James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams Star and Booming Voice of Darth Vader, Dies at 93

Fans of the screen and stage lost a legend today as James Earl Jones passed away at age of 93. According to Variety, which confirmed the news, the actor known for his roles in Universal Pictures' iconic baseball fantasy Field of Dreams and the Star Wars franchise, died Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York.

To genre fans, Jones — whose esteemed body of work spanned over half a century — is most beloved for his work as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga. While it was actor David Prowse who was under the helmet and black cape, it was Jones, with his thundering tones and booming bass, who will be forever immortalized as the voice and soul of the most menacing villain in that galaxy far, far away. Buoyed by the image of a sleek black helmet and long flowing cape, it was Jones’ resounding voice performance that forever invoked fear among the rebel alliance on screen, and in the hearts of captivated viewers. 

James Earl Jones' Life and Acting Accomplishments

Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back Photo: Lucasfilm

Born on January 17, 1931, Jones grew up in Arkabutla, Mississippi, and was raised by his maternal grandparents on their farm before moving to Michigan. His father, Robert Earl Jones — an actor and a boxer who was not around much during his son's early years — and his mother, Ruth Connolly Jones, separated when James was young. He developed a severe stutter as a child, which made him shy around others, but in high school, an English teacher helped pull him out of his shell.

“He looked at a poem I wrote and said, 'It's too good for you to have written, so to prove you wrote it, please stand up in front of the class and recite it from memory.' Jones once recalled. “I did it without stuttering. So he used that as a program to get me to talk."

Jones went to the University of Michigan as a pre-med student, but it was there where he discovered his talent for acting at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan. The Army pulled Jones away after his undergrad, where he rose up the ranks to first lieutenant while training others in Colorado. Faced with the choice to pursue a military career full-time, which came with its financial limitations, he chose to go back to the theater after his discharge.

He started out in New York City, where he worked on the stage and moonlit as a janitor. His role as Edward in the 1958 production of Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre would be his first credited role. In 1964, Jones landed his first feature role as  Lt. Lothar Zogg in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. He spent most of the decade playing a recurring role of Dr. Lou Rush in Dr. Kildare, and a variety of other TV series including The Defenders, Tarzan, and N.Y.P.D. while being a part of 17 different stage productions in the decade, including several Shakespeare plays such as Othello, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice, and Troilus and Cressida.

It was during this period that Jones developed a relationship with his father who, at the time, was a working actor on the stage. 

Outside of making films in a galaxy far, far away, Jones is known for some great sports films, especially baseball films. He starred with Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor in the 1976 film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, about the Negro Leagues and racial segregation; The Sandlot and its sequel, Good Luck (1996); and, yes, even The Benchwarmers (2006). He also starred in Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams and figured in the film’s most memorable scene.

In 1987, Jones won a Tony for his lead performance in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences, in which he played a character who was so disappointed his professional baseball career was stalled by the color lines that the anger ate at him from the inside. 

But Jones' most decorated role was that of boxer Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope — based on the life of Jack Johnson. He first played the role on the stage in 1968, winning his first Tony Award, and then later in a 1970 feature film, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe. 

He continued to work on both the stage and screen in the '70s with dazzling performances in 1973's King Lear (in which he played the titular character), the 1974 revival of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and the 1979 one-man show Paul Robeson. Jones portrayed Alex Haley in the 1977 TV miniseries Roots and Balthazar in Jesus of Nazareth, and he starred in his first regular television role in the 1978 Steven Bochco crime drama, Paris. 

James Earl Jones' Star Wars Career

The Star Wars phenomena hit in 1977 with A New Hope, and thankfully overshadowed the Exorcist II: The Heretic, which Jones also starred in that year. He chose not to be credited in Episodes IV and V because at the time he felt he didn’t do enough work to warrant a credit (he only earned $9,000 for his services in A New Hope). He would be credited for his work in Return of the Jedi and was brought back to surprise fans in Star Wars: Rebels (2014-2016) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).

In 1994, Jones would voice another iconic role as Mufasa, the father of the lead character, Simba, in Disney’s 32nd animated feature, The Lion King. Like Vader, Jones would voice Mufasa several times including sequels, video games, amusement park rides, and once again in the 2019 live-action version of The Lion King.

Reprising his role as Vader won Jones three Behind the Voice Actors Awards for his work in Star Wars Rebels (2014) and Rogue One (2016). He never took himself too seriously, and embraced the popularity of his roles as shown in his guest spot on The Big Bang Theory in the fan-favorite episode “The Convention Conundrum.” His booming voice paved the way for plenty of voiceover work and as a narrator in both fictional films as well as several documentaries.

Jones made an impact no matter what role he grabbed, having won two Emmys in 1991 for Best Lead in Gabriel’s Fire, and Best Supporting Actor in Heat Wave. He also earned six Emmy nominations for guest and supporting spots on By Dawn’s Early Light (1990), Picket Fences (1992), Frasier (1993), Under One Roof (1995), Everwood (2002), and East Side/West Side (1963). 

Some other memorable performances on television include his three-part “Blood Ties” arc as Felix Wilson on Homicide: Life on the Street that served as a commentary on race and class within the police department as well as in society. Jones’ versatility can be seen in other memorable roles including playing Malcolm X twice, Douglass Dilman in The Man (1972), Johnny Williams in The River Niger (1976), and Admiral James Greer in three film adaptations of Tom Clancy novels: The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), and Clear and Present Danger (1994). And, of course, no one will ever forget his comedic performance in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America and its sequel Coming 2 America as Akeem’s overbearing father, King Jaffer Joffer.

Genre fans will remember his voice in the Stargate SG-1 episode “Thor’s Hammer,” the narrator in 3rd Rock From the Sun, Sesame Street, two Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons as well as the narrator on the Lord of the Flies parody episode “Das Bus.” He also appeared on camera in “The House of Luthor” episode for Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Then there were features such as The Meteor Man (1993), Allen Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986), Robots (2005), The Bushido Blade (1981), Judge Dredd (1995), and Tulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian (1982). No one could typecast Jones, not with that kind of talent.

Jones remained an in-demand actor up to his final years. The long list of accolades include five Golden Globe nominations with one win, and eight Emmy nominations with two wins among many more. In 2012, Jones won the Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.

Jones married actress/singer Julienne Marie in 1968 and they divorced in 1972, having had no children. He married Cecilia Hart in 1982, with whom he had a son, Flynn Earl Jones. Hart passed away in 2016 and Jones is survived by Flynn.