He passed today (Monday) at his home in suburban New York City.Photo: The Washington Post
Legendary actor James Earl Jones -- perhaps best known as the voice of Darth Vader and "This is CNN" -- has died. He was 93.
- Born on January 17th, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi
- Starred as “Jack Jefferson” in The Great White Hope, as well as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and its sequels.
- Also renowned for his three-word bumper for the first cable TV news network, "This is CNN."
- Starred on Broadway, appearing in multiple iterations of Shakespeare’s Othello as well as the 1969 Broadway version of The Great White Hope
- Voiced the character Mufasa in the original 1994 movie The Lion King and its 2021 CGI remake.
- Received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011.
Born Todd Jones on January 17th, 1931 in rural Mississippi, Jones was raised in Michigan by his maternal grandparents. He was of African, Irish and Native American descent. As a child, he developed a severe stutter and avoided speaking whenever possible. A high school teacher helped him overcome his impairment by forcing him to recite poetry. After graduating, Jones spent four years at the University of Michigan but left school before earning his degree. He then spent a few years in the Army stationed in Colorado.
Jones began his acting career in a theater in Manistee, Michigan, first playing Othello there in 1955. His film debut came with 1964’s Dr. Strangelove. He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for playing Jack Jefferson in 1970’s The Great White Hope, losing to George C. Scott for Patton.
Jones became a superstar in a film in which he never appeared -- voicing Darth Vader in 1977’s Star Wars. He asked that he go uncredited in that film and its sequel, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, reasoning that he was simply part of the special effects. He relented for 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
Jones’s other memorable films include the Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America, the baseball drama Field of Dreams and the military thrillers The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games. He also voiced Mufasa in the 1994 Disney hit The Lion King.
Though he scaled back his career in this century, Jones still did a fair amount of voiceover work, narrating Scary Movie Four and the Adam Sandler comedy Click. He also reprised Darth Vader for the final scene of Star Wars: Episode Three -- Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Rise of Starwalker and the animated TV series Star Wars Rebels and Mufasa in the 2015 TV movie The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar and the 2019 CGI remake of The Lion King.
Jones was also a presence on Broadway, initially playing Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope on stage in 1969. In 1982, he won a Tony for playing the title character in Othello. Many critics have called his the defining take on the role. And millions of people have heard his distinctive voice when dialing up Verizon or watching CNN.
On November 12, 2011, he received an Honorary Academy Award.
Jones was married twice, both times to women who’d played Desdemona opposite his Othello on Broadway. He and first wife Julienne Marie had no children. He married Cecelia Hart in 1982. They had two children, Flynn Earl Jones and Shaquonique Shantell Jones.
Known for his humility, Jones said in an interview with the Academy of Achievement, “You're the only person who can tell whether you have talent or not, and there's a certain point where you've go to be really honest with yourself and say, "Yeah, I do, and I'm going on," or "No, I don't."