One of the most famous voices of all time has gone silent.
James Earl Jones, the legendary actor who voiced Star Wars villain Darth Vader and Mufasa in The Lion King, starred in Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, Coming To America, The Hunt For Red October, Conan The Barbarian, and many other films and Broadway shows and is an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, died this morning at his home in Dutchess County, NY. He was 93 years old.
“He passed this morning surrounded by his loved ones. He was a great man.” – Jones’ representative Barry McPherson
After overcoming a profound stutter as a child, Jones established himself as one of the pioneering Black actors of his generation, amassing a bountiful and versatile career with nearly 200 screen credits during his brilliant 60-year career.
When asked in 2014 by the New York Times about how he’d kept his career alive for so long, Jones’ response was, “The secret is never forgetting that you’re a journeyman actor and that nothing is your final thing, nothing is your greatest thing, nothing is your worst thing. I still consider myself a novice.”
James Earl Jones as Terence Mann in “Field of Dreams”
“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.”
