James Earl Jones dies at 93: Actor was known for voicing Darth Vader, The Lion King’s Mufasa
NZ Herald
10 Sep, 2024 09:35 AM3 mins to read
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James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93, his representative has confirmed. Photo / Getty Images
Actor
James Earl Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader in
the Star Wars franchise, has died at the age of 93.
The film, TV and voice actor died at his home in Dutchess County, New York, his representative told
Variety.
Jones’ career spanned 60 years, from his first stint on Broadway in 1958 to
Coming to America in 2021 — just one of several roles he revisited during his life, including Darth Vader and the voice of
The Lion King’s Mufasa in the original 1994 film and the 2019 remake.
James Earl Jones voiced Mufasa in the original The Lion King and the 2019 remake. Photo / Disney
He also played CIA deputy director Vice Admiral James Greer in the Jack Ryan films
The Hunt for the Red October,
Patriot Games, and
Clear and Present Danger.
Jones made his feature film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s
Dr Strangelove in 1964, and other notable films included
Field of Dreams,
The Sandlot,
The Man and
Cry, the Beloved Country.
The actor was nominated for four Tony Awards, winning two — the first in 1969 for
The Great White Hope, a role he reprised in 1970, landing an Oscar nomination — and the second in 1987 for
Fences. He was nominated for eight Emmy awards, winning two in 1991 — the first time an actor was awarded two Emmys in one year.
Jones was awarded a Kennedy Centre Honour in 2002, a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement in 2009, an honorary Oscar in 2011, and a lifetime achievement Tony in 2017. He is one of only a few actors to receive an EGOT — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award — having been awarded a Grammy in 1977 for a spoken word album.
Elsewhere, he was the voice of several documentaries as well as the US news channel
CNN’s tagline, and had more than 70 TV credits to his name, guest starring on
The Simpsons,
Frasier,
House and others.
View: https://twitter.com/MarkHamill/status/1833246565168803985
The prolific actor was paid US$7000 to voice Darth Vader in
Star Wars: A New Hope, but asked not to be credited on screen for the film as well as
The Empire Strikes Back, out of respect for David Prowse, who played Vader. However, he was credited on
Return of the Jedi and voiced the iconic villain again in
Revenge of the Sith and
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
James Earl Jones and his wife, Cecilia Hart, pictured in 2016. Photo / Getty Images
Jones’ first marriage was to actress and singer Julienne Marie. His second wife, Cecilia Hart, to whom he was married for 34 years, died in 2016. Earl is survived by his son, Flynn Earl Jones.
The prolific actor's career spanned 60 years in film, theatre and television.
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