R.I.P.: James Earl Jones, EGOT Winner Was 93

James Earl Jones (1931-2024)

Award-winning actor James Earl Jones died Monday, Fox News Digital confirmed. He was 93.

Jones was known for his voice role as Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" franchise, in addition to "Coming to America," "Field of Dreams," and "The Hunt for Red October."

The star of stage and screen "passed away this morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, surrounded by family," his representative shared in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Jones is one of the few entertainers to have earned the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) during his career. He received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Tony Award.

While Jones did not win a competitive Oscar, he was presented with the Honorary Academy Award by Sir Ben Kingsley.

His career began in the theater in the early ‘50s where he earned the status as one of the best Shakespearean actors, with roles, like "Othello" and "King Lear" in addition to Oberon in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" and Claudius in "Hamlet."

His arguably most prolific role came in the form of voicing Darth Vader in George Lucas' 1977 space epic, "Star Wars." He reprized his role for the sequels "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 and again in "Return of the Jedi."

Jones starred in a slew of successful films, too, including "Conan the Barbarian," "Coming to America," "The Sandlot," "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger."

He was nominated for an Oscar for outstanding lead actor for his role in "The Great White Hope" and was given an honorary Oscar at the 2012 ceremony. In addition, Jones was a two-time Emmy winner and eight-time Emmy nominee. 

Jones won both of his Emmy Awards in 1991 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his role in "Gabriel's Fire," and for outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or a special for his role in "Heat Wave."

Born on Jan. 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones’ deep and booming bass brought life to several animated film characters, such as Mufasa in 1994’s Disney-animated smash hit “The Lion King,” Voice Box at Hardware Store in 2005’s “Robots” and the Giant in the 2009 movie retelling of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale.

Jones was mute for nearly eight years, until he was 14, as he suffered from a serious stutter that developed after he moved to Michigan at a young age, according to The Stuttering Foundation.

His stutter was suspected to be caused by childhood trauma, according to TIME — and it was actually his high school English teacher, poet Donald Crouch, who helped him work to overcome it. As Crouch challenged him to memorize poems and recite them in front of his class, Jones was able to speak more clearly.

“He got me engaged in the debating class, the dramatic reading class and so on,” Jones told the Daily Mail in a 2010 interview. “He got me talking, and reading poetry — Edgar Allan Poe was my favorite.”