James Earl Jones, the longtime actor best known for his role as the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise, died at 93, his agent confirmed Monday.
Jones’ representative, Barry McPherson, confirmed his death in a statement to multiple news outlets. No cause of death was listed, and he died at his home in Dutchess County, New York, his representatives said.
“He passed this morning surrounded by his loved ones,” McPherson told USA Today. “He was a great man. ”
During his six-decade career, Jones appeared in nearly 200 movie and television credits, often lending only his voice to roles such as the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader in the original trilogy—“Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return of the Jedi”—and Mufasa, father of the main character in “The Lion King.”
Jones began his career in some early 1960s television guest roles before appearing in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.”
He reprised the Vader role in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi ,” and “Star Wars: Rebels.”
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer who was coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams,” boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit “The Great White Hope,” writer Alex Haley in “Roots: The Next Generation,” and a South African minister in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”
He is also known for announcing, “This is CNN,” during the network’s station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the “Great American Documents” audiobook.
Another notable film was 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian,” in which he played antagonist Thulsa Doom opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also appeared in “Three Fugitives,” “Coming to America,” “The Sandlot,” and played an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations: “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games,” and “Clear and Present Danger.”
Jones was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in 1970’s “The Great White Hope” and was later given an honorary Oscar at a 2012 ceremony. He was nominated for an Emmy Award eight times, winning twice in 1991 when he was named best lead actor in a drama series for “Gabriel’s Fire” and best supporting actor in the miniseries “Heat Wave.”
“The need to story-tell has always been with us,” Jones told The Associated Press in 2015. “I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn’t get him.”
