On Sept. 9, James Earl Jones, a renowned African-American actor, died in his home in Dutchess County, NY.
Best known for voicing Star Wars villain Darth Vader, The Lion King’s Mufasa in 1994 and 2019, and many more, Jones is known as one of the best stage and screen actors, as one of the few people in the world to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, who was absent from his household, had also been an actor. Jones’ grandparents raised him in Michigan, where he attended and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in drama.
Jones, who overcame a stutter, created The Stuttering Foundation. The foundation provides free online resources, services and support to those who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.
In addition to voicing Darth Vader and Mufasa, Jones made his first Broadway appearance in the late 1950s in the play “Sunrise at Campobello.” Jones reconnected with his father and was featured in many plays with him, such as “Infidel Caesar,” “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl,” and “Of Mice and Men.” He earned his first Tony in 1969 for best actor in a play in “The Great White Hope.”
