James Earl Jones, iconic voice of Darth Vader and ‘Lion King,’ ‘Field of Dreams’ star, dead at 93

Throughout over 60 years in Hollywood, Jones has won numerous awards and is among the few people who have the rare distinction of receiving an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar (honorary), and Tony, despite not being an official EGOT winner.

Growing up in silence

Years before he was known for his legendary voice, Jones was a shy, stuttering student in Michigan who didn’t like speaking at all until a teacher encouraged him to get up in front of a class to recite a poem he wrote. According to an interview with CNN, Jones’ stutter was so bad that he stopped speaking for nearly a decade until he was 14.

“I had an English teacher in high school who discovered that when I read my own poetry that I didn’t stutter because I wasn’t in confrontation with other people’s feelings or thoughts but my own,” Jones said on “The Dick Cavett Show” in 1972. “I practiced reading poetry for awhile and I think that’s what got me into a feeling for reading dramatic things or dramatic interpretations.”

An award-winning career

Jones started his career in the theater in the 1950s. He appeared in many shows including “Hamlet,” “Of Mice and Men,” “The Great White Hope” (1968) and “Fences,” the latter two won Tony Awards for his performances.

He later starred in the movie adaptation of “The Great White Hope,” for which he was nominated for best actor at the Oscars. While many know him for roles in “Star Wars” and “The Lion King,” Jones appeared in a plethora of films in the ’80s and ’90s, including “Conan the Barbarian,” “Coming to America,” “Field of Dreams,” “The Hunt for Red October,” and “The Sandlot.” 

While he never won an Oscar for any of his roles, Jones received an honorary Academy Award in 2011. Jones wasn’t able to accept his award in person as he was in London at the time performing “Driving Miss Daisy.” Instead, the Academy aired a nine-minute presentation honoring him at the West End theater overseas. 

Sir Ben Kingsley presented him with his award, making him quite emotional before giving a four-minute speech that’s worth a watch. 

Jones earned his Grammy for best spoken word album for his work on 1977’s “Great American Documents.” His two Emmys came in the same year for his roles on ABC’s “Gabriel’s Fire” and TNT’s “Heat Wave” in 1991.

Jones continued working on Broadway later in life appearing in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (2009) “Driving Miss Daisy” (2010), and opening a 2015 revival of “The Gin Game.”

The voice of Darth Vader

One of Earl’s most famous roles is voicing “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader in the original trilogy, but many didn’t know he was voicing the character for sure until 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.”

Jones asked to be uncredited in the first two films. He considered providing the voice to the character, but not acting the part, as David Prowse did, was nothing more than special effects.

“When Linda Blair did the girl in ‘The Exorcist,’ they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit,” Jones told Newsweek in 2008. “I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no I’m just special effects.”

Jones said he denied voicing the character until “Return of the Jedi” came out and actually told people it was “Annie” actor Geoffrey Holder who voiced the legendary character. Jones told the American Film Institute he came into the role when director George Lucas realized Prowse’s Scottish accent wasn’t correct for the role. In that same interview, Jones said he was paid $7,000 to voice Vader in “A New Hope.”

In addition to the three original “Star Wars” movies, Jones also voiced the character in “Rogue One” and animated series “Star Wars Rebels.” 

Jones most recently reprised his role as voice of Mufasa in a CG reimagining of “The Lion King” for Disney. 

Jones was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the ’90s by chance. He told Rachael Ray he was in a center for dieting and weight control when a doctor suggested he get tested after falling asleep in a gymnasium. Jones told Good Housekeeping in 2018 he managed the disease, in which a person’s blood glucose levels may rise higher than normal, by sticking with a balanced diet, exercising, and paying attention to his mental health.

Jones was married twice. He and his first wife, Julienne Marie, met at a “Shakespeare in the Park” production of “Othello.” A decade later, Jones married Cecilia Hart in 1982. The two also played opposite one another in a rendition of “Othello.” Hart died in 2016 after a battle with ovarian cancer. 

He is survived by his son, Flynn Earl Jones, from his second marriage.