If it seemed at times that James Earl Jones was everywhere, it was perhaps because he really was. Over a 50-year career, Jones — who died on Monday at the age of 93 — acted prolifically on television, in movies and under the spotlight of Broadway stages, one of which is now named after him.
An imposing man who stood taller than six feet, Jones was hard to miss. But it was his voice — deep, authoritative, powerful and sometimes menacing — that some fans may most remember. His voice work as Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy and as Mufasa in “The Lion King” conveyed his presence to millions without audiences ever seeing him.
Here are some snapshots from his life and career.
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Jones was a guest star on “Sesame Street” in 1970.Credit...Afro American Newspapers/Gado, via Getty Images
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Jones, with Lauren Bacall, won the Tony for best actor in a play in 1969 for “The Great White Hope.”Credit...Bettmann Archive, via Getty Images
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Jones with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson at a Broadway opening in 1978.Credit...Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images
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Jones and his wife, the actor Cecilia Hart, at the Tony Awards in 1989.Credit...Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection, via Getty Images
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Jones in his dressing room in 1983.Credit...Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle, via Getty Images
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Jones with his son, Flynn, and his father, Robert, in 1987.Credit...Michael Tighe/Donaldson Collection, via Getty Images
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Jones in a Hollywood recording studio in 1991.Credit...Edmund Eckstein/Getty Images
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Jones and Cicely Tyson in 1991.Credit...Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection, via Getty Images
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The actors would star in a revival of Donald L. Coburn’s “The Gin Game” in 2015.Credit...Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
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A Broadway theater was named after Jones in 2022.Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times
