LOS ANGELES: American actor James Earl Jones, an imposing stage and screen presence who overcame a childhood stutter to develop a stentorian voice recognised the world over as intergalactic villain Darth Vader, died on Monday 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.

Jones had a great physical presence on stage and television, as well as in movies, but he would have been a star even if his face was never seen because his voice had a career of its own. The resonating bass could instantly command respect — as with the sage father Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and many Shakespeare roles — or instill fear as the rasping Vader in the “Star Wars” films.

Jones laughed when a BBC interviewer asked if he resented being so closely tied to Darth Vader, a role that required only his voice for a few lines while another actor did the on-screen work in costume. “I love being part of that whole myth, of that whole cult,” he said, adding that he was glad to oblige fans who asked for a command recital of his “I am your father” line to Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill.

“#RIP dad,” Hamill wrote on X on Monday with a broken heart emoji above a story about the death of Jones.

Jones said he never made much money off the Darth Vader part — only $9,000 for the first film — and that he considered it merely a special effects job. He did not even ask to be in the credits of the first two “Star Wars” movies.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2024