James Earl Jones, once a charming farm kid who became the voice of rolling thunder in a stage, film and television career that became one of America’s most versatile actors who touched on race relations, the messy tragedies of Shakespeare and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died Monday. He was 93 at his home in Dutchess County, NY.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed the death, The Associated Press reported.
From penniless days working in a diner and living in a $19-a-month cold-water flat, Mr. Jones ascended to Broadway and Hollywood stardom with talent, drive and a remarkable vocal cord. Abandoned by his parents as a child, he was raised by a racist grandmother and mute for years in shame of his stuttering, but learned to speak again with a Herculean will. All had a lot to do with its success.
So were the plays of Howard Sackler and August Wilson that allowed a young actor to explore racial hatred in the national experience; television soap operas that boldly cast a black man as a doctor in the 1960s; And the decision by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas to place an unnamed, growling African American voice behind the grotesque mask of the galactic villain Vader.
The rest of the work was done by Mr. Jones himself did: a prodigious body of work that included dramas, nearly 90 television network dramas and episodic series, and nearly 120 films. It includes his voice work, much of it authentic, in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, in the credited voice-over of Mufasa in “The Lion King”, in Disney’s 1994 animated musical film and in his reprise of the role of Jon. Favreau’s computer-animated remake in 2019.
Mr. Jones was no matinee idol like Cary Grant or Denzel Washington. But his massive Everyman suited many characters, and his range of poise and subtlety was often compared to that of Morgan Freeman. Neither was he a singer; Yet his voice, though not nearly as powerful, was sometimes compared to the great Paul Robeson. Mr. Jones collected Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys, Kennedy Center honors and honorary Academy Awards.
Between the artistic and competitive demands of daily stage work and heavy commitments to television and Hollywood — pressures that burn out many actors — Mr. Jones was a rock. He appeared in 18 plays once in 30 months. He often makes half a dozen films a year in addition to his television work. And he did it for half a century, giving thousands of performances that captivated audiences, moviegoers and critics alike.
They were startled by his presence. A bear of a man — 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds — he dominated a stage with his barrel chest, huge head and emotional fire, sauntering across the boards and spitting his lines into the front row. And the listeners were mesmerized by the sound. It was Lear’s roaring crash into madness, Othello’s sweet balm for Desdemona, Oberon’s final rapture for Titania, queen of the fairies on a midsummer night.
The full death toll will be out soon.
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