James Earl Jones, the Oscar-nominated actor who lent his distinguishable voice to Darth Vader in the ‘Star Wars’ movie franchise, died Monday morning. He was 93.
Academy Award-nominated actor James Earl Jones, who stuttered as a child, then burst forth to become one of America’s most recognized and articulate voices, has died.
Jones died Monday morning at his home in New York, his longtime agent Barry McPherson confirmed in a statement shared with The Times. A cause of death was not revealed. He was 93.
Jones was known for his rich, thunderous voice and commanding, almost forceful presence, and his decorated career spanned decades and a multitude of roles — from King Lear to Darth Vader.
Jones said it was the painful experience of being a stutterer that made him appreciate speech with such passion.
“The desire to speak builds and builds until it becomes part of your life force,” Jones recalled in his biography, writing of the years of childhood silence preceding his stage and film career.
“If I hadn’t been a stutterer,” Jones told the Los Angeles Times in 2014, “I would never have been an actor.”
Critics were fascinated by Jones’ booming, resonant voice. They called him thunder in a bottle; they compared him to civil rights activist Paul Robeson — and Paul Bunyan. Jones’ voice was “pitched in the key of heroism,” wrote critic Peter Marks.
Some mistakenly called him a baritone. He wasn’t. He was a rare, natural bass — a lucky birthright, he said.
To that genetic good fortune, Jones added acting prowess. He was distinguished by the “elemental force he brings to the stage,” Marks wrote. He performed Tony-winning Broadway turns, an Oscar-nominated film role, camp movies and prime-time television dramas.
He was Othello, Hamlet and Lear. He did commercials and, of course, voice roles — so many he lost track. “This . is CNN,” he boomed. In public, he was more often recognized for his voice than his face.
Long after childhood, he still battled the stutter. He remained transfixed by the challenge of emotional expression, which he called a deep human need.
“The farther you get into language and articulation, the father you get from emotion. You have to get back into song and poetry,” he told The Times in 2002.
James Earl Jones was born Jan. 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Miss., the son of boxer and actor Robert Earl Jones and Ruth Williams, a tailor. He was raised by his grandparents Maggie and John Henry Connolly; his father left home before he was born. His mother, whom he later suggested had mental health problems, was often away. As he reached school age, he and his family moved to Michigan.
At age 12, Jones began to stutter. In his distress, he fell silent and scribbled notes in lieu of speaking. His self-esteem eroded, and in school he became a nearly anonymous figure.
