Iconic actor James Earl Jones has died aged 93.
The Field of Dreams and Lion King star and voice of Darth Vader passed away on September 9 at his home in Dutchess County, NY, his representatives confirmed to Deadline.
Jones made his screen debut as a bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black-comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove.
While he continued to develop his film career over the following decades, the Tony-winning actor maintained a regular presence on stage as well.
He never appears on screen when playing his most famous role, Darth Vader, as it was the former bodybuilder David Prowse who wore the iconic black suit.
Iconic actor James Earl Jones has died aged 93 – pictured 2015
The star is pictured in Field of Dreams in 1989 alongside Kevin Costner
Jones’ commercial heyday came in the 1980s and ’90s, when he appeared in Conan The Barbarian (1982), Field Of Dreams (1989) and The Hunt For Red October (1990), among many other films.
Jones is among an illustrious list of entertainers who achieved coveted EGOT status – winning two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards and being presented with the Honorary Academy Award.
His distinctive gravelly tones saw him voice iconic lion Mufasa in the animated 1994 classic, The Lion King.
He reprised the role in 1998’s The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and 2018’s live-action remake.
He married actress and singer Julienne Marie in 1964 – they had no children and divorced in 1972.
In 1982, he married actress Cecilia Hart, with whom he had a son, Flynn. Hart died from ovarian cancer on October 16, 2016.
In April 2016 Jones revealed he had been battling type 2 diabetes for nearly two decades.
He was diagnosed in the mid 1990s after falling asleep at the gym.
He said in a 2018 interview: ‘I didn’t notice any symptoms. I had gone to a diet and exercise program hoping to lose some weight and ended up falling asleep sitting on a bench in the gymnasium.
His distinctive gravelly tones saw him voice iconic lion Mufasa in the animated 1994 classic, The Lion King
The star is pictured with his Tony Award in 1987 for his role in the play Fences – seen with Linda Lavin
Jones is pictured as Detective Capt. Woodrow ‘Woody’ Paris on CBS show Paris in 1979
‘My doctor, who happened to be there, said that’s not normal. He encouraged me to go get a test, and I did — and there it was: type 2 diabetes. It hit me like a thunderbolt.
‘I had to retrain myself to be aware of when my body is telling me something,” Jones says. “Usually with low blood sugar, it’s easy to notice. With high blood sugar, it’s not as easy, and that can be the most dangerous aspect of type 2 diabetes.
‘I can live to the extent that I can do all the work I used to do 10 years ago,” he says. “I love working, and at my age I still love being able to put in eight shows a week on a play or handle a long schedule if I’m doing film or television. I didn’t want that to stop, so I had to take responsibility with my condition.’
Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 and during his illustrious career, he scooped two Tony Awards – both for Best Lead Actor in a Play – one for his role in The Great White Hope in 1969 and another in 1987 for his part in Fences.
Jones previously said: ‘When I came to NY to study acting, my father – the actor Robert Earl Jones – took me on a Grand Tour. The first night was to the opera Tosca starring Leontyne Price. I loved the singing, but I didn’t understand the format of opera.’
‘The second night was Swan Lake starring Margot Fontaine. The movement of the bodies just seemed like magic.
‘The third night was Pal Joey. I was captivated by the warmth of the light on stage. I was not inspired to sing and dance, but I knew I wanted to be in the warmth of the stage light.’
The fourth night was Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. By contrast, it created a cold world, coldness between human beings, but the ideas that Arthur Miller was able to evoke onstage were blazing hot.’
‘I knew I wanted to be a part of this and to explore the stage.’
