Iconic actor James Earl Jones dead at 93
After years of being known for his golden voice in iconic roles throughout cinema history, actor James Earl Jones has passed away at the age of 93.
News of his death was confirmed by his reps at Independent Artist Group, who revealed that he passed away in his home in Duchess County, New York.
While no cause of death has been revealed at this time, Jones had previously announced his battle with type 2 diabetes. Despite being diagnosed as far back as the mid-1990s, Jones did not formally reveal it to the world until 2016.
Known for his iconic deep voice, Jones has been featured in various landmarks of cinema. Outside of being remembered for his vocal presence in the Star Wars franchise as the formidable Darth Vader, he also lent his booming presence to Disney’s The Lion King, playing the role of the leader of the pride and father to Simba, Mufasa.
After moving around as a child, Jones was open about not fitting in and developing a speech impediment, saying, “In Sunday school, I’d try to read my lessons and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter… by the time I got to school, my stuttering was so bad that I gave up trying to speak properly.”
Once he found a calling in the arts, his first major film credit included working on the Stanley Kubrick film Dr Strangelove. From there, he moved on to even greater heights such as 1988’s Coming to America and starring opposite Kevin Costner in the movie Field of Dreams.
Aside from the silver screen, Jones had returned to his home on stage throughout his career. After earning a Tony for his role in Fences, he continued to pursue theatre acting alongside his on-camera work, even working in the two-person play The Gin Game as late as 2016.
Upon receiving an Honourary Academy Award for his role in cinema, Jones also garnered the distinction of an EGOT, having earned an Emmy Award for his work in Heat Wave and earning a Grammy for ‘Best Spoken Word Album’ for Great American Documents.
In the years leading up to his passing, Jones spent time returning to many of his legacy roles. In 2019, he returned to the vocal booth to reprise his role as Mufasa in the live-action Lion King and worked as the voice of Darth Vader for the Star Wars prequel Rogue One. Since then, he has remained inactive since 2021’s Coming 2 America.
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