James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, dies aged 93
9 September 2024, 22:03 | Updated: 10 September 2024, 04:59
The Hollywood actor James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93.
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He was best known for his roles as Darth Vader in Star Wars and the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s the Lion King - and also narrated various audiobooks and CNN's "This is CNN" tagline.
He died at his home in New York this morning, representatives confirmed.
Jones' cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The Mississippi native studied drama at university and ended up on stage thanks to participating in the Ramsdell Theatre in Michigan.
During his career he won a host of awards including Emmys, Tony Awards, a Grammy and he was given an honorary Oscar.
In 1963, he made his screen debut in East Side/West Side.
On Monday, his long time agent Barry McPherson confirmed the veteran actor had died.
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Jones was already an award-winning star of stage and screen when the original Star Wars movie was being developed by George Lucas in the 1970s.
He had wowed critics with his Tony Award-winning performance as a boxer in 1968 play The Great White Hope, later taking on the lead in the 1970 movie adaptation, for which he picked up a Golden Globe.
The actor demonstrated his versatility in everything from Shakespearean epics to television dramas and comedies.
He played memorable film roles including reclusive writer Terence Mann in 1989's Field Of Dreams and a South African minister in Cry, The Beloved Country.
In 2005, the veteran star reprised Vader for Revenge Of The Sith and he returned to the role nine years later in the first episode of Star Wars Rebels, and in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Hollywood stars are among those who have paid tribute, including Stars Wars actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker, writing on social media "#RIP dad" with a broken heart emoji.
