I'm so sorry this is terrible news obviously look at the stars the great Kings of the past look down on us from those Stars the memories will be so thick that I have to brush them away from their faces I am your father I have one thing to say to people like you I like Star Wars too I'm a stutterer I didn't talk from the age of uh 8 to 14 actually 6 to 14 and I rediscovered the power of speech and uh then they couldn't shut yeah James Earl Jones the legendary actor of the stage and screen has died oh honey if you think James Earl Jones's voice was the only thing legendary about him and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air then buckle up this story is going to take you on a wild ride through Hollywood hey look man I ain't fighting for no race I ain't redeeming nobody my mama told me Mr Lincoln done that ain't that why you shot him family feuds trying iums heartbreaks and a whole lot of tea let's take it back to the beginning born on January 17th 1931 in Arab Butler Mississippi born in Mississippi uh raised in Michigan who stutters and that's the voice and that's me I I got I lucked out sounds fancy right Little James didn't have the Glamorous start you'd imagine his daddy Robert Earl Jones a boxer and actor dipped before James even had a chance to say bye so James was raised by his grandparents on a farm in Michigan and honey let's just say that childhood was rough remembering things of my childhood all little things like uh they would ordinarily sort of pass your memory but I get on a treadmill sometimes and I can't sleep you just you start going back into the past you know I mean I mean really little things like eating clay digging into the banks and of the River Bank in Mississippi and finding where the clay is pure and putting hold on eating it eating um Shamrock with salt again to add a little extra drama he had a horrible stutter yes this man who became known for his smooth deep voice couldn't even talk properly until later in life I'm a stutter I didn't talk from the age of uh 8 to 14 actually 6 to 14 and I rediscovered the power of speech and uh then they couldn't shut me up can you imagine Little James was mute for years yes years can you believe this iconic voice didn't speak until he was practically a teenager the boy was so nervous he wouldn't say a word silence isn't bad you know it's good to listen and I learned to listen but it wasn't until a high school teacher stepped in praise the teachers and encouraged him to recite poetry that James finally found his voice slowly but surely he came out of his shell and the world was never the same after that you have this incredible voice which people actually and famous you have the one of the most famous voices in the world when you think about it well sometimes sometimes it doesn't work cuz I'm a stutter and I'm happy that anything comes out at all just with Clarity fast forward a bit James heads off to the University of Michigan now at first he thought he'd be saving lives as a doctor but as fade would have it the theater bug bit him and soon he was all about the stage life you know there's always that moment when you realize your true calling and for James it was performing in front of people captivating them with his powerful presence don't you try go through life were it if somebody like you or not let's be real the man could act and it didn't take long for him to break into Broadway in 1964 he hit the big leagues with a performance in the blacks but it was his role in The Great White Hope in 1969 crazy what I supposed to do that's in any bitt hole someplace in town and go sneaking up that a KN that officially put him on the map he played a boxer named Jack Jefferson a role so iconic it earned him a Tony Award and even an Oscar nomination girl James was living that A-list life he was right up there with the big boys but if you think he peaked there hold on to your wigs it was 1977 and Along Came this little sci-fi flick called Star Wars Commander tear this ship apart until you found those plans and bring me the passengers I want them ever heard of it George Lucas tapped James to be the voice of Darth Vader no he wasn't in the suit leave that drama for later but honey when he said I am your father the world felt it his booming voice gave Darth Vader the gravitas we all love to hate when I first saw the dialogue that said Luke I am your father I said to himself he's lying I wonder how they're going to play that liar can you believe he made only $77,000 for his role in Star Wars as Darth Vader PID me $7,000 and I and I thought that was good money and let's be real without James's voice Darth wouldn't have been half as scary and kissner gave me a soundtrack with him doing the voice of Darth Vader K K's voices like this and you know I'm imitating him badly but it was scary as hell Kiren was scarier than I could ever be that movie was all about the voice o thean is here the Force is with him but here's the realy did you know James wasn't even credited for voicing Vader in the first film yes sis uncredited like how dare they there was definitely some shade thrown on that set but being the classy man he was James just went with it for a while at least while James was busy Conquering the entertainment World things back home were a hot mess his relationship with his daddy Robert Earl Jones was estranged for a long time Robert had bounced on the family when James was just a baby and that left some serious emotional scars it wasn't until later in life that James and his dad finally reconciled turns out Robert also ended up in the acting Biz like father like son right you ain't marrying no damn white woman you sticking to your own time but let's not sugarcoat it family drama aside James was living the Hollywood dream he married actress Cecilia Hart in 1982 and they had a son Flynn now their marriage was solid for decades why did you marry Jim but first do you know what Jim means by by the uptightness of black women you've been in the theater I've felt it I've sensed it with almost every black woman that we know uh whether they accept me or not you know whe there always a tolerance but there's always hostility uh behind it but tragedy struck in 2016 when Cecilia passed away from ovarian cancer losing the love of his life was hard on James but he carried on ever the professional they had been together for over 30 years so you know that hit him deep let's spill some behind the scenes tea shall we now James might have been a gentleman on the outside but there was some shade thrown here and there throughout his career while working on Star Wars there was a bit of tension between him and David prow The Man Behind the Vader mask see prow wanted to be the voice and the body of Darth but honey once George Lucas heard that voice it was a rap James was the chosen one I remember the the second when when George had a chance to counsel me uh he he said we don't know what we did right so let's just try what we did and I and naturally I wanted to make Darth V more interesting more more subtle you know more psychologically oriented and you know he said no no what we're finding out is you got to keep his voice on a very narrow band of inflection cuz he ain't human really but that didn't stop a little beef from Brewing apparently prow was salty for years feeling like James stole some of his Thunder the voice of course you don't provide you find it frustrating as an actor not to not to be performing locally yes terribly I I actually I performed all the way through the picture start tearing this ship apart piece by piece until you found those tapes find the passengers of this vessel I want them alive um cuz I have to learn all the dialogue and the actors the other actors in the film have to react to me and things like this but then they read up um but then they read up yeah I think the problem was as you obviously realize I have a a West country accent I would say very very slight very slight um and I don't think they could do Darth Vader with an English accent that was the big problem and also you see the character being a big black character that he is I think George really wanted not obvious black voice and they got James R Jones into to do it and to me that is a very a very obvious negro voice a Hollywood drama James also had some quiet disagreements with networks over the years he wasn't the kind of guy to air his dirty laundry in public but insiders whispered that he was not always thrilled with how his projects were marketed he was all about the craft and sometimes the Hollywood Machine didn't line up with his ideals okay let's talk about Mufasa one day DEC the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new King in 1994 Disney called up James and said we need you to voice a lion and of course James was like say less his role as Mufasa and the lion king became the father figure of a generation can you even picture anyone else telling Simba to remember who you are you are my son and the one true king no honey that's pure Jan's magic right there and let's not forget his work on Broadway the man on the stage from Shakespeare th shun a bear but if I flight late toward the Roaring sea th me the bury the teeth to Modern Classics when I did speak of some distressful stroke my youth suffered my story being James dominated he snagged two Tony Awards and countless nominations the man was a true thespian always keeping it real on stage while his Hollywood peers were busy chasing Blockbusters and while James Ruled The Pride lands as Mufasa he was also busy being royalty on screen in Eddie Murphy's iconic comedy Coming to America in 1988 remember King jaffy offer of Zamunda The wedding will precede in 40 days you may go home now good night that was James the man had range going from Regal Lions to fictional African kings and honey he owned every second of it coming to America was a Smash Hit and it only cemented his reputation as one of the most versatile actors out there fans ate up his magical portrayal of King jafi and he later reprised his iconic role in the long- awaited sequel coming to America in 2021 even at his age he still had it honey now the final chapter of James Earl Jones's life wasn't without its challenges after his wife Cecilia passed James slowed down a bit but let's be clear even in his late 80s and early 90s he was still working in fact in 2019 he reprised his role as Mufasa for Disney's liveaction Lion King remake because I mean who else could do it health issues began to catch up with him though rumors swirled about him dealing with diabetes and other health complications but James ever the private man kept most of it lowkey he did a few voiceover gigs and small projects but by 2022 he had mostly retired from the spotlight still his voice remained a presence one that could command a room even without him being there in the summer of 2024 tragedy struck the entertainment World on September 9th 2024 James Earl Jones passed away peacefully in his New York York home he was 993 years old the outpouring of love and tributes from fans and celebrities was overwhelming Hollywood lost a legend and people across the world mourned the loss of that iconic voice that had been a part of their lives for so many years at the time of his death his net worth was estimated to be around 45 million not bad for a kid who once couldn't even speak huh