Entertainment Swindon

It has been announced that legendary actor James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93 at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y.

With over 80 films to his credit, Jones’ notible movies include Kubricks 1964 Cold War Satire ‘Dr Strangelove’ which was his film debut, the 1982 ‘Conan the Barbarian’ as the fearsome villain, ‘Field of Dreams where he played a reclusive author, the 1972 ‘The Man’ where he played the first black President of the United States and who can forget his terrifying voice for Darth Vader in the 1977 Star Wars A New Hope.

Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards, of which he won two, an Oscar nomination in 1970, eight Primetime Emmy Awards, winning twice in 1991. In 2002 Jones won a Kennedy Center Honour, the Screen Actors Guild Life Time Achievement Award in 2009, an honorary Oscar in 2011 and a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2017. His Grammy award in 1977 for spoken word album makes Jones only one a handful of actors to receive an EGOT.

As a child, Jones overcame a profound stutter, before becoming one of the pioneering black actors of his generation in his 60year career which started on the Broadway stage in 1958 at the Cort Theatre which in his honour was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022.

Working up the age of 91 in his last movie Coming to America 2, where he reprised his role as King Joffer, the long awaited sequel to the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy. This was just one of many roles Jones had recently played, he voiced King Mustafa in Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King which he had also voiced in the original animated feature in 1994 and the 1998 sequel, Jones also continued to play the voice of Darth Vader through all the Star Wars movies up to 2019’s ‘Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker’.

For many, the 90s will hold memories of the legendary actor, with his role as CIA Deputy Director Vice Admiral James Greer in three Jack Ryan movies, 1990’s ‘The Hunt for Red October’, 1992’s ‘Patriot Games’ and 1994’s ‘Clear and Present Danger’.

On the small screen, Jones will be remembered for ‘Roots’, ‘L.A. Law’, ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and memorable guest role shows such as ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Law & Order’, ‘Frasier’ & ‘House’. With probably the most famous distinct voice in TV & Film, it’s no wonder that Jones narrated several documentaries, including Disney nature documentary ‘Earth’.

Jones’ stage career didn’t stop at his 1957 debut, his stage credits also include Sunrise at Campobello, Of Mice and Men, The Iceman Cometh, The Gin Game, Driving Miss Daisy, You Can’t Take It With You, The Best Man, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

But it will probably be his role as the voice of Darth Vader that will be for many what he will be remembered for most, a role that he gained due to Lucas not happy with actor David Prowse who played Darth Vader, who sounded more like a farmer than the Dark Lord. Jones was to be paid just $7000 for his voice over of the Dark Lord, a voice he would continue to personally do all the way to 2019 for Rise of Skywalker, however in 2022, Jones gave permission to Lucas Film to use AI technology to recreate his voice.

Born in 1931 on a farm in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones an undergraduate student at University of Michigan where he originally studied medicine caught the bug for drama which led to his first stage role with a small part in the 1957 ‘Wedding in Japan’

Jones returned to Broadway in 2005 for a production of ‘On Golden Pond’. The theatre where Jones frequently was often the box office draw in his own right would continue walking the boards in shows such as ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ that featured an all-Black cast including Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad and a revival of ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ opposite Vanessa Redgrave. 

When asked in 2014 by the New York Times about how he’d kept his career alive for so long, Jones’ response evoked the kind of plainspoken humility that he had so often brought to his performances as well.

“The secret is never forgetting that you’re a journeyman actor and that nothing is your final thing, nothing is your greatest thing, nothing is your worst thing,” Jones said. “I still consider myself a novice.”

Jones was first married to actress-singer Julienne Marie. His second wife of 34 years, actress Cecilia Hart, died in 2016. He is survived his son, Flynn Earl Jones.