James Earl Jones: classically trained actor who gave a voice to Darth Vader

One of the most respected actors of his generation, Jones overcame a childhood stutter to become a 'towering' presence on stage and screen

James Earl Jones seen here arriving at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles in 2012
James Earl Jones seen here arriving at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles in 2012
(Image credit: Chris Carlson / Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo)

A towering figure in 20th century American theatre and the pre-eminent African American actor of his generation, James Earl Jones was known for his interpretations of both modern and classical roles, said The Daily Telegraph. He played Othello seven times; he turned in a "titanic" performance as the raging Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; he played the crusty retired academic Norman in a 2005 staging of "On Golden Pond"; and won a Tony for his performance as the frustrated garbage collector in August Wilson's "Fences."

His looks – powerful, commanding, magisterial – were a large part of the equation, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. "But it was how he sounded that made him a legend." A great rumbling basso profundo, his voice was "like a thunderstorm surmounting the horizon". One critic described it as "the sound Moses might have heard when addressed by God". Famously, he provided the voice of the menacing Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" films, and of the noble lion Mufasa in "The Lion King".

His vocal cords were undoubtedly a great asset, said The New York Times. But it also took versatility, talent and "Herculean" drive for Jones, who has died aged 93, to rise to Hollywood and Broadway stardom. He was born in Mississippi in 1931. His mother, Ruth Jones, was a maid and a teacher; his father, Robert Earl Jones, left the family early on to pursue a career first as a boxer and then as an actor (in films including "Trading Places" and "The Sting"). When he was five, the family moved to rural Michigan, where Jones was raised on a farm by his grandmother – a woman of part-Cherokee descent who detested white people. He found the move profoundly unsettling, and developed a stammer so severe that he stopped speaking. At high school, however, he found he could express himself through poetry, and started to overcome his stammer by developing a notably precise diction. "You find yourself with a weak muscle, and you exercise it. And sometimes that becomes your strong muscle," he said later.

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