James Earl Jones, Tony-winning actor and voice of Darth Vader, dies at age 93
Stage and screen actor James Earl Jones, who won Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” and “Fences,” and whose majestic basso profundo voice would become internationally recognized as the villainous Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise, has died, his rep confirmed to CBS News. He was 93.
An actor renowned for his theatrical presence in works by Shakespeare, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Jean Genet, Anton Chekhov, August Wilson, Athol Fugard and Alfred Uhry, and in such acclaimed films as “Field of Dreams,” Jones would become even more famous for his voice, whether it was as a commercial pitchman, an announcer for CNN, the father of Disney’s animated “Lion King,” or a Dark Lord of the Sith — all the more remarkable given that as a child he suffered a stutter, which continued throughout his life.
“I stuttered so badly it was embarrassing and very painful,” Jones told CBS’ “Sunday Morning” in 2008.
said to Smithsonian Magazine. “In fact, the young man who was my understudy onstage, Yaphet Kotto, resembled Jack much more than I did.”
In 1969 Jones won a Tony Award for “The Great White Hope” after the show transferred to Broadway. He earned an Oscar nomination for the 1970 film version.
His film work thinned in the ’70s, despite notable appearances in “Claudine,” “The Man” (as the first Black president), “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings,” “A Piece of the Action,” “The Greatest” (playing Malcolm X), and the TV movies “The Cay,” “The UFO Incident” and “Jesus of Nazareth.” He appeared on stage as Paul Robeson, Lennie in “Of Mice and Men,” and Hickman in “The Iceman Cometh.”
But it was a voiceover job for a science-fiction film that would launch his career into the stratosphere. Providing the ominous voice of Darth Vader, Jones recorded his dialogue for George Lucas’ “Star Wars” in about two-and-a-half hours. Salary: Around $7,000. “I was broke and for me that was good money,” he said. “I got lucky.”
It was easier than other voiceover jobs because no lip-syncing was involved – Darth Vader had no lips! – so Jones simply responded to the body language of David Prowse, the British actor-bodybuilder who acted the role of Vader behind the devilish mask. A breathing effect created by sound effects artist Ben Burtt, who placed a microphone inside a scuba regulator, was added to Jones’ voice, making Vader sound less than human.
Jones requested his name not appear in the credits, out of deference to Prowse. [Jones would not be credited as the voice of Vader until the release of “Return of the Jedi.”] But when he came to record the role for “The Empire Strikes Back,” Jones asked Lucas about deepening the character: “Naturally, I wanted to make Darth Vader more interesting, more subtle, more psychologically oriented,” he told the American Film Institute. “And [Lucas] said, ‘No. no. What we’re finding out is you’ve got to keep his voice on a very narrow band of inflection because he ain’t human, really.'”
But Vader was a dad. And when Jones came to record the game-changing line about Luke Skywalker’s parentage (“I am your father”), Jones was sure he was lying, and that the real truth would come out in the subsequent film.
Beyond the “Star Wars” universe, Jones’ film and TV credits included “Roots: The Next Generation,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Gardens of Stone,” “Coming to America,” “Matewan,” “Field of Dreams,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Gabriel’s Fire,” “Patriot Games,” “Sneakers,” “Sommersby,” “Clear and Present Danger,” and “Cry, the Beloved Country,” in addition to numerous narration credits. He also voiced Mufasa, the father of Simba, in Disney’s “The Lion King,” and, of course, the character of Vader in all its prequel, sequel, TV and video game iterations.
It was for Jones a happy accident that the stutterer should become best known for his voice. “That’s the best irony – I am an irony,” he told “The Early Show” in 2002. “Therefore, I can’t take any credit or any pride. Pats on the shoulder don’t count. I’m just happy to be able to talk, but the irony is just wonderful and I can smile and say, ‘Oh, the Voice. The Voice of the Century, the Voice of God, the Voice of blah-blah-blah.’ It’s just irony!”
His later Broadway roles included “Othello,” “Master Harold … and the Boys,” “Fences,” “On Golden Pond,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” and “The Gin Game.”
Jones won two Emmy Awards (for “Heat Wave” and “Gabriel’s Fire”), and a Daytime Emmy for the children’s special “Summer’s End.” He was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2002, received a lifetime achievement Screen Actors Guild Award in 2009, and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2012 (which granted him EGOT status). In 2017 he received a special Tony for lifetime achievement.
In 2022 a Broadway theater, the Cort, was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor. It was the same house where he performed in “Sunrise at Campobello” in 1958. On the occasion of the renaming, Jones told “CBS Mornings” that he took great pride in the longevity of his career: “By taking one step at a time, I’ve found great treasures,” he said. “Every step I take.”
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Source: cbsnews.com