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JAMES EARL JONES, the revered actor and voice behind Star Wars’ Darth Vader and The Lion King’s Mufasa, has died aged 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed the actor’s death in a statement on Monday morning US time. Jones died at his home in New York’s Dutchess County. The cause of death is not yet known.
Over his seven decade career across film, television, and stage, Jones received three Tony Awards, two Emmy awards, and a Grammy for his roles. In 2011, Jones received an honorary Academy Award for his expansive career, earning him a non-competitive EGOT status.
Although known for a voice that rolls and reverberates like thunder, Jones grew up with a stutter. Born on January 17, 1931, “by the light of an oil lamp”, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones’s father abandoned him and his mother to pursue a career as a boxer. When he was five years old, his mother left him to live with her parents.
Choosing to live mute on his grandparents’ Michigan farm, Jones took an interest in school debates and public speaking competitions, where he soon discovered his stammer softened when speaking from memory. And it was while attending the University of Michigan as an English major that Jones was drawn to the stage.
What is James Earl Jones most famous for?
Over his career, thanks in part to his stately voice, James Earl Jones liked to portray kings and generals, famously in Coming to America and The Hunt for Red October, respectively. But it was his voice work that would cement him in the memory of young adults everywhere as Mufasa in The Lion King and the masked villain Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader’s son, wrote in an Instagram post in response to the news, “One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed. RIP dad.”
Read: Remembering James Earl Jones’s best performances, from ‘Star Wars’ to ‘The Lion King’
How much did James Earl Jones make for Darth Vader?
James Earl Jones was paid $7,000 for the first Star Wars film. He told the American Film Institute, “I thought that was good money.”
Little did Jones and Lucas know at the time that Star Wars would become the enduring franchise and cultural phenomenon it is today. Jones was not credited for his role in the original trilogy until Return of the Jedi in 1983.
Jones also continued to voice Darth Vader in Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker in 2016 and 2019, respectively, until he announced his retirement in 2022.
We will update this story as more information comes available.
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Remembering James Earl Jones’s best performances, from ‘Star Wars’ to ‘The Lion King’
