James Earl Jones, best known for being the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movies and in many other movies and TV shows, died early Monday morning (September 9, 2024).
He was a familiar face in films such as Field of Dreams, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Coming 2 America and Conan the Barbarian. He also played roles on numerous TV series, with appearances on The Big Bang Theory (playing himself), House, Two and a Half Men, According to Jim, Roots: The Next Generation and Everwood.
James Earl Jones is one of the few actors to have earned an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). He was nominated for an Oscar in 1971 for his leading role in The Great White Hope, and won an honorary Oscar in 2012. Other awards incude a Daytime Emmy, two Primetime Emmys, and a Golden Globe award (for The Great White Hope). He won a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Recording for "Great American Documents" and a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He also won three Tony awards for The Great White Hope in 1969, Fences in 1987 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
Jones' representative Barry McPherson confirmed his death in a statement yesterday afternoon. "He passed this morning surrounded by his loved ones," McPherson said. "He was a great man." ~Alexandra Heilbron