Hollywood mourns a legendary actor. On Monday, following the death of James Earl Jones, dozens of celebrities paid tribute to the actor who played Mufasa in The Lion King and Darth Vader in star Wars. Jones died at the age of 93 in his home in New York.
“RIP dad 💔”, Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in star Warsposted on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the iconic phrase “I am your father” that Jones gave to his character in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Actor Colman Domingo also paid tribute to X and posted an old photo of the late actor. “Thank you, dear James Earl Jones, for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders,” wrote Domingo. “Rest now. You gave us your best.”
Octavia Spencer shared a portrait of the late actor and said she was “incredibly saddened” by his death. “Legendary doesn’t even come close to describing his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever,” Spencer wrote. “His voice and talent will always be remembered. Sending love to his family, friends and countless fans in every galaxie, far, far away.”
LeVar Burton, who played with Jones in Tragedy of Guyana: The Story of Jim Joneswrote: “Such a special combination of graces will never happen again.”
“Legendary forever and ever 💔,” wrote Moonlight Director Barry Jenkins on Instagram.
“Words cannot express how sad this makes me! Thank you for sharing your talent and your soul! It was a pleasure working with you and getting to know you,” added Garcelle Beauvais.
Crystal Kung Minkoff, the wife of Lion King Director Rob Minkoff shared a photo of Rob and James holding a Mufasa statuette. “Rest in peace Mr. Jones. You made a young animator’s dream come true when you accepted the role of Mufasa,” she wrote. “Thank you for everything you did for Rob. Your memory will live on.”
“The man. The voice. The icon. Rest in peace, Mr. Jones,” D-Nice wrote.
Jones voiced Darth Vader in the first three star Wars Films — A new hope, The Empire Strikes BackAnd Return of the Jedi — as well as the Star Wars Christmas SpecialHe returned to the role in 2005 for cameo appearances Revenge of the Sith (with a throaty “No!”), the animated series Star Wars Rebels2016 Villain Oneand finally the year 2019 The Rise of Skywalker.
“I knew the voice had to be very special,” director George Lucas said at an American Theatre Wing gala honoring Jones in 2015. “It was a difficult decision, but in the end it was a really easy one. It was really a choice between Orson Welles and James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones won hands down. He created one of the greatest villains of all time with very little dialogue.”
Jones was an unofficial EGOT winner after winning a non-competitive Academy Lifetime Award. Jones has twice won Best Actor in a Play at the Tony Awards for The great white hope in 1969 and Fences In 1987, he won the Emmy Award three times, including Best Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fireand received a Grammy for Best Spoken Word in 1977 for Great American documents.
He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Tonys and the Screen Actors Guild and was a 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree.
