James Earl Jones, the American actor who gave the voice to iconic movie characters such as Darth Vader from “Star Wars” and “Mufasa” in The Lion King, died Monday at the age of 93 at his home in Dutchess County, New York.
Jones was one of the select few members of the EGOT club (that’s Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winners) and appeared in nearly 200 screen productions over his 60-year career.
The actor, born in 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi, was best known for playing the character of Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, as well as in the most recent installments (“Revenge of the Sith”, “Rogue One”, “The Rise of Skywalker”) and in the television series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “Star War Rebels”.
Jones made his big screen debut in Stanley Kubrick’s feature film “Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” though he rose to fame in 1970 with his film role in The Great White Hope, in which he played the first African-American United States heavyweight champion.
His role in the latter earned him a nomination for an Oscar for Best Leading Actor in 1971, although he would not win a statuette until 2012, when he received an Honorary Oscar.
In cinema, he also participated in other films such as “Claudine”, “Field of Dreams” or “Our Gang”.
For his part, he made his Broadway debut in 1958 with “Sunrise at Campobello”, for which he won the Tony for best play, and throughout his career he won two of these awards, including one for his role in the play “The Great White Hope” (before its adaptation for the big screen) and another for “Fences”.
Additionally, he has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, winning two of those awards in 1991: one for his role as the title character in the drama series “Gabriel’s Fire” and another in the category of supporting actor in a miniseries or a special for “Heat Wave.”
