James Earl Jones, a legendary man in Hollywood who led a legendary life, died at the age of 93 on Sept. 9. Now I could focus on that, on the circumstances of his death, but I feel like we have more than enough of that in the news and what have you these days so why don’t we reflect on his life instead?
Jones, who as ironic as it sounds, had to overcome a stutter when he was young. I mean when you’ve led the life and had the career that Jones had, you tend to make a name for yourself. Jones served time in the United States Army Rangers, ending his service with the rank of first lieutenant.
His career really got started all the way back in 1964 with his first big Hollywood film “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” and numerous movies followed. Rather than his imposing physical presence it would be his voice that would give him renown when he was cast in a little movie later known as “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope” providing the voice to the movie’s villain Darth Vader. At the time no one knew this would be a role that would come to define the rest of his career, as he reprised the role in two sequels, a holiday special, a prequel, numerous cartoons, spin offs and so on. Ironically, despite never once donning the ionic all black ensemble he is the face most associated with the character highlighted just how much power his voice truly wielded.
Of course Jones would become known for voicing other beloved characters as well, from the noble and wise Mufasa in “The Lion King” franchise too Maggie Simpson in one particularly memorable Treehouse of Horror segment on “The Simpsons” to serving as the voiceover for CNN, which while not a character per say, was also particularly memorable in it’s own right.
Now this didn’t mean he gave up on live action acting, Jones continued to appear in live action roles as well. From playing King Jaffe Joffer in “Coming to America” to Admiral Greer in “The Hunt for Red October” and beyond, Jones was still a steady sight in film and TV just as much as his voice was a common sound. This extended to him playing fictionalized versions of himself, from giving hard partying Charlie Harper’s eulogy in “Two and a Half Men” to going on a series of wacky misadventures with nerdy Sheldon Cooper in “The Big Bang Theory” Jones was never afraid to laugh at himself and was clearly just as comfortable in comedy roles as he was in serious roles.
Jones is survived by his son Flynn, and though physically gone Jones will live forever in the work he made and the memories he has forged.
