James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader from Star Wars, dies at 93

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, 'The Lion King' and 'Darth Vader' has died. He was 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home. The cause was not immediately clear.

The Star Wars team pay tribute to James Earl Jones

Jones made a rather interesting cameo once in the popular American sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory' as himself. He meets with the protagonist Sheldon Cooper at his favourite restaurant.In the scene, Jones notices Sheldon staring at him in excitement. He tells him, "Let me guess, you love Star Wars?' Sheldon nods in the affirmative with his smile getting wider. 'You know I have done other movies?' Sheldon nods. "But you don't care?" says Jones and gets Sheldon to once again agree with him. Jones immediately changes his expression to that of a child-like excitement and says that Star Wars is his favourite too.

After his demise, the team of 'Star Wars' penned a tribute note to the man who voiced Darth Vader for nearly half a century.

"James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit," says George Lucas. "For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being a devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us...friends and fans alike."

While Jones has what many would agree is one of the most recognizable voices of all time and has helped to make Darth Vader a cinema legend, he was actually not Lucas' first choice for the voice role. "The rumor is that he thought of Orson Welles," recalled Jones. "And then probably thought that Orson might be too recognizable, so what he ends up picking is a voice that was born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, and was a stutterer. And, that happened to be my voice."

In 1980's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Jones spoke one of the most iconic lines in motion picture history: "No, I am your father." The actor recalled that "when I first saw the dialogue that said, ‘Luke, I am your father,' I said to myself, ‘He's lying, I wonder how they're gonna play that lie out."

That one simple line of dialogue helped define the narrative arc of the Star Wars saga for the next 25 years. As Jones himself would explain, "Darth Vader doesn't think he's evil. And then the suggestion that he has not always been evil, so the story becomes, "How does one become evil and how is one redeemed from it?"

James Earl Jones's other notable work

Some of his other films include 'Dr. Strangelove', 'The Greatest' (with Muhammad Ali), 'Conan the Barbarian', 'Three Fugitives' and playing an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations 'The Hunt for Red October','Patriot Games' and 'Clear and Present Danger'. In a rare romantic comedy, 'Claudine', Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958's 'Sunrise At Campobello' and would win his two Tony Awards for 'The Great White Hope' (1969) and 'Fences' (1987). He also was nominated for 'On Golden Pond' (2005) and 'Gore Vidal's The Best Man' (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', 'Driving Miss Daisy','The Iceman Cometh', and 'You Can't Take It With You'.

As a rising stage and television actor, he appeared in 'As the World Turns' in 1965, becoming one of the first African American actors in a continuing role in a daytime drama. He performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in 'Othello','Macbeth' and 'King Lear' and in off-Broadway plays.

Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.

(with inputs from AP)