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James Earl Jones’ Career Spanned Over Six Decades
The career of this Mississippi native spanned an impressive six decades-despite being born with a stutter, Jones often attributed his success in acting to helping him conquer this challenge.
He made his Broadway debut in 1957 after pursuing a medical degree in college and serving in the United States Army during the Korean War.
According to IMDB, he portrayed two distinct doctors on the CBS soap operas “Guiding Light” and “As The World Turns” in the 1950s, marking his first notable roles as Dr. Jerry Turner and Dr. Jim Frazier, respectively.
His significant breakthrough in film came with Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic, Dr. Strangelove, which launched his career on the big screen, later returning to the stage.
He won a Tony Award in 1968 for The Great White Hope, then again in the film version of the play, receiving nominations for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
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Jones Won Several Prestigious Awards
The Coming to America star was one of the few in Hollywood to hold the EGOT title, also winning his second Tony Award in 1987 for his role in Fences.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Broadway awards in 2017; Jones has also won two Primetime Emmys, one Daytime Emmy, and one Grammy. Although he never won a competitive Oscar, he received a special Lifetime Achievement award from the Academy in 2011; besides his theater work, Jones is famous for his unique voice.
He voiced Mufasa in Disney’s animated The Lion King and Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, and returned to both roles in the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
In addition, he voiced several Star Wars sequels, including The Rise of Skywalker-for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, his voice was digitally recreated.
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Jones Only Made $7,000 For The First Star Wars Movie
In an interview with the American Film Institute that gained attention again before Jones’ passing, the Click narrator disclosed he only made $7,000 for his role in the first Star Wars movie.
“George [Lucas] was after, if I may say, a more ominous voice,” he recalled-so he hires a guy from Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters; and that’s the voice-that’s me.” Jones expressed he felt incredibly lucky to have been cast as Vader, adding, “I thought that was a great sum for me-and I got to be a voice in a film!”
People Always Remembered His Villainous Voice
Even years after the release of Star Wars in 1977, the Sandlot star continued to be recognized for his iconic portrayal of the villain.
Yet, Jones shared that he rarely used his Vader voice outside of the studio; “I’ve only done it once,” he recounted during an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1995. “I was driving across the country with a CB radio and chose ‘Darth Vader’ as my handle-it really startled a lot of people. When I stopped at a truck stop, there was quite a buzz about it; so, I decided to retire that handle.”
The Two and a Half Men star is survived by his son Flynn, born in 1982 with his wife Cecelia Hart, who passed away in October 2016 after a battle with ovarian cancer. Jones was also married to Julienne Marie from 1968 to 1972.
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