Legendary Actor Passes Away:-
James Earl Jones, the legendary actor of the stage and screen, has died at the age of 93. He was known for larger than life roles, including in Field of Dreams. He was the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader.
James Duke Jones was a truly forcing entertainer. You are not in trouble, I retract. You’re dead where you stand showing me. But it will be Jones’s voice that audiences will long remember.Luke Skywalker discovered that in the Star Wars series.
No, I am a father. It became a big mystery. Who was that? Who was that? Inside the mask. Vader was played by a different actor, but director George Lucas realized that he needed a villain with a darker voice. Call me and say you want to do a day’s work. And I said, Yeah. A day’s work. Two and a half hours, you know.
That’s all. All the Darth Vader language is in two and a half hours. Yeah, a few thousand dollars. I went home. A city destroyed. The way to Darth Vader is a tight band of articulation. No expressions. He isn’t a human. Father and child. Jones got back to the job of the Magnificent lowlife all through his vocation, even at age 91.
A Voice That Will Endure:-
And the Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi. You will suffer in another memorable voice only role. Jones said just three words. What happened was that I did good work and they said, Well, now can we do a CNN logo? And I came back. Let’s have a session. It was so short. I mean, it took 5 minutes, right.
And I forgot it. What is unforgettable is that this powerful actor with a deep, authoritative voice had a speaking disability, starting with so embarrassing and really painful. I went mute from the age of 8 to 14. Jones said an extraordinary educator in secondary school who cherished verse helped him. He found I composed verse and he inspired me to peruse my verse before the class.
A Day’s Work as Darth Vader:-
And when I did, it didn’t stutter.Jones needed to be a tactical official when he was a youngster. The first movie role as an American nuclear bomber Dr. Strangelove Bomb or a subsequent negative capability.
Let them wait. Coming to America, Little visited themselves in Magic Waters. Field of Dreams. The Hunt for Red October. The Mother of God. I’m not sure if I want to do it all, because, you know, I the death is okay.
James Earl Jones really established himself in so many ways, but especially he was he was really a rather pioneering actor in terms of being a black actor.
Loss for the Hollywood community:-
Absolutely. A huge loss for the Hollywood community. Jake, we have confirmed with his agent that he did pass away at home at the age of 93.But again, it’s such a long, wonderful, accomplished life. And to your point, Jake, really pioneering a trailblazer for black performers everywhere.
He will have such a legacy that will go on for decades and decades. And something that I want to point out is that over his storied career, he’s really touched so many generations with iconic roles, whether it is voicing Mufasa in Lion King or, of course, Darth Vader. Just so many accomplishments and touched so many lives.
I’ve been looking and scouring online, reaching out to different rep. So far, not a ton of tributes coming in because this news is breaking and such sad breaking news. But I anticipate that we will see a huge outpouring of love from Hollywood. To exactly your point, Jake, which is that James Earl Jones was a pioneer actor, particularly as a black performer.
Early Career and Rise to Fame:-
So many iconic roles that he’s going to be remembered for, obviously. Admiral Greer in the in the Jack Ryan films also, he also is well known for his activism. Absolutely. He is well known for his activism. And, you know, he’s well known for so much in his life, Jake, because it’s not just his roles on stage and screen or being an activist for for certain causes that were important to him, but also really being the first of so many things, as we heard there in that tribute package to him, he was an eagle,which means he was in that rare club of having an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. So this is really a presence in Hollywood that we truly I don’t think we’ll ever see someone like James Earl Jones again. Now, I want to read something to you, Jake, back in 2014. So just a decade ago, he was asked about his long career and what was the secret to it.
And he was so humble. This is what he said, Jake, quote, The secret is never forgetting that you’re a jerk, a journeyman actor, and that nothing is your final thing. Nothing is your greatest thing. Nothing is your worst thing. I still consider myself a novice. So you see there at the age of around 83 already, with so many awards, so decorated, so many roles.
By the way, Jake, he had 80th film roles in over 70 television roles that even then he was still pinching himself with the career that he had. James Earl Jones once told the Toronto Star that Field of Dreams was one of his top five favorite roles, Elizabeth And the idea that that his impact on baseball, his love of Americana, such an important part of that role.
Absolutely. I’m sorry. I paused. I thought we were maybe going to a clip to watch one of his greatest moments. I’m sorry that I misinterpreted that there. But yes, that is certainly one of his most iconic on screen roles. And as you said, you know, the impact that he had there on baseball that will live as one of his most famous roles.
Theater and Awards :-
But, Jake, he also revisited some of his other famous roles in very recent years. Simply back in 2021, he was in the continuation of Coming to America, as well. Obviously, he kept on voicing Darth Vader throughout the long term in different Star Wars films. In addition, a fun fact about Jake is that when he first voiced Darth Vader in 1977, he was only paid $7,000 for the role. This is incredible when you think about it because I don’t know if Darth Vader would have been the same character without Jake’s voice.
A Humble Legend:-
And that, of course, is attributed to James Earl Jones. And of course, he also, like, could could joke about it like, I mean, he was coming to America. He was his normal persona, this regal bearing. But it was for laughs. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that really just, again, shows his range, you know, over 80 movie roles, 70 television roles, highly decorated actor.
A Life Well Lived:-
There was no one role that he could play. He had such range, whether it was a serious role that, you know, brought tears and emotion to your eyes or whether it was something that made you laugh or whether it was that haunting voice or it could be a charming voice. As we continue to follow this sad breaking news this afternoon, the death of legendary actor James Earl Jones as we go to break.