So by the time I got to Michigan I was a stutterer. I couldn't talk. So my first year of school was my first mute year and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.

In 1992 Jones was often seen as the host on the video tele-monitor for the Sea World resort in Orlando Florida. He moved to his grandparents' farm in Jackson Michigan when he was five but the transition was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak. He also appeared in television and radio advertising for Verizon Business DSL and Verizon Online DSL from Verizon Communications.

On November 12 2011 he received an Honorary Academy Award. " Since his Broadway debut in 1957 Jones has won many awards including a Tony Award and Golden Globe Award for his role in The Great White Hope. As a child Jones overcame a stutter that lasted for several years.