US actor James Earl Jones, who voiced 'Star Wars' villain Darth Vader and Mufasa in 'The Lion King', has died at the age of 93.
Jones, a longtime sufferer of diabetes, died at his home surrounded by family members, his agent Barry McPherson said.
No cause of death was provided.
He appeared in 'Conan the Barbarian', played Eddie Murphy's father in 'Coming to America' and starred in 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'Patriot Games'.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, Vader's son in Star Wars, tweeted: "RIP dad."
#RIP dad 💔 https://t.co/YXpFoBb2Ua
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) September 9, 2024
He was one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT collection of awards - an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony.
Fellow 'Star Wars' actor Samuel L Jackson previously said of him: "If you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the payment in these streets looks for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones."
One of his earliest roles was a small part in Stanley Kubrick's famous Cold War satire, 'Dr Strangelove.'
James Earl Jones arrives for the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, 26-2-12. Image: Associated Press / AlamyJames Earl Jones was also known as the voice of the US news network CNN.
His long list of awards included Tonys for 'The Great White Hope' in 1969 and 'Fences' in 1987 on Broadway and Emmys in 1991 for 'Gabriel's Fire' and 'Heat Wave' on television.
He also won a Grammy for best spoken word album, 'Great American Documents' in 1977.
Although he never won a competitive Academy Award, he was nominated for Best Actor for the film version of 'The Great White Hope' and was given an honorary Oscar in 2011.
Reporting by: IRN
