The well-known actor, James Earl Jones, notable for his distinctive, resonant voiceover work as Star Wars’ main antagonist, Darth Vader, has sadly passed away at the age of 93. His death was confirmed by his representatives on Monday, noting that he died in his residence located in Dutchess County, New York, without stating the cause.
Interestingly, Jones was not the original choice for the infamous role of Darth Vader. Initially, British bodybuilder David Prowse was chosen for his striking presence, but due to dissatisfaction with Prowse’s distinctive West Country accent, director George Lucas brought in Jones to alter Vader’s menacing lines, creating an indelible villain.
Despite his modest reputation at the time, Jones made an enormous impact with his voice over work, but received credit for his role only in the third Star Wars film, The Return of the Jedi, back in 1983. Over the years, his voice has marked six Star Wars films, including The Revenge of the Sith in 2005, Rogue One in 2016, and The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. He was also heard in the controversial 1978 Holiday Special and the Star Wars: Rebels TV series that aired between 2014 and 2018.
In addition to his Star Wars fame, Jones earned recognition for his voice work as Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 animated feature The Lion King. His character’s death, a shocking turn of events for a generation of young viewers, has been likened to the impact caused by the demise of Bambi’s mother in the ’60s. Jones was called upon to reprise his role in the 2019 remake, directed by Jon Favreau, aimed at lending a more genuine cultural context to the narrative.
Jones, born in Mississippi in 1931 and raised in Michigan, also boasted an impressive stage career alongside his voice work. His father, actor Robert Earl Jones, despite having left the family prior to Jones’s birth and having maintained limited contact until the ’50s, also had a significant influence on Jones’s career.
In his early years, Jones struggled with a speech impediment, which he overcame with the aid of an instructor. Following his studies in theatrical arts at the University of Michigan and a stint in the military post the Korean War, Jones quickly made a name for himself on stage. He took his first plunge into Broadway in 1958 in a minor part in Sunrise at Campobello, a play by Dore Schary revolving around Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio condition.
Throughout the 1960s, Jones starred in numerous other premier productions such as Jean Genet’s The Blacks, Bertolt Brecht’s Baal and Georg Büchner’s Danton’s Death. Jones also had various roles in Shakespeare plays on Broadway, including The Merchant of Venice, Coriolanus, The Winter’s Tale, and notably, Othello in 1964, a character he reprised in 1982. Jones also found success in the film industry, making his debut as an airmen, Lothar Zogg, in Dr Strangelove, a satirical film by Stanley Kubrick about nuclear warfare.
In 1967, Jones secured what would become one of his most iconic stage roles: pugilist Jack Jefferson, patterned after boxing legend Jack Johnson, in The Great White Hope, a play by Howard Sackler. In 1969, he took home the Tony award for best actor and later starred in the film adaptation directed by Martin Ritt in 1970. This role earned Jones an Oscar nomination for best actor, making him the second African American to receive such an honour. As a leading man in Hollywood, Jones was able to capitalise on the expanding opportunities available to black actors of his time. He featured in The Man, portraying a senator who becomes the first black president, and starred in the romcom Claudine opposite Diahann Carroll who got an Oscar nomination for best actress.
The Star Wars franchise only cemented Jones’s status in mainstream cinema. He continued to bolster his prominence with a steady flow of supporting roles in major movies, making him one of the most recognisable black American actors in the 80s and 90s. His roles include the antagonist Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, Eddie Murphy’s father in Coming to America, the writer Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, and the deputy director of the CIA in The Hunt for Red October.
The renowned actor Jones never missed an opportunity to perform on stage. He showed his prowess starring in the iconic first run of Fences by August Wilson, where his performance as refuse collector Troy Maxson won him his second Tony award in 1987. Fast forward to 2010, Jones toured in the revival of Driving Miss Daisy, playing the role of the driver, Hoke Coleburn.
In 2013, he was cast opposite Vanessa Redgrave as Benedick in Mark Rylance’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. Jones’ personal life saw him marry twice; first to actor and singer Julienne Marie from 1968 to 1972, and then to Cecilia Hart until she passed away in 2016. His son Flynn, who followed in his father’s acting footsteps, survives him. – Guardian