James Earl Jones has died. The actor who voiced Darth Vader

The death of the actor, who spent his last moments surrounded by his family, was confirmed by his agent.

Jones was born in Mississippi in 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, left the family before James was born to become an actor in New York and Hollywood. He collaborated with, among others: with playwright Langston Hughes, he appeared in supporting roles in box office hits, including “The Sting”.

Poetry is the cure for stuttering

Jones’s family moved from Mississippi to Michigan when he was 5 years old. It was a traumatic experience for the boy, which caused him to stutter. His fear of speaking meant he was barely able to speak until he entered high school, where a poetry teacher helped him overcome his weakness by encouraging him to read poems aloud.

Jones studied drama at the University of Michigan, served as an Army Ranger, and then moved to New York City, where he soon landed leading roles in Shakespearean stage productions. He made his film debut in 1964 as a bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.”

In 1967, Jones was cast as boxer Jack Johnson in the stage production of “The Great White Hope,” a role that would transform his career and earn him a Tony Award. He reprised the role three years later in the film adaptation, becoming the second African-American, after Sidney Poitier, to be nominated for an Academy Award. He won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Actor for it.