James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader, dies at 93

LOS ANGELES – American actor James Earl Jones, an imposing stage and screen presence who overcame a childhood stutter to develop a stentorian voice recognised the world over as intergalactic villain Darth Vader, died on Sept 9 at the age of 93, his agent said.

Jones, a long-time sufferer of diabetes, died at his home surrounded by family members, agent Barry McPherson said. No cause of death was provided.

Jones had a great physical presence on stage and television, as well as in movies, but he would have been a star even if his face was never seen because his voice had a career of its own.

The resonating bass could instantly command respect – as with the sage father Mufasa in The Lion King (1994) and many Shakespeare roles – or instil fear as the rasping Vader in the Star Wars (1977 to 2019) films.

Jones laughed when a BBC interviewer asked if he resented being so closely tied to Darth Vader, a role that required only his voice for a few lines while another actor did the on-screen work in costume.

"I love being part of that whole myth, of that whole cult," he said, adding that he was glad to oblige fans who asked for a command recital of his "I am your father" line to Luke Skywalker, played by American actor Mark Hamill.

Jones said he never made much money off the Darth Vader part – only US$9,000 (S$11,754) for the first film – and that he considered it merely a special-effects job. He did not even ask to be in the credits of the first two Star Wars movies.

His long list of awards included Tonys for The Great White Hope in 1969 and Fences in 1987 on Broadway, and Emmys in 1991 for Gabriel’s Fire and Heat Wave on television. He also won a Grammy for best spoken word album, Great American Documents, in 1977.

Although he never won a competitive Academy award, he was nominated for best actor for the film version of The Great White Hope and was given an honorary Oscar in 2011.

He began his movie career playing Lieutenant Lothar Zogg in late American director Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb in 1964.

Later acclaimed movie roles included novelist Terence Mann in 1989’s Field Of Dreams and South African reverend Stephen Kumalo in 1995’s Cry, The Beloved Country. He also starred in Conan The Barbarian, Coming To America, The Sandlot, Matewan and The Hunt For Red October, among others.

Jones also was heard in dozens of television commercials and, for several years, CNN used his authoritative, “This is CNN”, to introduce its newscasts.

Estranged from father

Jones was born on Jan 17, 1931, in the tiny community of Arkabutla, Mississippi, to a family of Irish, African and Cherokee ancestry.

His father, prizefighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones, left the family shortly afterwards. James Earl Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents, who forbade him to see his father, and the two did not get together until Jones moved to New York in the 1950s. Eventually, they appeared in several plays together.

Jones was about five years old when his grandparents moved the family from Mississippi to a farm in Michigan, and it was around that time that he quit speaking because of his stutter.

He was mostly silent for a decade until a ploy by his high school English teacher got him to speak up. The teacher made Jones recite to the class a poem that he said he had written to prove he was familiar enough with it to be the author.

Although after that he said he still had to choose his words carefully, Jones learnt to control his stutter and became interested in acting.

After studying drama at the University of Michigan, he moved to New York, where his theatre performances increasingly attracted critical attention and acclaim.

His breakthrough role on Broadway was The Great White Hope, playing a character based on black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. The play examined racism through the lens of the boxing world and critics raved about Jones’ performance.

A popular theatre draw for decades, his Shakespeare leading roles included Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello. He also had a notable portrayal of singer-actor-activist Paul Robeson on Broadway in 1977 and of author Alex Haley in the television miniseries Roots: The Next Generation.

He was “capable of moving in seconds from boyish ingenuousness to near-biblical rage and somehow suggesting all the gradations in between”, the Washington Post wrote in a 1987 review of Fences.

Jones was a trailblazing black actor, winning big roles in racially charged movies and plays that broke ground for black actors who came after him.

While he first found fame at the height of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, he largely kept himself out of direct action on matters of race.

In a 2013 interview with the Toronto Star, Jones said he imagined that a lot of people felt he was cowardly at the time for not using his fame and voice to more robustly support the cause. But he preferred to let his work do the talking for him.

“Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the same things that all those people demonstrating believe in, but I just look for plays or movies that say the same thing and play characters in them,” he said.

Stars of the screen took to social media to mourn his death.

Hamill, 72, shared the news of Jones’ death on X on Sept 9, writing simply, “#RIP dad”, with a broken heart emoji.

Rustin (2023) star Colman Domingo wrote on X that Jones was “a master of our craft”. “We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.”

American actress Lydia Cornell, whose 1982 debut Bloodtide was opposite Jones, said: “Adored working with him. Such a generous spirit, and so humble. Taught me the power of stillness and using my voice.”

Selma (2014) director Ava DuVernay posted images of Jones, accompanied by a heartfelt message. “Thank you for showing us ourselves. Our complicated selves, our dignified selves, our smiles, our pain. A job well done. A gift beautifully shared. Bless you as you journey on.”

Alongside a clip of Jones’ 1974 film, Claudine, she urged fans to seek it out if they have never seen it. “Mr Jones crying in a scene of this film is one of the most exquisite cinematic images of a black man I’ve ever seen. Don’t miss it. He gave us so much,” she wrote.

The Help (2011) star Octavia Spencer posted a black-and-white photograph of Jones, alongside a tribute that nodded to his indelible role in Star Wars.

“Legendary doesn’t even begin to describe his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever,” she wrote. “His voice and talent will be remembered always. Sending love to his family, friends and countless fans in all the galaxies, far, far away.”

Jones’ first wife was Julienne Marie Hendricks, one of his Othello co-stars. Jones and his second wife, actress Cecilia Hart, who died at age 68 in 2016, had one child, Flynn Earl Jones.  REUTERS, AFP