It was not only his voice that made him famous; Jones also had significant roles in Stanley Kubrick’s satire “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” and in “Conan the Barbarian” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He was an actor, but in the case of the “Star Wars” supervillain Darth Vader, James Earl Jones was only heard. Why is that? Under the black costume was the nearly two-meter-tall actor David Prowse, whose voice George Lucas found unsuitable. So, James Earl Jones could deliver, with a terrifying sound, perhaps the greatest plot twist in film history: “I am your father!” he tells Luke Skywalker. And in doing so, he suddenly created access to an ambiguous family saga.
Now, US actor James Earl Jones has passed away at the age of 93. He could look back on a career in theatre and film that spanned six decades. He was born in 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA. In 1957, he first appeared on a New York stage and made a name for himself in the following years, particularly as a Shakespeare performer. He achieved breakthrough success in the late 1960s with the play and film “The Great White Hope”.
Jones had significant roles thereafter, including in Stanley Kubrick’s satire “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” in “Conan the Barbarian” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, and in the 1980s comedy “Coming to America” opposite Eddie Murphy. Over his career, he received the Tony Award three times, including one for lifetime achievement, as well as two Emmys, a Grammy, and an honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievement. However, he was especially famous for his voice, one of the most recognizable in the English-speaking world. Besides “Darth Vader,” he also lent his voice to the animated character Mufasa, the father of young Simba in “The Lion King.” (APA/red.)