Legendary actor James Earl Jones, renowned for his numerous film roles and the iconic voice of Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" series, has passed away, his representative confirmed to ABC News. He was 93.
Jones died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, surrounded by family, according to his longtime agent, Barry McPherson.
With a career spanning over six decades, Jones captivated audiences with his commanding presence and deep, resonant voice. He won three Tony Awards, including a lifetime achievement honor in 2017, as well as two Emmys and a Grammy. In 2011, he was also honored by the Academy with a lifetime achievement award.
Born in Mississippi in 1931, Jones overcame a severe stutter during his childhood.
Recalling his struggle in a 2014 interview with PBS, he said, "People would come to the house, and I couldn’t introduce myself." For long periods, Jones chose silence, finding solace in listening. "I discovered silence isn’t bad. It’s good to listen," he reflected.
Jones' stutter ultimately steered him toward acting after a high school teacher used poetry to help him speak more clearly. Following college and a stint in the Army, where he served during the Korean War, Jones set his sights on Broadway to pursue a career in theater.
In the 1950s and '60s, he became a fixture on the Broadway stage, appearing in notable productions like "On Golden Pond" and "The Best Man." He received four Tony Award nominations, winning for his performances in "The Great White Hope" (1969) and "Fences" (1987).
Simultaneously, Jones gained recognition on television. A two-time Emmy Award winner, he earned his first nomination in the 1960s for his role in "East Side/West Side." In 1991, he won both Primetime Emmys, for Best Supporting Actor in the miniseries "Heat Wave" and Best Actor for the series "Gabriel's Fire." He also received a Daytime Emmy in 2000 for his performance in the children's special "Summer's End."
In recognition of his Broadway legacy, a New York City theater was renamed in his honor.
Jones earned his first Oscar nomination in 1970 for his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film adaptation of *The Great White Hope*. This made him only the second Black actor, after Sidney Poitier, to receive an Academy Award nomination, following Poitier's nods in 1958 and 1963.
Throughout the 1970s, Jones continued to balance his work across stage, television, and film. In 1977, he was cast as the voice of one of cinema's most iconic villains, Darth Vader, in *Star Wars: A New Hope*. While bodybuilder David Prowse portrayed the masked Sith Lord physically, it was Jones' deep, commanding voice that delivered many of the saga's most famous lines. Among these was the chilling, "I find your lack of faith disturbing," and the unforgettable revelation to Luke Skywalker in *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), "No, I am your father."
Jones remained modest about his role as the voice behind one of cinema's most iconic villains.
"I'm simply special effects," he told the American Film Institute in 2009, referring to voicing a character physically portrayed by another actor. "George [Lucas] wanted, pardon the expression, a darker voice, so he hires a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. That's the voice, that's me. I lucked out. With all these so-called handicaps, I lucked out and got a job that paid me $7,000, and I thought that was good money."
In the 2004 documentary *Star Wars: Empire of Dreams*, Jones recalled the moment he learned that Darth Vader, the saga’s primary villain, would reveal himself as Luke Skywalker's father. "I said to myself, 'He's lying,'" Jones confessed. "I wondered how they were going to play that lie out."
But it wasn’t a lie. From 1977 to 1983, the original *Star Wars* trilogy became some of the most groundbreaking and beloved films of their time, not only for their special effects but for their shocking twists and compelling themes.
After *Star Wars*, Jones continued to deliver unforgettable performances, including his role in Eddie Murphy’s 1988 hit *Coming to America*, and his appearance alongside Kevin Costner in *Field of Dreams* (1989). A few years later, he voiced another iconic character, lending his rich, commanding tones to Mufasa in Disney's animated classic *The Lion King*.
With nearly 200 credits to his name, according to IMDb, Jones remained active for over six decades. His work spanned films like *The Sandlot*, TV shows such as *House* and *The Simpsons*, and a return to the *Star Wars* universe in 2004’s *Revenge of the Sith*. He continued to voice Darth Vader in various projects, including the animated series *Rebels*, 2016’s *Rogue One*, 2019’s *The Rise of Skywalker*, and the 2022 Disney+ series *Obi-Wan Kenobi*. In 2021, he reprised his role in the *Coming to America* sequel, *Coming 2 America*.
In 2011, Jones was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his exceptional career. While starring in *Driving Miss Daisy* in London that same year, his co-star Vanessa Redgrave surprised him by announcing his Oscar honor at the end of the performance. A special onstage ceremony followed, where Sir Ben Kingsley presented Jones with the award.
Jones humorously remarked, "If an actor’s nightmare is being onstage naked and not knowing his lines, what the heck do you call this? How do I feel? Well, more than flabbergasted. ... That’s the only word I can think of for this improbable moment in my life."
In March 2022, it was announced that Broadway’s Cort Theatre would be renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre, cementing his legacy in the theater world.
Jones was married twice. His second wife, Cecilia Hart, passed away in 2016 after 34 years of marriage. He is survived by their son, Flynn Earl Jones.
This article first appeared on abcnews.go.com.
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