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It’s a sad day for pop culture, as James Earl Jones, the highly decorated actor who voiced Star Wars villain Darth Vader and the benevolent Mufasa in Lion King, has passed away. He was 93.
Making his feature film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic Dr. Strangelove, the star would go on to amass over 80 movie credits, including Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), and The Sandlot (1993).
But it was Jones’ voice that catapulted him to stardom and further cemented his career. Sharing that he “didn’t want to talk” for much of his childhood (via NPR), the prolific actor famously overcame a severe stutter to become one of the most memorable voices in Hollywood. He was the force behind Darth Vader in the original 1977 Star Wars film, reprising the role in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (1983). In 1994, he lent his baritone voice to The Lion King animated classic, breathing life into Mufasa.
As a Broadway performer, Jones’ influence also extended well beyond film. His debut work Sunrise at Campobello, written by Dory Schary and starring Ralph Bellamy as President Franklin Roosevelt, won the Tony Award for Best Play. Throughout his storied career, Jones received three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in 1970’s The Great White Hope.
In the wake of his passing, plenty of tributes have poured in from Hollywood and beyond. Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, the son of Darth Vader, wrote a fitting tribute with a “RIP dad” caption, with Kevin Costner, who starred alongside Jones in Field of Dreams dedicating a note of his own:
Major League Baseball also paid tribute to Jones, referencing his baseball-related Field of Dreams and The Sandlot, joining The Simpsons — where he appeared thrice — in sharing a nice remembrance. The Empire State Building, meanwhile, posted a shot from its Star Wars light show earlier this year, featuring Darth Vader against the iconic skyscraper.
Check out the rest of the tributes here:
Rest in peace, good sir, and thank you for the memories.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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