VIDEO: 30 Days of TONY, Day 2: Lifetime Achievement Award-Winner James Earl Jones is THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

Each year, the Tonys set aside a special Lifetime Achievement honor for a artists of great distinction within the theatre community. This year's honoree is one of the greatest stage and film actors of his generation, James Earl Jones.

In 1957 James Earl Jones made his Broadway debut. Since that time he has performed on stage, television, and in films and continues to receive accolades from every corner of the entertainment industry.

In addition to having won two Tony Awards for his work on Broadway in The Great White Hope and Fences, Jones has garnered much praise for more recent stage roles including those he performed in the Broadway productions of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man, You Can't Take It With You, and The Gin Game.

Now let's look way back to 1967, when James took the stage for an excerpt from his Tony winning turn as Jack Jefferson, the leading contender for the heavyweight championship in the drama, The Great White Hope.