James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader, has died at 93

James Earl Jones, the distinguished actor behind the voice of Darth Vader, has died at age 93, . Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, in 1931. After managing to overcome a speech impediment, Jones went on to have a massive acting career, with credits spanning dozens of plays, TV shows, and films over several decades.

He got his start on Broadway, starring in at the Cort Theatre in 1958 — now known as the James Earl Jones Theatre. However, his 1977 role in the very first left a huge mark on his audience, though for voicing the villain as a courtesy to David Prowse, who wore Darth Vader’s suit. While Jones is best known for his distinctive voice in the series, he has voiced Mufasa in (1994 and 2019).



Jones also appeared in , , , and much more. He is among the small group of actors who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony — the coveted EGOT. In 2022, to his archival voice work to a Ukrainian AI voice startup, Respeecher, allowing the company to recreate the sound of his voice for Disney Plus’ .

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