1 week Ago By Jeremy Thomas
James Earl Jones, the legendary star of stage and screen who voiced Darth Vader and Mufasa, has passed away. THR reports that the celebrated performer passed on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. No word on the circumstances of his passing; he was 93 years old.
Jones was known as one of the most distinguished and versatile performers of his era and had a career that stretched nearly 70 years, with roles in such iconic films as Dr. Strangelove, Conan the Barbarian, Coming To America, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October and more, though he will always be best known as the voice of Vader in the Star Wars franchise as well as King Mufasa in The Lion King . He earned awards across the field of entertainment including two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
He was awarded an Academy Honorary Award in 2011. Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones was born with a stutter so severe that he refused to speak in school until his English teacher in high school recognized his gift for poerty and helped him through his speech impediment. He was studied pre-med in college until he decided to focus on drama, assuming he would be doing something he enjoyed before he went off to fight in the Korean War.
He graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and began acting on stage, making his Broadway debut as an understudy in 1957. Jones continued his stage work, with leading roles in several Shakespearean productions, throughout the early to mid 1960s. Jones’ screen debut was in his first iconic film, Stanley Kubrick’s Dr.
Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb . He continued working both on screen and the stage, earning his first Tony Award in 1969 for The Great White Hope (and starred in the film adaptation), and co-starred in The Comedians in 1967. 1969 saw him do test films for Sesame Street and appear on Guiding Light .
The actor grew to prominence in the 1970s, earning a Golden Globe nod for the groundbreaking romantic dramedy Claudine opposite Diahann Carroll, and took on the role of Darth Vader with 1977’s Star Wars . He was initially uncredited for the first two films, but became so identified with the role that he was credited for Return of the Jedi . Jones came back to play Vader multiple times across project and media types.
He retired from playing the role in 2022 but signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing use of his voice to artificially generate the voice of Vader going forwards based on archive audio. He would continue to work regularly throughout his career with roles in the aforementioned movies along with The Sandlot, Sneakers, Clear and Present Danger, Soul Man, Three Fugitives and many more, while also keeping busy on stage in projects like Fences, Driving Miss Daisy and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . On behalf of 411, our condolences to the famiy, friends, and the galaxy of fans of Mr.
Jones. He will most certainly be missed..
