Jamie Foxx Honors Quincy Jones At 2024 Governors Awards Amid Posthumous Win

Quincy Jones received a posthumous honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar at the 2024 Governors Awards on Sunday (Nov. 17). Jamie Foxx presented the award to the late music innovator’s children, but first shared his thoughts on Jones’ life and legacy.

“I’m here to talk about a legend, a friend, [and] an inspiration… Even though he lived 91 years, still gone too soon,” Foxx began. “Tonight we pay tribute to him for the creativity and the brilliance he brought to cinema,” said the Oscar winner while reflecting on how Jones helped him prepare for his portrayal as Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic.

“I was tryna put the character together, but I had met the old Ray Charles. I needed to know who the young Ray Charles was before I did the movie, so I went to Quincy […] It was amazing because Quincy said let me get something for you to help you and he went in his room and he found a cassette tape,” Foxx quipped while he explained that on the tape was the late actress Dinah Shore introducing Kenny Rogers and Ray Charles.

Foxx had found exactly what he needed to fully embody Charles. He then thanked Jones for being an advocate for those with down syndrome. The actor’s late sister, DeOndra Dixon, was born with the condition and later became the first recipient of Quincy Jones’ Exceptional Advocacy Award.

The comedian concluded his sentiment on Jones—a seven-time Oscar nominee— by expressing, “The impact he has will never be forgotten. Quincy, thank you for giving the world music. Thank you for giving the world light. Thank you for giving the world an example of what a great human being is supposed to be like.”

Rashida Jones spoke on behalf of the family and read the speech her dad wrote prior to his death.

“As a teenager growing up in Seattle, I would sit for hours in the theater and dream about composing for films […] I knew that creating music for film was something that I longed to do,” Jones shared. “From those beginnings to the present, I was always keenly aware of the enormous power that we possessed as filmmakers that the art we created, the stories we told, if we were lucky, had the chance to move people in ways that they could never imagine.”

In his speech, Jones reflected on the lack of Black representation during the early days of his career and noted, “I’m so so proud of the fact that my name and contributions can be included in that evolution.”

Rashida added her own words after reading her father’s speech. “In some ways, it was a difficult decision for our family to be here tonight, but we felt like we wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and career. His music has literally defined an entire century of culture-spanning genres: jazz, disco, film, pop, R&B, hip-hop. But the real thread is that his music is all infused with his love. That was his gift to us,” she shared.

She then addressed Quincy directly: “You lived the biggest, best, most beautiful life of love every single day you were here. In honor of our dad, we hope you will do the same. Live with love, lead with love. Bring love to everything that you do.”

Jones received the honorary Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 91 on Nov. 3. He was laid to rest in a private funeral and a public memorial is in the works.