Trivia

Died during the live broadcast of Underground (1958). His character was supposed to suffer a heart attack during the show, but Jones actually had one.

A close friend of Donald Houston and Robert Shaw.

At the time of his death in November 1958 he was engaged to a Llanelli-born schoolteacher, living and working in London. They had plans to get married the following February. In August 1956 they attended the wedding in Stratford-upon-Avon of George Hart and Juliet Byam Shaw, the daughter of Glen Byam Shaw, co-director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, and the actress Angela Baddeley. Jones was best man and other guests included the bride's aunt, Hermione Baddeley, Emlyn Williams and Anthony Quayle.

Studied at Aberystwyth University in Wales at the same time as Dorothea Phillips and Rachel Roberts. They were all members of the Drama Society and acted together in a prize winning performance of Ibsen's "Ghosts".

Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and was highly commended for playing Tartuffe in his end of year performance in June 1952. The judges at the St James's Theatre were Wendy Hiller, Norman Marshall and Michael Redgrave. Among those watching were Laurence Olivier, Lewis Casson, Moira Shearer and Hermione Gingold.

By speaking the opening lines as Bernardo in Peter Brook's historic production of "Hamlet" in Moscow in 1955, Jones was hailed by Kenneth Tynan and other theatre critics as the first British actor to perform on the Russian stage since the 1917 Revolution. Anton Chekhov's widow, Olga Knipper-Chekhova, attended the opening night at the Moscow Art Theatre and the production was later broadcast on Moscow television on 1 December 1955. Paul Scofield played Hamlet.

Although contracted by the BBC for the role of Mr Brent in the television drama Gracie (1958), he was for some reason forced to withdraw and the part was eventually played by Harold G. Robert.

Closely associated with the Dylan Thomas play "Under Milk Wood", he was Butcher Beynon and Mr Waldo in the original British stage production in 1956 and reprised both roles in the first full length television adaptation for the BBC in 1957.

During a rehearsal for recording Welsh and English versions of the Saunders Lewis play "Brad" (Treason) for BBC radio in 1958, Jones and the other actors (Richard Burton, Emlyn Williams, Siân Phillips, Clifford Evans, Meredith Edwards and Hugh David) wrote a letter campaigning for Wales to have its own television service.

He grew up in a Welsh speaking home and environment in the village of Lledrod and spoke Welsh (Cymraeg) fluently.

Had links with the two stars of the classic British comedy series Steptoe and Son (1962). He and Wilfrid Brambell shared the same agent, Joan Reddin, and Jones performed on stage with Harry H. Corbett in a Paul Scofield-Peter Brook season in the West End - "Hamlet" (1955) and "The Power and the Glory" (1956).

Among the American characters he portrayed on screen were contrasting roles in two social dramas written respectively by Reginald Rose and Rod Serling. In Thunder on Sycamore Street (1957) he played the ring leader of a racially motivated campaign to rid a quiet residential area of a black family, while in Noon on Doomsday (1958) he was an ex-judge trying to confront a small town community over its approval of a local youth, unjustly acquitted for murdering an elderly black man.