James Earl Jones, the legendary voice of Darth Vader, Mufasa, and CNN, has died

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 14: Actor James Earl Jones attends "The Gin Game" Broadway opening night after party at Sardi's on October 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/WireImage)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

James Earl Jones, the award-winning actor known for the deep, commanding voice that brought life to characters ranging from Mufasa to Darth Vader, has died at the age of 93. A Deadline report says Jones' death was confirmed by his representatives at Independent Artist Group.

Jones' film career began in a big way, appearing alongside Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden in the 1964 classic Dr. Strangelove, in which he helped drop the bomb that Slim Pickens famously rode all the way down:

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In 1970, he took the lead in The Great White Hope, an acclaimed drama for which he earned an Academy Award for best actor—having previously won a Tony Award for starring in the stage play upon which the film was based. He followed that with a Golden Globe nomination in the 1974 film Claudine.

Probably his most famous role, though, followed a few years later: Darth Vader, the armor-clad villain of the original Star Wars trilogy, The character was actually portrayed by actor David Prowse, but Jones heavier, more ominous voice was dubbed overtop Prowse's in post production—in hindsight, a very good idea.

Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill paid tribute to Jones on Twitter:

More prominent roles in film and television followed, as did numerous awards and honors, and he amassed a remarkably diverse array of credits in subsequent decades, from Conan the Barbarian—Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1982 breakthrough—to the comedy hit Coming to America, the Academy Award-nominated sports drama Field of Dreams, and the Tom Clancy blockbusters The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. He also continued to provide notable voice work: He read Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Raven in The Simpson's first Treehouse of Horror Halloween special, voiced Mufasa in the Disney animated film The Lion King, and of course very famously said "This is CNN." He was also on Sesame Street

And yes, there was videogame work in there too. Jones has credits in multiple Lion King games, but he also provided the voice of the Great PI of the Universe in Under a Killing Moon and is probably best known on the game front as General James Solomon in Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Jones did not provide the voice of his most famous character, Darth Vader, in the many Star Wars videogames: That job went to various other actors, most notably Scott Lawrence and Matthew Sloan.

Ironically, despite having one of the most powerful and instantly recognizable voices in any entertainment medium, Jones said in an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1995 that it's something he struggles with because he has a stutter.

"I'm lucky that it comes out enough to talk to you right now," Jones said. "I have no presumptions or no arrogance about my voice. You want to think that I might even be in love with my voice. I'm not, because it would be the most unfaithful lover I've ever had, because it fails me often.

"Because I'm a stutterer ... Being a stutterer for that long in my developing years, I can't have an extemporaneous conversation. I cannot be an emcee, for instance. It's impossible for me. I can't string ideas and words together that well."

At the same time, he wasn't afraid to embrace the power of his most famous asset, nor did he seem inclined to take it too seriously.

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James Earl Jones was 93.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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