James Earl Jones has died aged 93
The legendary actor was known for his roles as Darth Vader as well as Mustafa in The Lion King.
The cinema legend also starred in Field of Dreams, Dr Strangelove and The Hunt for Red October, as well as a host of Broadway shows.
Jones was one of a few actors to earn the coveted EGOT status. He won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, and was given an Honorary Academy Award for his career.
Representatives for the actor broke the news to Deadline. His cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
Originally from Mississippi, Jones had a severe stutter during his childhood, and was nearly mute for eight years of his life.
“In Sunday school, I’d try to read my lessons and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter… by the time I got to school, my stuttering was so bad that I gave up trying to speak properly,” he previously told the Daily Mail.
However, he says an English teacher at high school helped him overcome the stutter, by reading poetry in front of the class.
“I don’t say I was ‘cured,’” he told NPR. “I just work with it.”
The actor was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the mid 90s, but didn’t reveal his diagnosis publicly until 2016.
“I didn’t notice any symptoms,” Jones said at the time.
“I had gone to a diet and exercise program hoping to lose some weight and ended up falling asleep sitting on a bench in the gymnasium. My doctor, who happened to be there, said that’s not normal.
“He encouraged me to go get a test, and I did – and there it was: type 2 diabetes. It hit me like a thunderbolt.”
He continued: “I can live to the extent that I can do all the work I used to do 10 years ago. I love working, and at my age I still love being able to put in eight shows a week on a play or handle a long schedule if I’m doing film or television. I didn’t want that to stop, so I had to take responsibility with my condition.”
