In Memoriam: James Earl Jones (1931 – 2024)

Legendary actor James Earl Jones has passed away.

Jones died at his home in Dutchess County, NY, according to a family rep.

He was 93.

James Earl Jones was a revered actor

Born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, MS, Jones was an acclaimed star of the stage and screen, widely known for his distinctive voice that enamored audiences. The actor amassed nearly 200 screen credits during his brilliant 60-year career, best known in film series Star Wars as the villain Darth Vader, Field of Dreams as Terence Mann, Coming To America as King Jaffe Joffer, and as well as many other films and Broadway shows. He also voiced The Lion King‘s Mufasa in both the 1994 animated film and 2019 hybrid remake.

Films

Among his dozens of other films are The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), A Piece of the Action (1977), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Soul Man (1986), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Sneakers (1992), The Sandlot (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Gang Related (1997) and Coming 2 America (2021).

Television

Jones had many television guest roles on such classics as The Big Bang Theory, House, Two and a Half Men, Homicide: Life on the Street, Frasier, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order, Sesame Street, Highway to Heaven, NYPD Blue, Guiding Light, As the World Turns; and miniseries Roots: The Next Generation and Jesus of Nazareth.

Broadway

He also appeared in almost two dozen Broadway shows, from his first starring role Sunrise at Campobello (1958) and most recently in The Gin Game (2017). Along the way, he starred in productions of such stage classics as The Iceman Cometh (1974), Othello (1982), On Golden Pond (2005), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008) and You Can’t Take It with You (2014).

Accolades

He is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), 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 is also a 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from SAG-AFTRA in 2009 and by the National Board of Review in 1995.