THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD lost a legend on September 9, 2024, when James Earl Jones died at the age of 93. An EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, Jones was renowned for decades thanks to his stellar work on screen and on the stage, and, of course, for his powerful, booming voice and undeniable presence. Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and kept a steady presence on screen and in the hearts of cinema fans for most of the following 60 years.
Despite his plethora of credits and appearances through the years, though, there were a handful of credits that Jones became best known for. Starting in 1977, he provided the voice of Darth Vader in George Lucas’s Star Wars franchise, adding a vital gravitas to a villain who is unquestionably one of the greatest in film history. He also holds a place near and dear to the heart of all baseball fans for his unforgettable role alongside Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams and in The Sandlot, while comedy fans will always remember him as Eddie Murphy’s royal father in Coming to America, and fans of animated films will never forget his touching performance as Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King.
As news of Jones’s passing got around, reactions and tributes to one of the most iconic presences in film and on television of the last half century began pouring in, from fans, collaborators, and personal friends.
Kevin Costner gave a particularly touching tribute on his Instagram, nodding toward the two’s time together on Field of Dreams. “That booming voice. That quiet strength. The kindness that he radiated,” he wrote. “So much can be said about his legacy, so I’ll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams.”
The National Baseball Hall of Fame shared a picture of the script page containing Jones’s famous Field of Dreams monologue, which lives in the museum in Cooperstown, NY.
The Star Wars family also paid tribute. “James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit,” George Lucas said in a statement release by Lucasfilm. “For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being.”
Mark Hamill, who famously played Darth Vader’s son, Luke Skywalker, chimed in with a simple “RIP Dad.”
New York City’s Empire State Building even lit up with imagery of the famed Sith lord.
Many remarked on his overall range.
It is also clear just how impactful and important Jones and his work were to other actors and filmmakers; notable names and talents like Denzel Washington, Colman Domingo, Wendell Pierce, Jeffrey Wright, Henry Winkler, Matthew Modine, LeVar Burton, and Barry Jenkins all shared their condolences.
While just about everyone has seen Jones’s movies like the Star Wars series and Field of Dreams, others took the opportunity to champion some of his less-known work, like the underrated 1987 film Matewan.
Perhaps the most fun thing to see go around, though, was to see people remembering the ways that Jones would appear here and there just having fun. That meant, occasionally, appearing on The Simpsons—where he famously narrated a rendition of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven for a “Treehouse of Horror” episode—as well as popping in on Sesame Street, performing a rendition of the national anthem at an MLB game, and helping David Letterman deliver a “Top Ten” list during his Late Show talk show.
Jones may be gone, but it’s clear that his impact was felt for a long, long time—and will continue to be felt long into the future as well.
