James Earl Jones, the revered actor who voiced Star Wars villain Darth Vader, starred in Field of Dreams and many other films and Broadway shows and is an EGOT winner, died this morning at his home in Dutchess County, NY. He was 93.
His reps at Independent Artist Group confirmed the news to Deadline.
Widely regarded as among the world’s great stage and screen actors Jones is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), though his Academy Award was Honorary. Jones has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a spoken-word Grammy Award in 1977 and three Tony Awards.
The actor amassed nearly 200 screen credits during his brilliant 60-year career, starting some early-’60s TV guest roles and Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). He probably is best known for his voice role as the dastardly Darth Vader in George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars (1977) The Empire Strikes Back, 1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). He also reprised the villainous role in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and TV’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars: Rebels.
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Movie fans will remember such chilling, immortal Vader quotes as “When I left you, I was but the learner — now I am the master,” “I find your lack of faith disturbing” and, of course, “No, I am your father.”
Also among Jones’ best-loved roles is Terence Mann, the reclusive 1960s author who reluctantly teams with Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella to unlock the latter’s visions of baseball lore in Field of Dreams (1989). Based on the 1982 novel Showless Joe Jackson, the film from writer-director Phil Alden Robinson tugged — no, yanked — at heartstrings with its sweet nostalgia, high-concept plot, father-son dynamics and general excellence.
It earned three Oscar nominations including Best Picture; it lost to Driving Miss Daisy — a film whose Broadway adaptation starred Jones as Hoke Colburn, the character played by Morgan Freeman on the big screen.
James Earl Jones is unpleased about Kevin Costner’s intrusion in ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989)
Universal/Everett Collection
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Jones also voiced The Lion King‘s Mufasa in both the 1994 animated pic and 2019 hybrid remake. He also lent his sonorous voice to the famous “This is CNN” promo campaign for the cable news network and recurring as the narrator on Third Rock from the Sun.
Born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, MS, his many big-screen credits also films such Conan the Barbarian (1982), Coming to America (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Sandlot (1990), Patriot Games (1992), and Sneakers (1992). He also appeared on The Simpsons three times.
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He was nominated for a Lead Actor Oscar for his role in The Great White Hope (1971) and was given an honorary Oscar at the 2012 ceremony. An eight-time Emmy nominee, his two wins both came in 1991: Lead Actor in a Drama series for Gabriel’s Fire and Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for Heat Wave.
Jones also was a 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from SAG-AFTRA in 2009 and by the National Board of Review in 1995.
Also a commanding presence on the Broadway stage, Jones earned four competitive Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in a Play, winning twice for his performances as Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope in 1969 and as Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences in 1987. He received a Special Tony Award at 2017 ceremony.
The Great White Hope, in which he played a lightly fictionalized version of heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, was Jones’ breakthrough role. He also starred in the 1970 film adaptation, his first leading role on the big screen.
He appeared in nearly two dozen Broadway shows, from his first starring role in Sunrise at Campobello (1958) and most recently in The Gin Game (2017). Along the way, he starred in productions of such stage classics as The Iceman Cometh (1974), Othello (1982), On Golden Pond (2005), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008) and You Can’t Take It with You (2014).
In September 2022, the Shubert Organization rechristened its 110-year-old Cort Theatre as The James Earl Jones Theatre, with a dedication ceremony attended by Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norm Lewis and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Jones did not attend the dedication ceremony but had been given a private tour of the facility — where he’d made his Broadway debut in 1958 — the week prior.
“For me standing in this very building 64 years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today,” Jones said in a statement at the time. “Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors.”
Information on survivors and memorial plans were not available.
