American actor James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93, his agent Barry McPherson said Monday.
McPherson said Jones died at his home surrounded by family. Jones passed away on Monday morning, and the cause of death is still unclear.
Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films and Mufasa in Disneyâs 1994 animated hit The Lion King.
He was awarded Tonys for 1969 Broadway show The Great White Hope and the 1987 show Fences.
He won Emmys in 1991 for the TV series Gabrielâs Fire and Heat Wave.
In 1977, he won a Grammy for best spoken word album, Great American Documents.
Jones was also heard in dozens of television commercials and the CNN broadcaster used his voice saying âThis is CNNâ to introduce newscasts for several years.
He also acted in movie such as the 1989 film Field of Dreams and 1995 film Cry, The Beloved Country.
In 2005, Jones reprised his role as Darth Vader in Revenge Of The Sith and also in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
âOne of the worldâs finest actors whose contributions to âStar Warsâ were immeasurable. Heâll be greatly missed,â actor Mark Hamill, who played Darth Vaderâs son Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies, told the AP news agency.
James Earl Jones. there will never be another of his particular combination of graces,â actor LeVar Burton said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
âThank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.â actor Colman Domingo said in a post on X.
CNN also extended its condolences.
âWe are deeply saddened to hear of Jamesâs passing. He was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum. That remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about James. Our thoughts are with his family,â the network said.