James Earl Jones passed away at the age of 93 at his residence in Dutchess County, New York. His family was with him in his final moments on Monday morning.
His agent, Barry McPherson, who has been with the actor for a long time, broke the news to several media outlets, including ABC News. No cause of death was announced but it is well known that Earl Jones had suffered from diabetes for many years.
James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi. He got into acting after serving in the military during the Korean War, which ran from 1950 to 1953.
Although he had a stutter, his booming deep voice made up for it as it was commonly praised for being mesmerizing and adding “gravitas” to his works. He told PBS in 2014 that it actually wasn’t easy for him when he was a child with a stutter and he had had to stay quiet most times.
“People would come to the house and there’d be introductions made and I couldn’t introduce myself,” he explained.
However, he later found it comfortable because thought “silence isn’t bad,” and through it, he “learned to listen.” After he got into high school, his poetry teacher contributed to his speech development by challenging and nudging him to read his poems aloud.
James Earl Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957. He was part of the play written by Dore Schary titled Sunrise at Campobello. He also jumped into other projects in Theater, like The Great White Hope and Fences, which won him his first and second Tonys respectively.
In film, he starred in more than a hundred productions which included Dr. Strangelove (where he made his debut), Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, 1994’s The Lion King, East Side West Side, and Star Wars trilogy.
For his works, he won 2 Tony Awards, a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, a Grammy Award, A Golden Globe Award, and 2 Primetime Emmy Awards. He also received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, which made him an EGOT recipient (Someone who has obtained an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony in their career).
In his tribute to the late actor, the CEO of Walt Disney wrote in a statement posted on their official website that “James Earl Jones gave voice to some of the greatest characters in cinema history” and that “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.”