News Mania Desk/ Sohom Chatterjee / 10th September 2024
Star actor and a legend of the entertainment business, James Earl Jones has sadly passed away this morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York. The actor, famous for voicing the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader, was 93 as he breathed his last breath.
The 1931-born actor died early in the morning surrounded by his family, as confirmed by agent Barry Mcpherson.
Jones appeared in many famous movies like Field of Dreams, Coming To America, Conan the Barbarian and The Lion King and many more. Reacting to his death, Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, shared a photo of himself alongside James Earl Jones with the caption, “One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed. #RIP dad ” with a broken heart emoji.
He is also known for his contributions off-screen on stage. Jones was among the few to win an EGOT, which means he earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Although his Oscar was honorary, he won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a Grammy for spoken word in 1977, and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway.
Jones became the second actor from the Black community to be ever nominated for an Academy Award for best actor in 1971. Famously, he was also the voice of CNN’s “This is CNN” tagline. Speaking about the legacy of the deceased actor, the US broadcaster had to say, “He was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum.”
Even though British actor David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader in terms of the physical presence, the deep and menacing voice of James Earl Jones gave the darkness and boldness to the famous supervillain. His dialogue, “I am your father,” which was said to Luke Skywalker, is one of the most iconic lines in pop culture.
