Hollywood icon and actor James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93. Jones rep at Independent Artist Group confirmed to Deadline that Jones died on Monday, September 9, at his home in Dutchess County, New York.
Born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, MS, his many big-screen credits also films such Conan the Barbarian (1982), Coming to America (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Sandlot (1990), Patriot Games (1992), and Sneakers (1992). He also appeared on The Simpsons three times.
Jones, the iconic voice behind Star Wars‘ Darth Vader and The Lion King‘s Mufasa, is also widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest stage and screen actors. Jones is is an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, though his Academy Award was Honorary. Jones has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a spoken-word Grammy Award in 1977 and three Tony Awards. Jones also was a 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from SAG-AFTRA in 2009 and by the National Board of Review in 1995.
Jones provided the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, and voiced The Lion King‘s Mufasa in both the 1994 animated pic and 2019 hybrid remake, and lent his sonorous voice to the famous “This is CNN” promo campaign for the cable news network.
Jones is survived by his is son Flynn Earl Jones. His wife Cecilia Hart died in October 2016 after battling ovarian cancer. Jones was previously married to Julienne Marie from 1968-1972.
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