James Earl Jones at Winfield House, London, in 2010. Image: Flickr/US Embassy London
AMERICAN actor James Earl Jones, who became the voice of an iconic cinematic villain, died at home in New York (Monday (US time), it has been reported.
James Earl Jones, 93, shot to global fame by playing the voice of Darth Vader in the Stars Wars franchise as well as Mufasa in The Lion King.
US entertainment website Variety reports that his Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) paid tribute to him on X (formerly Twitter) as did other co-stars from other productions.
Hamil simply posted “#RIP dad ” with a broken heart emoticon and linked through to a Variety obituary. Click here for the original article:
Jones’s other movies included Field of Dreams, Conan the Barbarian and many more films.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker opposite Jones’ Vader in Star Wars, took to X (formally Twitter) to pay his respects to his longtime co-star.
Star Trek: Next Generation’s LeVar Burton, who starred alongside Jones in the TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, also paid tribute on X: He posted: “James Earl Jones… there will never be another of his particular combination of graces.”
Sing Sing star Coleman Domingo posted a picture from Jones’ youth and wrote: “Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.”
Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins shared a brief but deeply heartfelt message on his socials, writing on X, “Forever and always”, accompanied by a picture of a young Jones.
Jenkins directed the upcoming Disney film, Mufasa: The Lion King, which follows the early days of young Mufasa and Scar.
Jones’s career spanned over 60 years, from his debut on Broadway in 1958 to his most recent performance in 2021’s Coming 2 America in which he reprised his role as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America.
He also portrayed CIA deputy director Vice Admiral James Greer in three Jack Ryan movies: The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).
Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards and won two: in 1969 for playing boxer Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope (which he reprised on film in 1970, receiving his only Oscar nomination), and in 1987 for playing the role of Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s prize-winning drama Fences.
He was nominated for eight primetime Emmy awards, winning twice in 1991, for supporting actor in the miniseries Heat Wave and for lead actor in the drama series Gabriel’s Fire.
It was the first time an actor won two Emmys in the same year. He also played author Alex Haley in Roots.
He is survived by a son, Flynn Earl Jones.
