James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
Rest in peace to the iconic James Earl Jones, one of the greatest actors of our time — please share this
Salma Hayek Looks HOT in New Bikini Photos, and We Can’t Believe She’s 57
ưSalma Hayek recently treated her followers to a collection of fresh bikini snapshots, sharing her stunning looks and her family’s response to the photos. Fans in the comments couldn’t help but shower her with praise for her confidence and beauty.
Salma recently shared some new photos where she’s wearing a cool dark blue bikini adorned with patterns, along with some stylish gold necklaces. In the pictures, she’s posing on a ladder attached to a boat, and it looks like someone from her family is spraying water at her. Salma jokingly captioned the photos, “When your family won’t let you take a bikini pic in peace.”
Salma is quite comfortable sharing her beach experiences on social media. In fact, she calls it liberating. She mentioned, “I had to lose a lot of weight and exercise to get into the bikini towards the end of last year. I’m glad I took a lot of pictures, I have no shame on it because it was the first week of the vacation.”
Salma’s recent photos sparked immediate interest from the public, drawing thousands of comments. One admirer remarked, “I thought these photos were from 20 years ago! Looking amazing as always.” Another chimed in, “…you are looking absolutely incredible in that bikini 👙 so inspirational.”
She let out the secret behind her fit body.
Salma revealed that she doesn’t exercise much because she has super long workdays, often stretching to 16 or even 20 hours. Instead of hitting the gym, her trainer showed her how to keep her muscles engaged throughout the day. Salma explained, “She taught me how to hold my body in a way where the muscles are activated all day long.”
Salma Hayek, who’s now widely celebrated as an icon, faced challenges earlier in her career. Surprisingly, she was restricted from showcasing her comedic talents because she was considered “too hot.”
Preview photo credit From Dusk Till Dawn / Dimension Films and co-producers, salmahayek / Instagram
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