[3] His father, Harmon Jones, was a Canadian-born film editor who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on Gentleman's Agreement.
[6] He was responsible for editing Army training films, documentaries, and several segments of The Big Picture television program.
[4] Almost a decade elapsed before he received his third Academy Award editing nomination for the musical drama Bound for Glory (1976).
However, he relented and joined as a screenwriter after Waldo Salt suffered a heart attack two months before the start of production.
[4] That film ultimately won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, which he shared with Salt and Nancy Dowd.
[3] Jones was surprised by the win and stated that going on stage to receive the award marked the first time he met Salt and Dowd.
[3] After retiring from the film industry, he became a professor at the School of Cinematic Arts of the University of Southern California (USC),[9] serving in that capacity for 15 years.