When news hit this afternoon of James Earl Jones’ death at age 93, the memories that came to mind likely depend on when you came of age.
If you grew up in the Nineties, you probably thought back to The Lion King and The Sandlot. If you’re a bit older, you surely conjured up Coming to America, Conan the Barbarian, and Field of Dreams.
And your parents probably remember Dr. Strangelove, and his work onstage in Othello, The Iceman Cometh, and Of Mice and Men. The man had an amazing career that stretched across seven decades.
But there’s one James Earl Jones performance known to just about everyone regardless of age. We’re talking, of course, about his role as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and many of the prequels, sequels, and spinoffs over the past 47 years.
“I’m simply special effects,” Jones told the American Film Insitute. “George [Lucas] has recently admitted that when he hired [bodybuilder] David Prowse, he thought that was his Darth Vader. He had a slight Scottish accent, not a bass, more a tenor. It’s a very effective voice. But George felt he wanted, pardon the expression, a ‘darker’ voice. So he hires a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. That’s the voice. That’s me. I lucked out.”
There are too many iconic Darth Vader moments to mention here, but the ultimate one came at the conclusion of 1980’s Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker (and the rest of the world) finally learned the truth about his lineage.
“Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father,” Vader tells him. “I am your father … Search your feelings. You know it to be true. Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.”
It was one of the most stunning reveals in movie history. And let’s all be thankful they weren’t said by a bodybuilder with a Scottish accent. Nobody could have delivered them like James Earl Jones. And he’s so important to the Star Wars universe that his voice has been digitized and will be used to voice Darth Vader for years to come. In a small way, it means he gets to live forever.
From Rolling Stone US
