American actor James Earl Jones, best known for voicing the unforgettable Star Wars villain Darth Vader with his distinctive, gravelly voice and tone, has died at the age of 93.
Jones starred in dozens of stellar films including his oscar-nominated turn in The Great White Hope as well as Field of Dreams, Coming To America, Conan the Barbarian and The Lion King to name but a few.
Mark Hamill, who played Vader’s son Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi classic, posted “RIP Dad” with a broken heart emoji in the wake of the news.
Jones’ enjoyed a marvellous career ashe landed three Tony awards including two Emmys and a Grammy, as well as an honorary Oscar in 2011 for lifetime achievement.
In 1968, he won a Tony award for his stage portrayal of a character based on the great black boxer, Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope.
He later received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the film version in 1971, only the second black actor following Sidney Poitier to be so honoured.
Kevin Costner, who co-starred with Jones in Field of Dreams, said: “That booming voice. That quiet strength. The kindness that he radiated. So much can be said about his legacy, so I’ll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams.”
Crystal Minkoff, wife of The Lion King co-director Rob Minkoff, posted a photo of Jones holding a statue of Mufasa alongside the words: “Rest in Power, Mr Jones. You made a young animator’s dream come true when you accepted the role of Mufasa.
Jones was also the voice of US broadcaster CNN’s “This is CNN” tagline. Born in Mississippi in January 1931, he was unable to speak for much of his childhood because of a stammer.
Jones was best known for voicing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars film in 1977, as well as sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
He reprised the role in the first instalment of the Star Wars anthology series, Rogue One, and the third instalment Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the later 2010s.
Jones never made much money off voicing Darth Vader- only $9,000 for the first film – and he considered it a special effects job.
At his own insistence, he was not given a credit, as he himself said it was merely another “special effect“. When the films smashed box office records, he had a rethink.
Jones also won fame by playing the elder Alex Hailey in the seminal drama Roots: The Next Generation and winning one of his two Emmys for the lead role in the Gabriel’s Fire.
His gravelly tones were used in The Simpsons and Sesame Street and treaded the boards witjh many iconic Shakespeare characters including Othello and King Lear.
