Voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones, Dies at 93
Actor James Earl Jones, who was known as the voice of Darth Vader and for a large number of other roles, has died aged 93.
His agent confirmed that Jones had died at his New York home on September 9.
Jones overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become an icon of stage and screen.
He made his debut as a Broadway actor in 1958, and in 1965, he became one of the first African American actors to have a long-running role on daytime TV.
During his career, he won prestigious awards for his work on stage, on TV and in movies. He was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony award for lifetime achievement.
In 2022, a Broadway theater in New York was renamed in his honor.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he once told The Associated Press.
His memorable movie roles included performances in Field of Dreams and The Great White Hope.
He was also a sought-after voice actor, notably providing the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars as well as King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney's The Lion King.
Jones was born in Mississippi, on January 17, 1931. When he was 6, his mother took him to her parents' farm in Michigan. His grandparents adopted and raised him.
Jones later wrote in his autobiography: "The move ... to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter."
Too embarrassed to speak, he remained virtually mute for years, communicating with teachers and fellow students by writing notes.
A sympathetic high school teacher, Donald Crouch, learned that the boy wrote poetry, and asked Jones to read one of his poems aloud in class.
Teacher and student worked together to restore the boy's normal speech. "I could not get enough of speaking, debating ... acting," he recalled in his book.
Jones married twice and had one son.
James Earl Jones at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
