar allen poe the raven james earl jones on the simpsons. Effects and music added, as well as images related to the raven. The simpsons and tim burtons vincent, here are 14 readings. The episode was received positively, being included on several critics best of. James earl jones guest starred in three episodes of the simpsons in season two, season six and season nine. In this episode, treehouse of horror, lisa and bart are swapping stories in the treehouse and these. He has appeared in many roles since, but is best known as the sinister voice of lord darth vader in the original star wars trilogy. In treehouse of horror, edgar allan poes poem the raven is read by james earl jones, while the parts are acted by various characters.
James earl jones has voiced multiple characters on the simpsons and first appeared in the very first treehouse of horror halloween special. Specifically, the simpson s send up of edgar allen poes the raven, read by james earl jones is a delight. Listen to music from edgar allen poe the raven james earl jones on the simpsons. The simpsons adaptation of the raven in treehouse of. Smith, 37 its the great pumpkin, charlie brown, transformers, 39 sweeney todd, 40 the. Marge makes an appearance as the long departed lenore, with hair so tall it needs an extra canvas to contain it in portrait. The simple answer is that its in trochaic octameter. Oct 26, 2017 one of my favorite renditions of the raven was performed by james earl jones on the simpsons first treehouse of horror halloween special, on october 25, 1990, also a true classic in its own rite. His father left the family shortly after james earls birth, and later became a stage and screen actor in new york and hollywood. The episode also introduces views to kang and kodos, who later rise to greater simpsons notoriety after being elected president in a later season. The simpsons s 2 e 3 treehouse of horror trivia tv. James earl jones born january 17, 1931 is an american actor and voice actor, best known for his distinctive bass voice and for voicing darth vader on star.
Jan 20, 2014 thats james earl jones as the narrator, by the way. It originally aired on the fox network in the united states on october 25, 1990. Often, the two voices will even alternate within a line, for example. He is said to weigh a ton, and tells the simpsons family that. James earl jones stars as the voice of the mover, serak the preparer and the narrator of the raven enforced method acting. The voice alternates between the rich,expressio nate voice of james earl jones and the comical, highpitched voice of homersimpson. Treehouse of horror is the third episode of the simpsons second season.
James earl jonesdescription yeardley smith lisa reading the raven narrator is the unnamed narrator of edgar allan poes the raven. There is an an introduction by lisa with most of the narration and storytelling by american actor james earl jones who sets the mood perfectly with his atmospheric voice. In a simpsons episode season2, there was an episode in treehouse of horror, called the raven, narrated by james earl jones. Oft parodied and referenced, it is the most famous work by author edgar allan poe, and to this day is one of the most wellknown pieces of english poetry ever written it tells the tale of an unidentified narrator who is mourning the loss of his love, lenore, when he is interrupted by the tapping of a raven whose. A reading of edgar allan poes the raven, by james earl jones.
Later, we see that the ravenhimself bears a striking resemblance to bart simpson. Hear classic readings of poes the raven by vincent. Oct 29, 2008 this is the amazing poem by edgar allen poe, a perfect halloween classic. In the real world, this was the first episode of the show to be scored by alf clausen, who was one of. The raven read by james earl jones schooltube safe. Simon uses homer to satirize the raven through interlacing his voice with thevoice of the narrator james earl jones. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. James earl jones may have the most iconic voices of the 20th century. So instead, he looked for an actor with a deep voice, like. Homer as its lead character and his son bart as the tormenting raven, narrated by james earl jones. The raven narrator is the unnamed narrator of edgar allan poes the raven. James earl jones is a voice actor known for voicing darth vader, mufasa, and ommadon. A halloween special the raven by edgar allan poe james.
The raven narrator wikisimpsons, the simpsons wiki. However, when homer as the narrator says something, he speaks in his normal. Anyone knows where can i get a free audio version of him narrating the raven. The simpsons treehouse of horror tv episode 1990 imdb. James earl jones was born in arkabutla, mississippi on january 17, 1931, to ruth williams jones, a teacher and maid, and robert earl jones, a boxer, butler, and chauffeur who left the family shortly after james earl s birth. This is the amazing poem by edgar allen poe, a perfect halloween classic. In this episode homer simpson is the lead character in this hilarious animated version of the raven. James earl jones was born on january 17, 1931 in arkabutla, mississippi, usa. Simon uses homer to satirize the raven through interlacing his voice with the voice of the narrator james earl jones. The raven read by james earl jones this is the amazing poem by edgar allen poe, a perfect halloween classic. James earl jones reads edgar allan poes the raven and walt.
He then went on to star in the 1970 film the great white hope as jack jefferson, a role he first played in the broadway production of the same name. This version is read by the amazing james earl jones. He is driven insane by the memory of his deceased wife, lenore and a demon, the raven. Probably the most literate stance the show has taken, its brilliantly performed with james earl jones as the narrator a great actor in himself, of course. Edgar allan poe the raven the simpsons james earl jones. He voiced a removalist, the raven narrator, and serak the preparer in the season 2 episode treehouse of horror, maggie simpson in. James earl jones reads the poem, thus doing most of the actual narration. The raven read by the james earl jones i think makes the poem have a more sense of gothic atmosphere. He later became a stage and screen actor in new york and hollywood. Homer simpson is a bumbling, lazy cartoon character. The raven read by 14 of the worlds greatest voices if its. However, he felt that welles was too wellknown for the role.
James earl jones is an extremely good orator, and so his voice is well suited to reading a classic poem like the raven. The raven narrated by james earl jones, music moonlight. Finally, we would be remiss not to mention the simpsons james earl jonesnarrated parody, a worthy teaching tool for distracted young visual learners. The contrasting of voices helps to emphasize that a classic poem about grief is being transformed into a cartoon sitcom by transforming the protagonist from a grieving man. I also like the guest voice talent in james earl jones. James earl jones chewed cookies close to his microphone in order to get the drooling sounds for serak first appearance of kang and kodos. His father left the family shortly after james earl s birth, and later became a stage and screen actor in new york and hollywood. Darth vader reads the raven by edgar allan poe youtube. Treehouse of horror by edgar allen poe read by james earl jones. Appearances thoh treehouse of horror, thoh treehouse of horror xxx archival footage. The raven is a narrative poem of the gothic horror genre published in 1845.
American actor james earl jones guest starred in the episode as a moving man, serak the preparer one of the aliens and the narrator of the raven. From vincent price to lou reed and two animated versions. James earl jones born january 17, 1931 is an american actor and voice actor, best known for his distinctive bass voice and for voicing darth vader on star wars. In 1990, jones performed voice work for the simpsons first treehouse of horror halloween special, in which he was the narrator for the simpsons version of edgar allan poes poem the raven. He started out in film by appearing in the 1964 political satire film dr. Orson welles reads from americas greatest poem, walt whitmans song of myself 1953 hear walt whitman maybe reading the first four lines of his poem, america 1890 josh jones is a writer and musician based in durham, nc. Likely when we think of the poem, what first comes to the minds ear is the voice of vincent price, or james earl jones, christopher lee, or christopher walken, all of whom have given the raven its due.
In this episode, treehouse of horror, lisa and bart are swapping stories in the treehouse and these stories involve the simpsons moving into an old haunted house, them getting picked up by aliens whom the simpsons believe they are going to eat them, and an interpretation of edgar allan poes the raven. Recent parodies have included films and television specials in more varied genres, including mr. The raven read by james earl jones the raven was published on this date in 1845, which led to poes overnight fame. The voice alternates between the rich, expressionate voice of james earl jones and the comical, highpitched voice of homer simpson. Although every episode is entitled treehouse of horror, the first was the only episode that actually used the treehouse motif. In this episode, treehouse of horror, lisa and bart are swapping stories in the treehouse and these stories involve the simpsons moving into an old haunted house, them getting picked up by aliens whom the simpsons believe they are going to eat them, and an interpretation of edgar allan. Jul 15, 2011 the raven the simpsons season 2 episode 3. After graduating from the university of michigan where he was.
Jones married american actresssinger julienne marie in. In the episode, he voices the delivery man, the alien called serak the preparer, and, of course, the narrator of edgar allan poes the raven. Jones was born in mississippi on january 17, 1931 and grew up in dublin, michigan. It is arguably poes most well known work, and one of the most famous poems ever written. Treehouse of horror the simpsons episode wikipedia. James earl jones is the voice of mufasa in the lion guard.
The raven read by 14 of the worlds greatest voices if. James earl jones the simpsons guests stars over the years. But on the first ever treehouse of horror from 1990the simpsons recurring halloween episodethey adapted poes the raven more faithfully than any bit of lit found in any other episode. But there is a reason why the simpsons return again and again to the beats because it is still one of the most wellknown literary movements in modern history and the spirit of these writers, who were part of a lost generation, resonate with lisa, the smart girl often alienated from those around her. James earl jones born january 17, 1931 is an american actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. When he was younger he had a stutter that he overcame in high school. According to jones, when george lucas was trying to cast the voice of darth vader, his immediate idea was to cast orson welles. The raven a retelling of edgar allan poes poem the raven. The words used in it and the deep voice of james earl jones together create the gothic atmosphere to a higher level. Instead of a raven perched upon the bust of pallas, a chicken alights on a.
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