He filled the screen not only with his charisma, but also with his incomparable voice: US actor James Earl Jones has now died at the age of 93. The Hollywood star’s agent confirmed this to the industry portal “Deadline”.
James Earl Jones made his first film appearance in 1963 in a film that is now considered an absolute classic, Stanley Kubrick’s war satire “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”. In 1970, he played Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion, in “The Great White Hope”. Jones received his first Oscar nomination for his performance.
James Earl Jones: In 2012 he received the Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement
The Mississippi-born actor’s career spanned nearly six decades and included many audience favorites such as “Coming to America” (1988) and “The Hunt for Red October” (1990).
He is considered one of the greatest personalities Hollywood has ever produced. Proof: Jones was one of only a few stars to achieve the so-called “EGOT”. This means that he won the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. In 2012, he received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievement.
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James Earl Jones enjoyed great success even when he wasn’t seen on screen. His powerful, distinctive voice made him a sought-after voice actor.
In George Lucas’ “Star Wars” films, he lent his voice to the legendary sci-fi villain Darth Vader. Most recently, he did so in the television series “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. Jones also voiced the animated role of “The Lion King” in the Disney classic of the same name. In 2022, he retired as a voice actor. Since then, his Darth Vader voice has been generated by AI.
James Earl Jones died in his home in Dutchess County, New York. He leaves behind his son Flynn, whom he raised with Cecilia Hart. The actress and Jones’ second wife died in 2016. (cz)
