Legendary actor James Earl Jones, whose career on stage and in film has spanned more than 70 years in iconic roles ranging from Shakespearean productions to providing the voice for Star Wars villain Darth Vader, and much more, has died. He was 93.
Actor James Earl Jones sits for a portrait at the Longacre Theatre in New York, NY on September 16th, 2014. Mr. Jones performs in the ensemble cast of “You Can’t Take It With You” at the theatre this fall. Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Deadline reported Jones’ death, for which no cause was immediately announced.
The Mississippi native started his acting career in the theater in 1957, and in 1958 he played his first role at the Cort Theatre in “Sunrise at Campobello.”
James Earl Jones as Nelson Mandela in ‘No Easy Walk to Freedom’ on the Bill Moyers Journal, New York, New York, 1979. Source: Brownie Harris / Getty
Over the following six-and-a-half decades, Jones rose to star in countless stage and screen productions (including 21 Broadway shows), becoming one of a small number of lifetime “EGOT” (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winners.
Jones’ Broadway career began in 1957, and in 1958 he played his first role at the Cort Theatre in “Sunrise at Campobello.” Over the following six-and-a-half decades, Mr. Jones rose to star in countless stage and screen productions (including 21 Broadway shows), becoming one of a small number of lifetime “EGOT” (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winners.
Jones’ first movie role was starring in the so-called Blaxploitation film, Claudine, which also starred Diahann Carroll. The 1974 film has since gone on to cult classic status, particularly among African American movie fans.
James Earl Jones, in his dressing room, June 29, 1983. Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
Claudine’s success helped Jones land the role of Vader in the Star Wars series of films.
The rest, as they say, is history.
In 2022, New York’s Cort Theatre was renamed after Jones as a special honor for his contributions to the arts.
The 112-year-old theater—which has served as the backdrop for noteworthy productions that include “As You Like It, Sunday in New York” and Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee’s “Purlie Victorious”—is one of the performance spaces where Jones started his Broadway career, including the aforementioned “Sunrise at Campobello,” a play that captured former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s battle with polio disease.
Actor James Earl Jones is shown casting his hand in cement for Disney during a special event in Pawling, New York on July 10, 2019. Source: John Atashian / Getty
The revered actor said he was honored to be celebrated by the theater, and seeing his name up in lights at an institution that helped launch his career is a full-circle moment.
“For me standing in this very building sixty-four years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today,” James said in a statement at the time. “Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors.”
Close-up of American actor James Earl Jones behind a microphone in a recording studio, Hollywood, California, July 10, 1991. Source: Edmund Eckstein / Getty
Many stars took to X to share their condolences and fond memories of the actor, Levar Burton being one of the first.
“James Earl Jones…there will never be another of his particular combinations of graces.”
Check out more notable tributes below:
