Hollywood is in mourning today as the iconic actor, James Earl Jones has passed away at the age of 93.
The actor with the most recognisable baritone rumbling voice had a career that spanned over 60 years. Making his debut on Broadway in 1958 at the Cort Theatre — renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022, Jones went on to become best known for his role as Darth Vader in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. He also reprised his voice role of King Mufasa in Disney’s animated feature ‘The Lion King.’ Most recently, he revisited his role 2021’s ‘Coming 2 America.’ Reprising his role as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy ‘Coming to America.’
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Throughout his long list of 80 film credits, Jones’ notable movies include as a B-52 bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Cold War satire ‘Dr. Strangelove’ in which he made his feature film debut, as the first Black president of the United States in 1972’s ‘The Man,’ as the fearsome villain in 1982’s ‘Conan the Barbarian,’ as a reclusive author in 1989’s ‘Field of Dreams,’ as a blind former baseball star in 1993’s ‘The Sandlot,’ and as a minister living in apartheid South Africa in 1995’s ‘Cry, the Beloved Country.’
Born in 1931, as well as appearing on the big screen, the actor who, as a child, had a stutter, was also a prolific performer on the stage. Starting in 1960, Jones joined Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival and went on to appear in a number of Shakespearean offerings such as Macbeth and Othello, for Joseph Papp’s American Shakespeare.
Jones’s many TV credits include movies and miniseries such as ‘Roots’ and ‘The Atlanta Child Murders,’ recurring roles on ‘L.A. Law,’ ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and ‘Everwood,’ and guest roles on shows like ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Picket Fences,’ ‘Frasier,’ ‘House’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory.’
Survived by his son Flynn Earl Jones, Jones is a character that will be sadly missed by all.
