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James Earl Jones, revered actor and voice of Star Wars’ Darth Vader, dies aged 93
American actor starred in films including The Great White Hope and won two Tony awards in prolific stage career
After studying drama at the University of Michigan and a spell in the military after the Korean war, Jones quickly established himself a stage performer, making his Broadway debut in 1958 with a small role in Sunrise at Campobello, Dore Schary’s play about Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis. He played the villainous Thulsa Doom opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian, Eddie Murphy’s father in Coming to America, author Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, and the CIA deputy director in The Hunt for Red October. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The GuardianJones continued to appear on stage whenever possible: he starred in the premiere production of August Wilson’s Fences, winning a second Tony award in 1987 for his role as refuse collector Troy Maxson, and as chauffeur Hoke Coleburn in the 2010 touring revival of Driving Miss Daisy.
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