Iconic actor James Earl Jones, renowned for his countless film roles and his commanding voice as Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” saga, has passed away, his representative confirmed to ABC News.
Jones was 93.
He passed away Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, with his family by his side, according to his longtime agent, Barry McPherson.
The celebrated actor, whose resonant and commanding voice gave life to the legendary villain Darth Vader, enjoyed a career spanning over six decades.
Throughout his illustrious journey, he earned three Tony Awards, including a lifetime achievement honor in 2017, along with two Emmys and a Grammy. In 2011, he was also recognized by the Academy Awards for his lifetime contributions to film.
Born in 1931 in Mississippi, Jones famously overcame a severe stutter during his childhood.
“People would visit our home, and I couldn’t even introduce myself,” Jones recalled to PBS in 2014, describing the severity of his stutter at the time. He explained that he learned to remain silent for extended periods.
“I discovered that silence could be quite beneficial. It’s not always a negative; it’s valuable for listening. And I learned to listen,” Jones shared with PBS.
Jones was drawn to acting partly due to his stutter, which was addressed by a high school teacher who used poetry to improve his speech.
Following college and his service in the Korean War, Jones set his sights on Broadway as his entry into the world of theater and the arts.
During the 1950s and ’60s, Jones became a prominent figure on Broadway. His performances in productions such as “On Golden Pond” and “The Best Man” earned him four Tony nominations, with wins for “The Great White Hope” in 1969 and “Fences” in 1987.
At the same time, Jones was also receiving acclaim on television. His first Emmy nomination came in the 1960s for his role in “East Side/West Side.”
He secured both of his Primetime Emmys in 1991, winning for Best Supporting Actor in the miniseries “Heat Wave” and Best Actor for his role in the series “Gabriel’s Fire.” Additionally, he earned a Daytime Emmy in 2000 for the children’s special “Summer’s End.”
Jones received his first Oscar nomination in 1970 for his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film adaptation of “The Great White Hope.”
He became only the second Black actor to be recognized by the Academy, following Sidney Poitier, who was nominated in 1958 and 1963.
Throughout the 1970s, Jones balanced his work across stage, television, and film. In 1977, he took on the role of Darth Vader in “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
While David Prowse physically portrayed the Sith lord, it was Jones’s voice that delivered memorable lines like “I find your lack of faith disturbing” and the iconic revelation to Luke Skywalker in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back”: “No, I am your father.”
Jones always remained modest about his role as the voice of such a legendary villain.
“I’m just special effects,” he said to the American Film Institute in 2009, reflecting on his role as a character physically portrayed by someone else. “George [Lucas] wanted, for lack of a better term, a darker voice, so he chose a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters.
That’s me. I was lucky. Despite all these supposed handicaps, I ended up with a job that paid me $7,000, which I thought was great.”
In the 2004 documentary “Star Wars: Empire of Dreams,” Jones revealed his initial reaction when he learned that Vader, the trilogy’s main antagonist, would be revealed as Skywalker’s long-lost father.
“I told myself, ‘He’s lying,'” Jones confessed. “I wondered how they were going to develop that lie.”
It turned out not to be a lie. From 1977 to 1983, the original “Star Wars” trilogy became some of the most celebrated and innovative films of their era, praised not only for their groundbreaking special effects but also for their surprising plot twists and themes.
Following “Star Wars,” Jones made notable appearances in Eddie Murphy’s 1988 film “Coming to America” and starred alongside Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams” in 1989.
A few years later, he returned to voice another iconic role, portraying Mufasa in Disney’s animated classic “The Lion King.”
Jones accumulated nearly 200 credits over his career, according to IMDb, maintaining an active presence for more than 60 years. His work spanned a variety of projects, including films like “The Sandlot,” TV shows such as “House” and “The Simpsons,” and a return to the “Star Wars” universe in 2004’s “Revenge of the Sith.” He continued to voice Darth Vader in several recent projects, including the animated series “Rebels,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019), and the Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (2022).
Jones also reprised his role in the 2021 sequel “Coming 2 America.”
In 2011, he was honored with an Academy Award for his extensive and acclaimed body of work.
During a performance of “Driving Miss Daisy” in London that same year, co-star Vanessa Redgrave surprised him with the news of his Oscar honor. The ceremony was held on stage, with Sir Ben Kingsley presenting Jones with his award.
Jones remarked on the unexpected honor, “If an actor’s nightmare is being onstage naked and not knowing his lines, what do you call this? How do I feel? Well, more than flabbergasted. That’s the only word I can think of for this improbable moment in my life.”
In March 2022, Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor.
Jones was married twice; his second wife, Cecilia Hart, passed away in 2016 after 34 years of marriage. They are survived by their son, Flynn Earl Jones.
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