My brother recently arranged for me to go on a date with his friend Stewart, which ended up being a disaster. We found ourselves stuck at a fancy restaurant with an unpaid bill, and as the manager threatened to call the police, I realized the extent of Adam’s plan. I was left wondering how we were going to get out of this mess.
“You need to meet this guy, Jess,” Adam said, his face lit up as if he had just discovered something amazing. He was comfortably settled on my couch, channel surfing.
“Who are you talking about?” I asked, still focused on my laptop.
“Stewart. He works with me. He’s a great guy. Solid job, nice car, the whole package.”
rolled my eyes. “Is this another one of your setups?”
“No, seriously! He’s different. You’ll really like him. And he’s been asking about you.”
I sighed, skeptical due to Adam’s bad track record with setups, but his enthusiasm about Stewart made me curious. “Alright, but if this goes poorly, I’m not going to trust your setups anymore.”
Adam smirked. “Deal. You’ll thank me later, trust me.”
I spent the next few hours preparing carefully, wanting to make a good impression despite my reservations. By the time I was ready, my apartment was a mess from all the makeup and clothes. Despite my anxiety, Adam’s encouragement kept me going.
Stewart arrived in a shiny new sedan. As I got in, I couldn’t help but notice the car’s clean leather smell and the smooth hum of the engine.
“Hi, Jess?” he greeted me with a genuinely warm smile.
“Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you, Stewart.”
“Likewise. You look great, by the way.”
I blushed, feeling a bit more at ease. “Thanks. So, where are we heading?”
“I thought we could try this new place downtown. It’s fancy, but the food is amazing.”
“Sounds good,” I replied, surprised by the upscale choice.
James Earl Jones, acclaimed actor and voice of Darth Vader, dead at 93
James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
Rest in peace to the iconic James Earl Jones, one of the greatest actors of our time — please share this
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