James Earl Jones, an award-winning actor whose career spanned seven decades, died Monday at the age of 93, according to his agent.
Jones started his career in theatre, and roles soon followed in film and television. His first film role was a bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” in 1964. In 1970, he earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as boxer Jack Jefferson in “The Great White Hope.” He won a Tony Award for playing the same role on stage.
Jones was famous for his deep, commanding voice. Two of his most iconic voiceover roles were the villainous Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise and the wise Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King.” Jones is also the voice of the CNN tagline “This Is CNN.”
Jones is one of the few people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. His Oscar was an honorary award in 2011. His Grammy came in 1977, when he won for best spoken word recording (“Great American Documents”). His two Emmys came in 1991 for roles in the television series “Gabriel’s Fire” and the television film “Heat Wave.”
Jones, seen here in 1960, was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, in 1931. He was raised in Michigan, overcoming a stutter as a youth to attend the University of Michigan. He majored in drama and graduated in 1953. He served briefly in the US Army before moving to New York to pursue his acting career.
Jones portrays William Shakespeare’s “Othello” on stage. Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957. In 1964, he made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.”
Jones and his first wife, Julienne Marie, are seen together in October 1968. They divorced in 1972.
Jones won a Tony Award for his portrayal of a boxer in “The Great White Hope.” He later played the same role in the big-screen adaptation.
Jones sits in his dressing room before going on a Broadway stage in December 1968.
One of Jones’ first television roles came in 1969, when he appeared on two episodes of the crime drama “N.Y.P.D.”
In March 1969, Jones signs a petition to President Richard Nixon, asking for drastic measures to secure immediate peace in Vietnam. AP
Jones appears with, from left, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach at the Tony Awards in April 1969. Jones won best actor in a play for “The Great White Hope.” AP
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali steps into a ring with Jones to help raise publicity for “the Great White Hope” in November 1969, GB/AP
Jones was a guest star on the children’s show “Sesame Street” in 1970. Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images
Jones plays King Lear in a 1973 production set in New York’s Central Park. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
Jones appears in the 1977 film “Exorcist II: The Heretic.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Jones poses with a bust of singer Paul Robeson at a London theater in 1978. Jones portrayed Robeson on stage and in a TV movie. Hulton Deutsch/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Jones appears with Marlon Brando in a 1979 episode of “Roots: The Next Generations.” ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images
Jones and other performing artists wait to testify before a House subcommittee in Washington, DC, in March 1981. They were critical of President Ronald Reagan’s planned cuts of arts and humanities programs. AP
Jones plays villain Thulsa Doom in the 1982 film “Conan the Barbarian.” Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jones sits in a dressing room in 1983. Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Jones appears with Alec Baldwin in a scene from “The Hunt for Red October” (1990). Mondadori/Getty Images
Jones gets a pie in the face during the Emmy Awards in 1991. It was part of the show. Jones won two Emmys that year. Nick Ut/AP
Jones receives the National Medal of the Arts from President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Bush said Jones “has stamped his purely American mark on classical roles and created new characters who explore man’s quest for dignity.” Doug Mills/AP
Jones wears a “Lion King” tie in 1994 as he is photographed with his second wife, actress Cecilia Hart, and their son, Flynn. The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jones appears next to Darth Vader, who he famously voiced in the “Star Wars” movies.
Jones was among those recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2002. In the front row, from left are singer Paul Simon, actress Chita Rivera, Jones, first lady Laura Bush and President George W. Bush.
Jones plays himself in an episode of “Will & Grace” in 2003.
Jones read to students at the Sojourner Truth Elementary School in New York in 2005. In recognition of Black History Month and the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, Jones read “If A Bus Could Talk: the Story of Rosa Parks” by Faith Ringgold.
Jones recites the words to the National Anthem before the start of an NBA basketball game in Washington, DC, in 2006.
In 2007, Jones read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Jones and director Debbie Allen take a curtain call on the opening night of the Broadway show “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 2008.
Actor Forest Whitaker presents Jones with a lifetime achievement award during the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2009.
Jones and Vanessa Redgrave star in a stage production of “Driving Miss Daisy” in 2010.
Jones blows out candles for his 80th birthday in 2011.
Jones poses for photographers in Philadelphia in 2012. He was there to receive the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity.
Jones and the cast of “You Can’t Take It With You” take a final curtain call in 2015.
Jones tells graduating students “May the Force be with you” while speaking at Harvard University in 2017.
Jones makes a handprint during a special Disney event in July 2019.
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