James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor.^[1] He was famous for doing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies,^[2] for doing the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King and in the 2019 remake,^[2] and for the CNN tagline ("This...is CNN"). He starred in Lincoln Portrait which has music by Aaron Copland.

James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones in 1992
Born	(1931-01-17)January 17, 1931 Arkabutla, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	September 9, 2024(2024-09-09) (aged 93) Pawling, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1951–2021
Spouse(s)	Julienne Marie (1968–1972; divorced) Cecilia Hart (1982–2016; her death)
Children	1
Father	Robert Earl Jones

Jones won two Tony Awards for his live theatre work on Broadway. He won an Emmy Award for his role on the television series Gabriel's Fire. In 1991, he became the first actor to win two Emmys in the same year.^[3]

He was a son of actor Robert Earl Jones.^[1]

Death

Jones died at his home in Pawling, New York on September 9, 2024. He was 93 years old.^[4][5][6] He had diabetes at the time of his death.^[7]

Film

Jones at the Governor's Ball after the 43rd Annual Emmy Awards in August 1991

Jones rehearsing for the Australian tour of the stage production Driving Miss Daisy in January 2013

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1964	Dr. Strangelove	Lt. Lothar Zogg		[8]
1967	The Comedians	Dr. Magiot		[9]
1967	The Comedians in Africa	Himself	Short film	[10]
1970	The End of the Road	Doctor D		[11]
1970	The Great White Hope	Jack Jefferson		[12]
1970	King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis	Himself		[13]
1972	Malcolm X	Malcolm X		[14]
1972	The Man	Douglass Dilman		[15]
1974	Claudine	Roop		[16]
1976	The River Niger	Johnny Williams		[17]
1976	The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings	Leon Carter		[18]
1976	Swashbuckler	Nick Debrett		[19]
1976	Deadly Hero	Rabbit		[20]
1977	The Greatest	Malcolm X		[21]
1977	A New Hope	Darth Vader (voice)	Uncredited	[22]
1977	Exorcist II: The Heretic	Older Kokumo		[23]
1977	The Last Remake of Beau Geste	Sheikh		[24]
1977	A Piece of the Action	Joshua Burke		[25]
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Darth Vader (voice)	Uncredited	[22]
1981	Bushido Blade	Harpooner		[26]
1982	The Flight of Dragons	Ommadon (voice)		[27]
1982	Conan the Barbarian	Thulsa Doom		[28]
1982	Blood Tide	Frye	aka Demon Island and The Red Tide	[29]
1983	Return of the Jedi	Darth Vader (voice)		[22]
1985	City Limits	Albert		[30]
1986	Soul Man	Professor Banks		[31]
1987	Gardens of Stone	Sgt. Maj. "Goody" Nelson		[32]
1987	Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold	Umslopogaas		[33]
1987	My Little Girl	Ike Bailey		[34]
1987	Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night	Emperor of the Night		[35]
1987	Matewan	Few Clothes		[36]
1988	Coming to America	King Jaffe Joffer		[37]
1989	Three Fugitives	Dugan		[38]
1989	Field of Dreams	Terence Mann		[39]
1989	Best of the Best	Couzo		[40]
1990	Convicts	Ben Johnson		[41]
1990	The Hunt for Red October	Admiral James Greer		[42]
1990	The Ambulance	Lt. Spencer		[43]
1990	Grim Prairie Tales	Morrison		[44]
1991	Scorchers	Bear		[45]
1992	Patriot Games	Admiral James Greer		[46]
1992	Freddie as F.R.O.7	Narrator	American version	[47]
1992	Sneakers	NSA Agent Bernard Abbott		[48]
1993	Dreamrider	William Perry		[49]
1993	Sommersby	Judge Barry Conrad Isaacs		[50]
1993	The Sandlot	Mr. Mertle		[51]
1993	Excessive Force	Jake		[52]
1993	The Meteor Man	Earnest Moses		[53]
1994	Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult	Himself	Cameo	[54]
1994	Clean Slate	Dolby		[55]
1994	The Lion King	Mufasa (voice)		[56]
1994	Clear and Present Danger	Admiral James Greer		[57]
1995	Jefferson in Paris	Madison Hemings		[58]
1995	Cry, the Beloved Country	Rev. Stephen Kumalo		[59]
1995	Judge Dredd	Narrator		[60]
1996	A Family Thing	Ray Murdock		[61]
1996	Good Luck	James Bing		[62]
1997	Casper: A Spirited Beginning	Kibosh	Direct-to-video	[63]
1997	Gang Related	Arthur Baylor		[64]
1998	Primary Colors	CNN Voiceover		[65]
1998	The Lion King II: Simba's Pride	Mufasa	Direct-to-video	[66]
1999	Our Friend, Martin	Daddy King		[67]
1999	On the Q.T.	Leo		[68]
1999	Undercover Angel	The Judge		[69]
1999	The Annihilation of Fish	Fish		[70]
1999	Fantasia 2000	Himself	Introduction to Carnival of the Animals segment	[71]
2001	Finder's Fee	Avery Phillips		[72]
2001	Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street	Santa Claus		[73]
2005	Robots	Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)		[74]
2005	The Sandlot 2	Mr. Mertle	Direct-to-video	[75]
2005	Revenge of the Sith	Darth Vader (voice)		[76]
2006	Click	Narrator of Michael's Past	Uncredited	[77]
2006	Scary Movie 4	Narrator		[78]
2008	Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins	Papa Jenkins		[79]
2009	Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey	Admiral		[80]
2010	Jack and the Beanstalk	The Giant		[81]
2011	Star Tours—The Adventures Continue	Darth Vader (voice)	Short	[82]
2013	Gimme Shelter	Frank McCarthy		[83]
2014	The Angriest Man in Brooklyn	Ruben		[84]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1963	East Side/West Side	Joe Goodwin	Episode: "Who Do You Kill?"
1966	Dr. Kildare	Dr. Lou Rush	4 episodes
1969	N.Y.P.D.	Candy Lateen	2 episodes
1977	Roots	Alex Haley	Episode: "Part XII"	[85]
1977	Jesus of Nazareth	Balthazar	Episode: "Part 1"	[86]
1979–1980	Paris	Woodrow Paris	13 episodes
1979	Roots: The Next Generations	Alex Haley	Episode: "1.7"
1985	Me and Mom	Lou Garfield	6 episodes
1986	Faerie Tale Theatre	Genie	Episode: "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp"
1987–1991	Mathnet	Chief Thad Green	5 episodes
1987, 1990–1992	Square One TV	Announcer / Chief Thad Greene	4 episodes
1992	Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories	Narrator	Segment "Millions of Cats"
1988–1989	L.A. Law	Lee Atkins	2 episodes
1989	Saturday Night with Connie Chung	Vernon Johns	Episode: "God's Bad Boy"
1990, 1994, 1998	The Simpsons	Narrator / Maggie Simpson / Moving Man (voices)	3 episodes
1990–1991	Gabriel's Fire	Gabriel Bird	22 episodes
1991–1992	Pros and Cons	Gabriel Bird	12 episodes
1992	Garfield and Friends	Diablo	Episode: "Ghost of a Chance"
1993	ABC Weekend Special	–	Episode: "The Parsley Garden"
1993	Law & Order	Horace McCoy	Episode: "Profile"
1993	American Playhouse	Old Man Taylor	Episode: "Hallelujah"
1994	Picket Fences	Bryant Thomas	Episode: "System Down"
1994	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Franklin Stern	Episode: "The House of Luthor"
1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	King Dakkar (voice)	Episode: "The Valiant Little Tailor"	[87]
1995	Signs and Wonders	Diamond	4 episodes
1995	Under One Roof	Neb Langston	6 episodes
1996	3rd Rock from the Sun	Narrator	2 episodes
1997	Mad About You	James Earl Jones	Episode: "Chicken Man"
1997	Touched by an Angel	Angel of Angels	Episode: "Clipped Wings"
1997	Frasier	Norman Royster	Episode: "Roz's Krantz & Gouldenstein Are Dead"
1997	Stargate: SG-1	Unas	Episode: "Thor's Hammer"
1997	Homicide: Life on the Street	Felix Wilson	3 episodes
1998	Merlin	Mountain King	3 episodes
1998	Recess	Santa Claus	2 episodes
2003–2004	Everwood	Will Cleveland	3 episodes
2004	According to Jim	Royal Flush XP Toilet	Episode: "The Toilet"
2008	Two and a Half Men	James Earl Jones	Episode: "The Devil's Lube"	[88]
2009	House	Dibala	Episode: "The Tyrant"
2014	The Big Bang Theory	James Earl Jones	Episode: "The Convention Conundrum"	[89]
2014-2015	Star Wars Rebels	Darth Vader	2 episodes
2015	Agent X	TBA	Filming

Television film

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
1974	The Cay	Timothy	[90]
1975	The UFO Incident	Barney Hill	[91]
1977	The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened	Morris Bird, Jr.	[92]
1978	Star Wars Holiday Special	Darth Vader (voice)	[93]
1980	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones	Father Divine	[94]
1984	The Vegas Strip War	Jack Madrid	[95]
1990	By Dawn's Early Light	Alice	[96]
1990	Heat Wave	Junius Johnson	[88]
1992	Lincoln	Narrator	[97]
1993	Percy & Thunder	Percy	[98]
1994	Confessions: Two Faces of Evil	Charles Lloyd	[99]
1994	The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story	Vernon Johns	[100]
1994	Rod Serling's Lost Classics	Host	[101]
1994	Bah, Humbug!	Narrator / Ebenezer Scrooge	[102]
1995	People: A Musical Celebration	The Storyteller (voice)	[103]
1996	Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault	Dr. McDuffie	[104]
1996	Timepiece	Lawrence	[105]
1997	Alone	Grey	[106]
1997	What the Deaf Man Heard	Archibald Thacker	[107]
1997	The Second Civil War	Jim Kalla	[108]
1999	Santa and Pete	Grandpa Nicholas	[109]
1999	Summer's End	Dr. William Blakely	[110]
2001	The Feast of All Saints	Older Marcel	[111]
2005	The Reading Room	William	[112]
2009	The Magic 7	5-Toe (voice)	[113]

Narrator

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
1970	King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis		[114]
1980	There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues	Documentary	[115]
1992	Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama		[116]
1994	Africa: The Serengeti	Documentary	[117]
1995	Who's in Rabbit's House?	Audio book	[118]
2001	Black Indians: An American Story		[119]
2002	Disney's American Legends		[120]
2004	Nine Dog Christmas	Video	[121]
2006	The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy		[122]
2007	Earth	Documentary	[123]

Theatre

Jones performing Driving Miss Daisy in Sydney in March 2013

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
1958–1959	Sunrise at Campobello	Edward	Cort Theatre	[124]
1960	The Cool World	Harrison Thurston	Eugene O'Neill Theatre	[125]
1961–1964	The Blacks	Deodatus Village	St. Mark's Playhouse	[126]
1961	Clandestine on the Morning Line	–	Actors' Playhouse	[127]
1961	The Apple	–	Living Theatre	[128]
1962	The Merchant of Venice	Prince of Morocco	Delacorte Theater	[129]
1962	P.S. 193	Mario Saccone	Writers Stage Theatre	[130]
1963	The Love Nest	George Gulp	Writers Stage Theatre	[131]
1963	The Winter's Tale	Camillo	Delacorte Theater	[132]
1963	Next Time I'll Sing to You	Rudge	Phoenix Theatre	[133]
1964	The Blood Knot	Zachariah Pieterson	Cricket Theatre	[134]
1964–1965	Othello	Othello	Martinique Theatre / Delacorte Theater	[135][136]
1965	Baal	Ekart	Martinique Theatre	[137]
1965	Coriolanus	Junius Brutus	Delacorte Theater	[138]
1965	Troilus and Cressida	Ajax	Delacorte Theater	[139]
1965	Danton's Death	–	Vivian Beaumont Theatre	[140]
1966	A Hand Is on the Gate	–	Longacre Theatre	[141]
1968–1970	The Great White Hope	Jack Jefferson	Alvin Theatre	[142]
1970	Les Blancs	Tshembe Matoseh	Longacre Theatre	[143]
1972	Hamlet	Claudius	Delacorte Theater	[144]
1972–1973	The Cherry Orchard	Lopahin	Joseph Papp Public Theater/Anspacher Theater	[145]
1973	King Lear	Lear	Delacorte Theater	[146]
1973–1974	The Iceman Cometh	Theodore Hickman	Circle in the Square Theatre	[147]
1974–1975	Of Mice and Men	Lennie	Brooks Atkinson Theatre	[148]
1978	Paul Robeson	Paul Robeson	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre / Booth Theatre	[149]
1980–1981	A Lesson From Aloes	Steve Daniels	Playhouse Theatre	[150]
1982	Othello	Othello	Winter Garden Theatre	[151]
1982–1983	"Master Harold"...and the Boys	–	Lyceum Theatre	[152]
1987–1988	Fences	Troy Maxson	46th Street Theatre	[153]
2005	On Golden Pond	Norman Thayer, Jr.	Cort Theatre	[154]
2008	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Daddy	Broadhurst Theatre	[155]
2010–2011, 2013	Driving Miss Daisy	Hoke Colburn	John Golden Theatre (2010–2011) Australian Tour (2013)	[156][157]
2012	The Best Man	Former President Arthur "Artie" Hockstader	Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre	[158]
2014–2015	You Can't Take It with You	Martin Vanderhof	Longacre Theatre	[159]

Video game

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1999	Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun	General James Solomon	Live action cutscenes	[160]
2000	The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure	Mufasa		[161]
2005	Kingdom Hearts II	Mufasa		[162]
2007	Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga	Darth Vader		[163]