Actor James Earl Jones, famous for lending his powerful voice to characters like Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, passed away at 93.
Representatives confirmed with Deadline that the actor died peacefully at his home in Dutchess County, New York.
Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. At a young age, he struggled with stuttering but grew to become one of the most famous and most distinctive voices in the history of film.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.”
He worked hard to overcome the condition and was encouraged by one of his teachers to read poetry out loud in order to improve his speech.
Over time, his deep resonant voice became his signature and helped him land some of cinema’s most iconic and unforgettable roles.
Jones’ acting career, which spanned decades, started at Broadway in 1957, when he had his debut. He quickly conquered the stage and made a name for himself, thus won a Tony Award for his role in The Great White Hope in 1969. This same role, which he reprised in the 1970 film adaptation led to a Golden Globe Award and his first Academy Award nomination.
Jones went on to earn a second Tony Award for Fences and a Special Tony Award for lifetime achievement.
His place in the film industry was cemented when he started voicing the storied antagonist Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, starting with 1977’s Star Wars. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. When he retired from the role in 2022, Jones signed an agreement which said his voice could be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
His portrayal of Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King further established him as a defining voice in cinematic history.
Throughout his long and successful career, Jones landed a number of roles, including ones in Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot, among the rest.
In 2011, Jones received an Honorary Academy Award, placing him on the list of just few actors who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.
Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022, which further testifies of his prominence as a stage actor.
Following his passing, tributes came pouring in from fans and fellow actors.
“There will never be another of his particular combination of graces,” actor LeVar Burton wrote.
Rest in peace, James Earl Jones.
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