Jeffrey Jones
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Jeffrey Duncan Jones (born September 28, 1946[1]) is an American character actor who has appeared in many roles on film and television, but is best known for his role as principal Ed Rooney in the 1986 John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
[edit] Biography
Jones was born in Buffalo, New York to Douglas Bennett Jones, who died when he was young, and Ruth, who urged Jones towards a career in acting. Jones went to London in 1969 to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, following that up with a three-year stint with the Stratford Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. Jones began acting in small parts in film and TV in the late '70s. A supporting role in the 1983 Rodney Dangerfield film Easy Money, and a guest shot on Remington Steele led to his replacing Ian Richardson in Milos Forman's adaptation of the Peter Shaffer play Amadeus.
Jones' performance in Ferris Bueller's Day Off made him a cultural icon. Rooney, self-important and obsessed with catching the chronically truant Ferris Bueller, became a symbol of stuffed-shirt pomposity and authoritarian hatefulness. Jones has proven to be a favorite of director Tim Burton's, starring in Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, and Sleepy Hollow, and has also appeared in such prominent films as The Hunt for Red October, The Devil's Advocate, and Stuart Little.
Jones has guested on a number of television shows, including Amazing Stories, Tales from the Crypt, and Trailer Park Boys. In 1989, Jones starred in Wes Craven's short-lived CBS sitcom The People Next Door, where he played a cartoonist whose imagination could make things come to life. He also appeared as famous newspaper publisher A. W. Merrick on HBO's highly acclaimed show Deadwood.
[edit] Controversy
In 2003, Jones was arrested for possession of child pornography and employing a 14-year-old boy to pose for pornographic photographs. [1] Jones pled no contest to the felony charges and was ordered to undergo counseling and register as a sex offender. [2] In July 2004, he was arrested by Florida police after failing to notify them of his change of residence as required under Megan's Law. [3] He has since been sued in civil court by the minor, who is now an adult. [4]
