NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen 鈥� eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� and Darth Vader 鈥� has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of 鈥淭he Gin Game鈥� having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
鈥淭he need to storytell has always been with us,鈥� he told The Associated Press then. 鈥淚 think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in 鈥淔ield of Dreams,鈥� the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit 鈥淭he Great White Hope,鈥� the writer Alex Haley in 鈥淩oots: The Next Generation鈥� and a South African minister in 鈥淐ry, the Beloved Country.鈥�
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (鈥淣o, I am your father,鈥� commonly misremembered as 鈥淟uke, I am your father鈥�), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in Disney's animated 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� and announcing 鈥淭his is CNN鈥� during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the 鈥淕reat American Documents鈥� audiobook.
鈥淚f you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the payment in these streets looks for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,鈥� Samuel L. Jackson once said.
Some of his other films include 鈥淒r. Strangelove,鈥� 鈥淭he Greatest鈥� (with Muhammad Ali), 鈥淐onan the Barbarian,鈥� 鈥淭hree Fugitives鈥� and playing an admiral in three Tom Clancy blockbuster adaptations 鈥� 鈥淭he Hunt for Red October,鈥� 鈥淧atriot Games鈥� and 鈥淐lear and Present Danger.鈥� In a rare romantic comedy, 鈥淐laudine,鈥� Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.
Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958鈥檚 鈥淪unrise At Campobello鈥� and would win his two Tony Awards for 鈥淭he Great White Hope鈥� (1969) and 鈥淔ences鈥� (1987). He also was nominated for 鈥淥n Golden Pond鈥� (2005) and 鈥淕ore Vidal鈥檚 The Best Man鈥� (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include 鈥淐at on a Hot Tin Roof,鈥� 鈥淒riving Miss Daisy,鈥� 鈥淭he Iceman Cometh,鈥� and 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Take It With You.鈥�
As a rising stage and television actor, he appeared in 鈥淎s the World Turns鈥� in 1965, becoming one of the first African American actors in a continuing role in a daytime drama. He performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in 鈥淥thello,鈥� 鈥淢acbeth鈥� and 鈥淜ing Lear鈥� and in off-Broadway plays.
Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.
When Jones was 6, his mother took him to her parents' farm near Manistee, Michigan. His grandparents adopted the boy and raised him.
鈥淎 world ended for me, the safe world of childhood,鈥� Jones wrote in his autobiography, 鈥淰oices and Silences.鈥� 鈥淭he move from Mississippi to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter.鈥�
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
