James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
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Former First Daughters Sasha And Malia Obama Were Spotted Attending Drake’s After-Party In Los Angeles
After Drake’s performance at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 22, Sasha and Malia Obama went to his after-party at Bird Streets Club.
The two children of former President Barack Obama reportedly liked Drizzy and 21 Savage’s It’s All a Blur Tour’s final L.A. show, according to Page Six. Sasha, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Southern California, donned cargo leggings and a short black corset.
Malia, her sister of 25 years, paired a loudly printed high-waisted flared pair of trousers with a translucent Knwls top. About four in the morning, two housemates from Los Angeles left the Bird Streets Club.
Following his performances in Los Angeles, Drake threw afterparties for other famous people. Recently, Dennis Graham, Saweetie’s father, and Anderson Paak attended.
Barack Obama called Drake a “talented” person who “seems to be able to do anything he wants” in his 2020 360 With Speedy Morman.
Obama co-signed Drizzy’s prior statement that he would be open to playing the former president in a biopic.He remarked, “You know what, Drake has my household’s seal of approval—more importantly, I think.””I think Malia and Sasha would approve of it.”
Sasha and Malia like Drake, even though their father doesn’t always listen to him. In fact, Obama’s yearly summer playlist featured him lately, owing to the J Hus song “Who Told You.”
Along with “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj, “Drums” by Babyface Ray and Money Man were also included on the list.
Obama was questioned earlier this year by Hasan Minhaj about whether or not he was the real author of those well-known playlists.
He said, “People believe the books and the movies,” and then made a joke about people not playing along with him when he made these playlists. “However, the playlists seem to think—and this is primarily from young people like you—that you guys developed hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll. Therefore, people seem to assume that, “Well, he must have had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut,” even though my lists are, you know, quite remarkable. No, dude. Right now, it’s on my iPad.”
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