James Earl Jones voice of Lion King’s Mufasa dies at 93

American actor James Earl Jones, best known for his role as Mufasa in The Lion King, has died.

The news of his death broke after he died on Monday morning, surrounded by family and his agent, Garry McPherson. He died at age 93 and the cause of the death is unknown.

James starred in a fleet of movies during his career, including “The Lion King,” “Coming to America,” and “Fields of Dreams.” He is popularly known as the voice behind the Star Wars supervillain Darth Vaderhis.

In addition to voice acting in “Star Wars” and “The Lion King,” Jones also portrayed characters in movies such as “Field of Dreams.”

James also lent his voice to numerous television commercials, and he used his iconic phrase “This is CNN” to introduce newscasts for many years.

Early Life and Education

He was born on 17 January 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi to Ruth Conolly (teacher and maid) and Robert Jones (butler, boxer and chauffeur).

From the age of five, he was raised by his maternal grandparents, John Henry and Maggie Connolly on their farm in Dublin, Michigan. James’ father left shortly after he was born. The transition of moving to his grandparents was traumatising for him and he developed a stutter so deep he wouldn’t speak. Jones always credited his then English teacher who discovered he had a gift for writing poems.

In 1949, James graduated from Dickson Rural Agricultural School, now known as Brethren High school, Michigan. He served as vice president of his class.

Tributes

Star Trek actor LeVar Burton was among the first to pay tribute to Jones, saying “there will never be another of his particular combinations of graces”.

Also paying tribute, US actor Colman Domingo wrote: “Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.”

Kevin Costner, who co-starred with him in “Field of Dreams, said: “That booming voice. That quiet strength. The kindness that he radiated. 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.”

Oscar-winning actor Octavia Spencer wrote Jones’ “voice and talent will be remembered always” and that “legendary doesn’t even begin to describe his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever.”

Crystal Minkoff, wife of The Lion King co-director Rob Minkoff, posted a photo of him holding a statue of Mufasa alongside the words: “Rest in Power, Mr Jones. You made a young animator’s dream come true when you accepted the role of Mufasa.

“Thank you for all you have done for Rob. Your memory will live on.”

Widely regarded as one of the world’s great stage and screen actors, he is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Although his Academy Award was honorary, James has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy, a spoken-word Grammy Award in 1977, and three Tony Awards.