James Earl Jones, renowned actor who voiced Darth Vader and Mufasa, dead at 93

James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.

His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home. The cause was not immediately clear.

Jones, who worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honours and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theatre was renamed in his honour.

He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humour and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of The Gin Game having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.

"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."

He created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in Field of Dreams, the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit The Great White Hope, the writer Alex Haley in Roots: The Next Generation and a South African minister in Cry, the Beloved Country.

He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader with the line, "No, I am your father," — commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father" — as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in Disney's animated The Lion King and announcing "This is CNN" during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the Great American Documents audiobook.

"One of the world's finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He'll be greatly missed," said actor Mark Hamill, who played Vader's son Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies, in a statement to The Associated Press.

"From the gentle wisdom of Mufasa to the menacing threat of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones gave voice to some of the greatest characters in cinema history. A celebrated stage actor with nearly 200 film and television credits to his name, the stories he brought to life with a uniquely commanding presence and a true richness of spirit have left an indelible mark on generations of audiences," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.

"He was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum. That remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about James. Our thoughts are with his family." read a statement from CNN on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Some of his other films include Dr. Strangelove, The Greatest (with Muhammad Ali), Conan the Barbarian, Three Fugitives and playing an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations — The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. In a rare romantic comedy, Claudine, Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958's Sunrise At Campobello and won his two Tony Awards for The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987). He also was nominated for On Golden Pond (2005) and Gore Vidal's The Best Man (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike.

More recent Broadway appearances include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Iceman Cometh and You Can't Take It With You.

As a rising stage and television actor, he appeared on As the World Turns in 1965, one of the first Black actors to have such role on daytime TV. He performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in Othello, Macbeth and King Lear and in off-Broadway plays.