*Unfortunately, we must pass along the news of the death of Ron Cephas Jones, the Emmy-winning actor best known for playing William Hill on “This Is Us.” Jones was 66.
His death was confirmed by a representative on Saturday, via this statement: “Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 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,” 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.”
The statement about the late actor ended with this: “Ron’s inner beauty and soul was evident to the huge audience from his multi-Emmy award-winning performance on ‘This is Us.’ He is survived by his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones.”
As the statement said, Jones was best known for his role on “This Is Us” as William Hill, the biological father of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), for which he won a guest acting Emmy in 2018 and another in 2020. That same year, his daughter Jasmine, 34, earned her first Emmy, making the pair the first-ever father-daughter winners in the same year, noted People.
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Brown took to social media to share his thoughts after learning about the loss of the actor.
“Life imitated art today, and one of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us,” Brown shared on Instagram.
“[Jones] has passed away, and the world is a little less bright,” he added.
“Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed. Keep them laughing in the next phase of existence, and I’ll see you when I get there.”
It was back in 2021 that Jones revealed to The New York Times that for two months, with no fanfare, he battled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and received a double lung transplant at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
In June of 2022, in an interview with Today, he said his Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway production of “Clyde’s” inspired him to make a speedy recovery.
“I don’t want to say a miracle, but I was very fortunate. I had great doctors. It still was a very difficult and arduous recovery. I’m recovering for the rest of my life,” Jones told the outlet. “You don’t get new lungs and start running track. It’s a procedure that you have to constantly work on your body. Medication is involved and therapy.”
A month earlier in May 2022, he relayed to Entertainment Weekly how his “Clyde’s” costars and producers helped him through a life-threatening health scare on his final day on set.
“You cats held me when I was struggling and you didn’t let me go. You’ve been there for a very difficult part of my life. I’m a walking miracle,” he told them.
“My whole life has been the stage,” Jones said. “The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death.”
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