Tommy Lee Jones' Talents Led Him to Harvard's Football Team (2024)

Tommy Lee Jones is as Texas as it gets. Smart, uncompromising and rugged, the 73-year-old San Saba, Texas native owns a 3,000-acre cattle ranch in the Lone Star State. He's won an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award during his illustrious career and created iconic roles in blockbuster films from Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) to No Country for Old Men (2007). However, perhaps no film meant more to Jones than The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005),which was his directorial debut.

"I decided it was time to make a movie about a part of the world that many people haven't experienced or don't understand," Jones told Texas Monthly about the film, which told the story of a Mexican-American boy who was shot and killed in West Texas by a U.S. Marine. "I wanted to make a movie about my home country, my home people."

Like I said, as Texan as it gets.

Young Tommy Lee Jones

A very young Tommy Lee Jones in ROLLING THUNDER (1977) pic.twitter.com/i8plwjyyZu

— A Serious Mani (@ManiLazic) November 5, 2016

But Jones wasn't always living a quiet life in the Texas Hill Country. As a standout academic growing up, Jones attended St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas, an elite, all-boys prep academy. He played high school football and soccer there, as well as starred in numerous theater productions.

Upon graduation, the eighth-generation Texan headed north to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Harvard University awaited.

Tommy Lee Jones at Harvard

Tommy Lee Jones - offensive guard, Harvard varsity football photo, 1968 pic.twitter.com/6qdTkp3kJ9

— History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) October 15, 2019

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"There was a guy hunkering down outside the window with this piece of grass in his mouth," Joseph C. McGrath once told The Harvard Crimson. "And he had this great big-ass knife, and he was throwing it into a circle in the tree right there in front of Phillips Brooks House. And that was Tommy Lee Jones."

The future star brought an intensity and Southern style few at Harvard had seen. Jones is remembered by his classmates for a schedule that included a full undergraduate course load — he graduated cum laude in English and American Literature and Language in 1969 — regularly performed at the Loeb Drama Center, and played football for the Harvard Crimson.

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Jones, who was roommates with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, played offensive guard for Harvard. Former teammate Theodore E. Skowronski remembered Jones as having the "quickest feet" of anyone on the team, and despite being considerably smaller than most offensive lineman, "would go longer in a drill than most players."

Jones was part the most famous football game in Ivy League history, as well. "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" headlined The Harvard Crimson newspaper the following day, recognizing how Harvard overcame a 22-0 deficit to tie the nationally-ranked and undefeated Yale Bulldogs football team. The game marked a pivotal moment in an iconic college football rivalry.

Tommy Lee Jones played an "important" role that day, and in 2008, even presented Kevin G. Rafferty II's documentary on the famous college football game.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

Jones made his film debut in 1970 with Love Story, which launched into his Hollywood career. He's starred in a miniseries called Lonesome Dove (1990), as "Clay Shaw" in JFK (1991), "Two-Face" in Batman Forever (1995), "Agent K" in the Men in Black series, "Hank Deerfield" in In the Valley of Elah (2007), "Thaddeus Stevens" in Lincoln (2012), and — my personal favorite — voiced "Chip Hazard" in Small Soldiers.

He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive (1993).

An iconic life for an iconic man. His roots in Texas haven't changed Tommy Lee Jones at his core, and his legacy everywhere he's gone remains one of respect and honor.

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Tommy Lee Jones' Talents Led Him to Harvard's Football Team (2024)

FAQs

How did Tommy Lee Jones get into Harvard? ›

College. Jones entered Harvard College in 1965 on need-based aid. As an upperclassman, he lived in Dunster House and was roommates with future U.S. Vice President Al Gore and with Bob Somerby, who later became editor of the media criticism site The Daily Howler.

Did Tommy Lee Jones play football for Harvard? ›

That fall, Jones and his teammates played in the famed 1968 Harvard-Yale Game that prompted the Crimson headline “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.” Former football player Stephen S. Gloyd '69 said the team was “lucky” to have won because they had been trailing Yale. Gloyd said Jones had an “important” role in the game.

What is Tommy Lee Jones most known for? ›

Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946, San Saba, Texas, U.S.) is an American actor best known for his dryly taciturn portrayals of law-enforcement officials, military men, and cowboys.

Did Tommy Lee Jones go to college? ›

Film. Actor and director Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, and worked briefly in the oil fields before leaving for Harvard, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in English.

Why did Tommy Lee go to college? ›

“I'm not sure what that decision was,” Lee says. “Obviously, we were there to make a TV show, so we basically bum-rushed the university. I attended a full semester, so that I could be tested and all that.”

Why is Tommy Lee Jones popular in Japan? ›

Since 2006, the Oscar-winning actor remained the ambassador of Suntory's Boss brand of canned coffee -- a name ubiquitous as it's embellished on most of the country's widespread vending machines. Hence, it's no surprise to see Jones' recognizable, deadpan expression plastered across the cities and suburbs of Japan.

What made Tommy Lee famous? ›

What is Tommy Lee known for? Tommy Lee is the longtime drummer for Mötley Crüe, having co-founded the band with Nikki Sixx and Greg Leon in 1981. He's played drums with Rob Zombie, the Smashing Pumpkins, Post Malone, Jack's Mannequin, Methods of Mayhem and more.

How was Tommy Lee so rich? ›

Tommy Lee achieved wealth through his successful music career with Mötley Crüe, which included hit albums and extensive tours. He also diversified his income through solo music projects, investments in real estate, and other entrepreneurial ventures.

Did Tommy Lee Jones play high school football? ›

Born in San Saba, Texas on September 15, 1946, Jones attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school for boys in Dallas, on a football scholarship, and went to Harvard on another scholarship where he graduated in 1969.

Did Tommy Lee Jones serve in the military? ›

Tommy Lee Jones never served in the military, but he told CBS Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel that he has no problem playing a marine in his new movie, Rules Of Engagement. ”By now, I don't find getting into these characters to be very difficult.

Does Tommy Lee Jones have an accent? ›

Tommy Lee Jones is a Texan of many talents—actor, rancher, polo player and horse breeder. By GARY VORHES, originally published in the April 1992 issue of Western Horseman. When Tommy Lee Jones arrived to start shooting the epic TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, he already had the south Texas accent and mannerisms down cold.

Is Tommy Lee Jones a Rhodes Scholar? ›

He worked hard, was accepted for a scholarship to a nearby prep school and from there a Rhodes Scholarship to Harvard.

Where did Tommy Lee Jones get his start in acting? ›

After finishing school he worked on the oil rigs before going to Harvard University to study English. He finished university in 1969 and moved to New York to be an actor. His first role was in the Broadway play, A Patriot For Me. He had many small parts until he got the main role in the movie JFK.

Was Tommy Lee Jones a Rhodes Scholar? ›

He worked hard, was accepted for a scholarship to a nearby prep school and from there a Rhodes Scholarship to Harvard.

How did Tommy Lee get his money? ›

As a founding member of the band, Tommy Lee's Mötley Crüe earnings have made him the richest member of the group today. According to The Richest, Lee's paychecks with the band began with their 1981 debut album, Too Fast For Love, which earned the rockstar an estimated $1 million in record sales.

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