Happy Birthday, James Earl Jones

January 17, 2012 at 8:19 am | Posted in Birthday, Movies | 2 Comments
Tags: james earl jones

Today we wish actor James Earl Jones a very happy birthday. In his long, illustrious film career he has played many parts, but for Star Wars fans we will always remember him as the voice of Darth Vader.

Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, his father left the family at an early age and the experience of moving to Jackson, Michigan to live with his grandparents affected him deeply. He developed a stutter and was practically mute for eight years. It wasn’t until high school that he finally broke from his silence when a teacher helped coax him out of his routine by forcing him to recite poetry. After high school he went on to attend at the University of Michigan as a pre-med major and was a part of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, before switching his studies to drama.

Earning the rank of first lieutenant in the army, he luckily never had to go off for the Korean War. He moved to New York and got into theater. He got his first film role in 1964 with the classic Dr. Strangelove. Fifteen movies later, he wound up as the voice for Darth Vader. Interestingly enough he requested that he would go uncredited for the film, and it wasn’t until Return of the Jedi that he finally relented and allowed his voice work to be credited.

Among all the films and accolades, James Earl Jones stands as one of the great actors of film. James turns 81 today, and we wish him the best.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.