On Sept. 9, 2024, legendary stage and screen actor James Earl Jones sadly died in his home in Pawling, New York. Jones was 93 years old. Fans of his work and people who worked alongside him shared posts on various social media platforms paying tribute to Jones.
Actor Mark Hamill posted a picture on Instagram of him and Jones hugging each other and grinning with a caption that read, “One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed.”
Jones is known for having one of the most iconic voices in Hollywood, having done voice work for many films, but most notably two in particular. For decades, Jones was the man behind the mighty and intimidating voice of Darth Vader, one of the main antagonists in the Star Wars franchise.
In 1994, Jones also voiced Mufasa in the Disney classic “The Lion King.” While the voice may be the same, the performances from both are vastly different. Jones may have had an epic voice, but people should not limit him to his vocal abilities.
At the beginning of his career, Jones appeared in many plays. He started his career in acting at Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. In his first season, he portrayed Othello in the Shakespeare play of the same name. From then on, Jones would star in various adaptations and plays of Shakespeare’s works.
Jones acted in non-Shakespeare plays as well. Jones and actor George C. Scott worked together in a production of “The Merchant of Venice,” where filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was in attendance. Kubrick later scouted Scott to star in his film, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964).
Kubrick then saw the acting chops of Jones and decided to include him in the film too. In his first film role, Jones played Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier in the film. Jones’ first leading role in a film was an adaptation of “The Great White Hope” (1970). Jones’s performance in the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, becoming the second African-American male actor to be nominated for Best Actor after Sidney Poitier.
Jones would do a handful of more plays before eventually landing the role of Darth Vader in George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977). He would later reprise his role as Darth Vader in Irvin Kershner’s “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and Richard Marquand’s “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” (1983).
During the 1980s, Jones’ career began to ascend. In 1987, he starred in August Wilson’s play “Fences” as Troy Maxson. As a result, he received his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Jones also was in other films that received both critical and financial acclaim, including “Coming to America” (1988) and “Field of Dreams” (1989).
Television was not something Jones was unfamiliar with either. In 1985, Jones did voicework as Pharaoh in the first episode of Hanna Barbera’s “The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible” and was the host for a children’s TV series named “Long Ago and Far Away” (1989-1993).
In 1992, Jones was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George H. W. Bush. Jones also lent his voice to CNN, voicing the tagline, “This is CNN.” In 2010, Jones returned to Broadway in Alfred Uhry’s “Driving Miss Daisy” at the Golden Theatre.
He would perform in more stageplays and eventually reprise his two most memorable roles. Jones voiced Darth Vader in different “Star Wars” franchise properties such as “Star Wars: Rebels” (2014–2018) and Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016). In 2019, he returned to voice Mufasa in Jon Favreau’s CGI remake of “The Lion King.” Jones’ final role was King Jaffe Joffer in Craig Brewer’s “Coming 2 America” (2021).
The life, career and accomplishments of James Earl Jones are remarkable achievements, and Jones’s legacy has cemented him as one of the finest actors of his generation.
