James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
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He has significantly reduced his weight with the passing of his wife.
The most beloved character from the American television series Dallas, Bobby Ewing, was portrayed by Patrick Duffy, who has since completely lost any vestiges of his former self. He seemed to have aged almost suddenly after the past year’s troubles.
The actor who played Bobby Ewing, Patrick Duffy, retains a particular place in the hearts of fans even though it has been more than 25 years since the last Dallas episode aired.
The general populace always reacts positively when they see him. His calm demeanor along with his attractive features may have made him a popular performer among the viewers of the American show.
Recognized as a sex symbol of the 1980s, Patrick Duffy just saw the movie “Warning shot” at a Beverly Hills, California theater. Linda Gray (77), a fellow Dallas set cast member best known for her role as Sue Ellen, joined the actor at the ceremony.
The 69-year-old actor’s visage betrays the anguish he felt following the death of his wife a year ago. Patrick Duffy lost a significant amount of weight and completely changed into an elderly man.
Fans were taken aback by the actor’s appearance, but Patrick Duffy showed that his endearing personality hasn’t changed over time by grinning and signing autographs for them.
Patrick Duffy was married to Carlyn Rosser, a former dancer who was ten years his senior, since 1974. In addition to four grandchildren, they had two children, Padraig Terence and Connor Frederick.
Despite speculation in the global media that the actor’s wife is in critical condition, he has stayed silent and taken a brief vacation from the spotlight.
Since then, the truth has come to light, and it seems that Carlyn Rosser passed away unexpectedly in the first few months of 2017 and that her family buried her in private. A few months later, Patrick Duffy disclosed to his fans on Twitter the anguish he was going through:
“My heart stopped beating precisely six months ago on this day. She made sure I continued to breathe because she wanted me to. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives.
“I appreciate all of your care and caring toward me. Just four years before to his tragic demise, the actor fought and defeated skin cancer.
Patrick Duffy learned that his parents, Marie and Terence Duffy, had been murdered in 1986 on the grounds of the Montana bar they owned while he was employed on the set of the television series Dallas.
Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz, two young people, were apprehended right away once it was determined that they were the armed robbers.
They were all handed 180-year prison terms for their offenses, but Miller was freed the next year when Wentz acknowledged that he was the shooter.
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