James Earl Jones best known for voicing Darth Vader dies aged 93
James Earl Jones, best known for the iconic voice of Darth Vader, has died aged 93.
The American actor died surrounded by his family, his agent Barry McPherson confirmed.
Jones appeared in many films including ‘Field of Dreams’, ‘Coming To America’, and ‘Conan the Barbarian’.
Another voice Jones is well known for voicing is Mufasa, the aging Lion King and Simba’s dad in 1994 film ‘The Lion King’.
Jones also provided the voice for the CNN broadcaster’s “This is CNN” tagline.
But it was his performance as one of the most well-known villains, Darth Vader, that Jones will be remembered for.
His gravelly voice added an even more menacing side to the character, and it’s something that many fans have emulated.
He last voiced Vader in the 2019 film ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’, though gave Disney permission to use artificial intelligence to reconstruct his voice in the Disney+ show ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’.
While Jones voiced the character of Vader, he never donned the robe. During the original trilogy of ‘Star Wars’, David Prowse portrayed the villain.
‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill posted a fitting tribute, saying “RIP dad” with a broken heart emoji.
Jones was born in 1931 in Mississippi, and explained he was unable to speak during his childhood due to a stammer. His famous booming voice was the result of how to deal with it.
During his career, Jones won three Tony awards including two Emmys and a Grammy, as well as an honorary Oscar in 2011 for lifetime achievement.
While ‘Star Wars’ fans will likely get to hear Jones’ voice in future stories due to AI, it will never have the humanity now that the actor has passed away.
