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you cannot think of James Earl Jones without hearing his voice Jones defining instrument was the booming basso profundo which could express instant nobility or a threat it gave him strength in all of his stage and film performances most notably as Darth Vader in Star Wars maasa in The Lion King and the voice of CNN welcome to Star updates if you're new here please like And subscribe and hit the notification Bell so you stay up to date about buzzing updates and hot gists from kard iian and your favorite celebrities that incredible voice is just one of the many things the world will miss about the popular actor who died on Monday according to his agent he was 93 Jones died while accompanied by his family according to his spokesman no cause of death was given from the gentle wisdom of maasa to the menacing thread of Darth Vader James Earl Jones gave voice to some of the greatest characters in cinema history stated Bob Iger CEO of the Walt Disney Company in a press release a celebrated stage actor with nearly 200 film and television credits to his name the stories he brought to life with a uniquely commanding presence and a true richness of spirit have left an indelible mark on generations of audiences Jones had a spectacular career that lasted 60 years taking him from a Small Town Theater in northern Michigan to the Pinnacle of Hollywood in the mid 1970s Star Wars Creator George George Lucas cast towering British actor David prow as the man inside Darth Vader's black suit but later decided he wanted someone else to voice the character George thought he wanted a pardon the expression darker voice Jones once told the American Film Institute I lucked out nobody expected Star Wars to become a blockbuster let alone an enduring franchise and cultural phenomenon Jones recorded all of his lines in a few hours and does not appear in the film's credits he stated that he was paid only $7,000 for the film and I thought that was good money the actor and Lucas disagreed on how he should portray the malevolent Vader I wanted to make Darth Vader more interesting more subtle more psychologically oriented Jones told me hcas said no no you've got to keep his voice on a very narrow band of inflection cause he ain't human Darth Vader's climactic fight with Luke Skywalker played by Mark Hamill in 19 1980s The Empire Strikes Back was a dramatic High Point in the Star Wars Trilogy capped by Jon's delivery of one of the most famous lines in film history no I am your father on Monday Hamill issued a statement via Instagram writing one of the world's finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable he will be deeply missed hashtag rip D Jones admitted that nearly two decades later when portraying the dignifi IED maasa in Disney's animated film The Lion King He struggled to get the correct tone my first mistake was to try and make him Regal Jones remarked of the 1994 film and what they really needed was something more like me they said what are you like as a father I replied well I'm a Dopey dad he went on to say they began to put my facial expressions and tone of voice on maasa yes he was forceful but he was a gentle father Jones was born in Mississippi in the year 1931 his father Robert Earl Jones left the family before James was born to pursue a career as an actor in New York and Hollywood working with playright Langston Hughes and eventually Landing supporting roles in successful films such as the sting Jones family relocated from Mississippi to Michigan when he was 5 years old a stressful experience that caused him to acquire stuttering his fear of speaking kept him mostly until High School when a poetry teacher encouraged him to read his poems aloud he began to challenge me to nudge me toward speaking again toward acknowledging and appreciating the beauty of words Janes said Janes studied drama at the University of Michigan served as an Army Ranger and later relocated to New York where he quickly won main roles in Shakespearean stage plays in 1964 he appeared as a Bombadier in Stanley Kubrick's Doctor Strange Love Jones was hired as troubled boxer Jack Johnson in a 1967 theatrical production of the Great White Hope a role that changed his career and earned him a Tony Award he played the character again three years later in the film adoption becoming only the second African-American actor after Sydney puer to be nominated for an Academy Award by the mid 1970s Jones was working steadily in films and television a creative streak that never stopped over the next five decades he played many memorable roles including Alex Haley in TV's Roots the next Generations warlord Thula Doom in Conan the Barbarian an African king in Coming to America Kevin Cosner's reluctant recruit in Field of Dreams Admiral Greer in The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games and a South African preacher in Cry The Beloved Country in an Instagram post on Monday Cosner paid tribute to Janes booming voice quiet strength and the kindness that he radiated so much can be written about his legacy but I'll simply say how grateful IE and that includes Field of Dreams if you've seen it you know that this film wouldn't be the same if someone else played his character he added only he could bring that type of magic to a baseball movie set in an Iowa cornfield I'm grateful to have witnessed him perform that magic Jones continued to labor into his later years Jones will return to his role as King jaffy joffer in Coming to America the long-awaited sequel to The 1988 classic according to IMDb his final credit was voicing Darth Vader in the 2022 Disney plus miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2019 he returned as maasa in Disney's remake of The Lion King being the only cast member to repeat his role from the original film over the years he has also guest starred in scores of TV shows from La law to Sesame Street appeared frequently on stage and lent his deep rumbling voice to everything from The Simpsons to a popular audio recording of the King James Bible Jones stated that several people in public did not identify him until they heard his voice when you don't talk it's like going ninja he told Rachel Ray in 2016 when you get into the cab and indicate where you're going the driver turns around and says hey aren't you that Darth Vader guy he also spoke CNN's catchphrase this is CNN with a dramatic delay after this a CNN spokesman said in a statement on Monday that Jones was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades uniquely conveying instant Authority Grace and decorum that remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about James according to the statement Jones received three Tony Awards two Emmys a Grammy a Golden Globe and countless more honors during his long and successful career it was not acting it was language when asked what inspired his enthusiasm for acting he said speech it was something I had denied myself for years as a boy I suddenly had a strong even odd respect for it and it was the idea that you can do a play like a Shakespeare play or any well-written play Arthur Miller whatever and say things you could never imagine saying never imagine thinking in your own life he said at the 1996 Academy of achievement awards you could say these things that's what it's all about whether it's movies television or whatever that's still the point