The late James Earl Jones was an honorary EGOT winner

James Earl Jones, known for his role as Darth Vader and saying the famous line “No, I am your father,” died Monday at age 93. Jones was an honorary EGOT winner.
According to Good Morning America, “EGOT is an acronym for the four biggest awards ceremonies in the entertainment industry, the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Oscars or Academy Awards and Tony Awards.”
EGOT winners are those in the entertainment industry who have won all four of these top awards. Other notable EGOT winners are Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
There are two types of EGOT winners: competitive and honorary or noncompetitive.
As of this week, there are 21 competitive EGOT winners and six noncompetitive EGOT winners, according to Billboard.
According to Good Morning America, “Honorary EGOT winners include those who have received all four major awards, with one being a designated ‘special’ award, such as a lifetime achievement recognition.”
The six honorary EGOT winners differ from the competitive EGOT holders who received all four awards in competition.
According to Billboard, there is some debate on whether noncompetitive winners qualify for EGOT status.
“Most EGOT experts don’t count noncompetitive awards. The whole point is to have won the awards in competition,” per Billboard.
Here is a list of Jones’ awards that contributed to his EGOT status, per Good Morning America:
Jones achieved EGOT status in 2011 when he received his Academy Honorary Award.
According to the Academy, the Honorary Award is “given for extraordinary lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the motion picture arts and sciences of any discipline, or outstanding service to the Academy.”
Academy Honorary Award winners aside from Jones include Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks.
Along with his honorary EGOT status, according to BBC, Jones became the second Black man to be nominated for the best actor Oscar award in 1971 for his role in “The Great White Hope.” The first was Sidney Poitier.
Here is a list of the five other noncompetitive EGOT winners, according to Billboard:
The honorary awards that contributed to these individuals’ EGOT status are a Tony Award for Star of the Decade, a Grammy Legend Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, per Good Morning America and Cinetown.