James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93, as reported by Deadline, who confirmed his passing via Jones’ management company (via GamesRadar). It is understood the actor passed away at his home in Dutchess County, NY.
Born and raised in Arkabutla, Mississippi, in 1931, Jones is remembered for lending his voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars, and Mufasa from The Lion King, highly successful roles he’d reprise throughout the latter stages of his life.
Quite notably, Jones is recognised for being one of the few performers to collect the EGOT (comprised of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award). Jones won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a spoken-word Grammy Award in 1977, three Tony Awards, and completed his EGOT with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars in 2011.
With a 60-year career beginning on Broadway, Jones racked up accolades for both the stage and screen, with film credits including his debut in Dr. Strangelove. He would later star in films such as Coming to America, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October, The Sandlot, The Great White Hope, Cry, the Beloved Country, and A Family Thing.
As previously noted, Jones is best known for his iconic voice role as Darth Vader in George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy: A New Hope (1977) The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).
He later returned to the part in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and TV’s Star Wars: Rebels and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2014 and 2022, respectively).
“One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable,” Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill wrote in a heartfelt message on Instagram. “He’ll be greatly missed. #RIP dad.”
