Iconic Actor James Earl Jones Dies

Legendary actor James Earl Jones died at the age of 93.

Jones, the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader and the Lion King’s Mufasa, died on Monday morning.

Jones, who was a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy award winner, also starred in the hit movies Dr. Strangelove (1964), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), and The Sandlot (1993).

Jones’ representative, Barry McPherson, shared, “He passed this morning surrounded by his loved ones.”

James Earl Jones, the legendary EGOT-winning actor known for roles in Star Wars, Field of Dreams, The Lion King, and more, has died aged 93. pic.twitter.com/y8aSHL8vvL

— IGN (@IGN) September 9, 2024

RIP James Earl Jones 🙏pic.twitter.com/cCh3D4mkrl

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 9, 2024

RIP James Earl Jones, the legendary actor who memorably appeared in the iconic baseball movies "Field of Dreams" and "The Sandlot"

Jones gave a moving recitation of our National Anthem at the 1993 MLB All-Star Game in Baltimore pic.twitter.com/1rFfxe5IFY

— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2024

The Hollywood Reporter added more to the story:

James Earl Jones, a commanding presence onscreen who nonetheless gained greater fame off-camera as the sonorous voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader and Mufasa, the benevolent leader in The Lion King, died Monday. He was 93.

Jones, who burst into national prominence in 1970 with his powerful Oscar-nominated performance as America’s first Black heavyweight champion in The Great White Hope, died at his home in Dutchess County, New York, Independent Artist Group announced.

The distinguished star made his big-screen debut in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and was noteworthy in many other films, including Claudine (1974) opposite Diahann Carroll; Field of Dreams (1989), as the reclusive author Terence Mann; and The Sandlot (1993), as the intimidating neighborhood guy Mr. Mertle.

For his work on the stage, Jones earned two best actor Tony Awards: for originating the role of Jack Jefferson — who was based on real-life boxer Jack Johnson — in 1968 in Howard Sackler’s Great White Hope and for playing the patriarch who struggles to provide for his family in a 1986 Pulitzer Prize-winning production of August Wilson’s Fences.

Jones, the recipient of an honorary Oscar at the 2011 Governors Awards, was one of the handful of people to earn an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony and the first actor to win two Emmys in one year.

“We are all connected in the great circle of life” – RIP James Earl Jones pic.twitter.com/UpCrulIDfX

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 9, 2024

Check out what USA Today reported:

James Earl Jones, whose acting career was every bit as rich and resonant as the iconic bass voice that gave sinister malevolence to Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” films, died Monday. He was 93.

Jones’ representative Barry McPherson confirmed the actor’s death in a statement to USA TODAY. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“He passed this morning surrounded by his loved ones,” McPherson said. “He was a great man. ”

Jones was an acclaimed star of stage and screen, winning Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards, though later his unmistakable voice became as famous as his usually smiling face.

He invited generations of TV viewers with the signature “This is CNN” line for the cable news channel, had parental gravitas as the brave Mufasa in Disney’s classic 1994 animated “The Lion King” and its 2019 remake, but was most famous for his signature lines (“I am your father”) as Vader.