Getty ImagesJames Earl Jones, the Hollywood actor and voice of Darth Vader, has died aged 93, his agent has said.
He died early on Monday morning surrounded by his family, agent Barry McPherson said.
Jones starred in dozens of films including Field of Dreams, Coming To America and Conan the Barbarian. He was best known for giving the Star Wars supervillain Darth Vader his distinctive gravelly voice.
Mark Hamill, who played Vader’s son Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, posted “RIP Dad” with a broken heart emoji as he shared a news report of the death.
Jones was also the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King, and CNN’s “This is CNN” tagline.
Born in Mississippi in January 1931, Jones said he was unable to speak for most of his childhood because of a stammer.
He explained he had developed his famous voice whilst working on how to deal with the stammer.
He would go on to win a host of awards including Emmys, Tony Awards, a Grammy and an honorary Oscar.
Jones voiced Darth Vader in the original Star Wars film, which came out in 1977, and follow-ups The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
He reprised the role in later film releases such as the first instalment of the Star Wars anthology series, Rogue One, and the third instalment of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – both released in the later 2010s.
Getty ImagesA different actor always donned the Darth Vader costume and provided the movement for the famous villain, including the late David Prowse, with Jones lending his deep and instantly recognisable voice.
“I love being part of that whole myth, of that whole cult,” Jones said in a previous interview, adding he was glad to oblige fans who asked for a command recital of his “I am your father” line.
Jones said he never made much money off the Darth Vader part – only $9,000 (£6,884) for the first film – and he considered it merely a special effects job.
At his own insistence, he was not given a credit for his performance. He felt it was all merely another “special effect”.
When the films broke all box office records, he was persuaded to rethink.
Jones was also well known as a television performer, playing the older Alex Hailey in Roots: The Next Generation and winning one of his two Emmys for the lead role in the US drama Gabriel’s Fire.
His gravelly tones were used in The Simpsons and he appeared in early episodes of Sesame Street.
Jones also tackled many iconic Shakespeare characters on the stage, including Othello and King Lear.
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