A few words about James Earl Jones
The titanic movie voice died Monday at the ripe old age of 93.
For a few seconds, James Earl Jones convinced us that he was our father. He was also there to remind us of baseball’s special powers, including the renewal of our faith in life and its inherent goodness. He was also the neighbor with a BIG dog who knew how to piss off George Herman “Babe” Ruth at the plate. In other cinema worlds, he was a king who wanted only the best for his prince of a son or lion.
Whatever Jones did on screen, the result was a performance that resonated. He led with his voice, a legendary weapon for a man who had to overcome a stutter to plant his foot as one of the best ever. That’s the only thing we share in common, except for the best ever part. With no disrespect to Morgan Freeman, the voice of Darth Vader is more terrifying and memorable than anything else ever said on screen. It was doom, dread, and death in one voice--the kind of performance that didn’t even require Jones’s physical presence.
Fact: Field of Dreams wouldn’t be a baseball classic without Jones. It would be a pretty decent film about a guy who builds a farm to unearth dead baseball players, and eventually bury himself in debt. We remember the movie first and foremost for his speech near the end of the movie, a rousing take on the power of the sport. Subtract that from the Kevin Costner star vehicle, and it may not spin so fast off the top of your head.
“People will come, Ray.” No exclamation required, because Jones was the exclamation point in every movie he’s in. It was when he read that line that our attention was hooked into the movie for good.
His voice could be menacing, loving, and blunt all inside a handful of minutes--something easily apparent when recalling his reading of the Top Ten list on David Letterman’s late night show: Top Ten Things that would be cool if James Earl Jones said it. Without breaking once that night, he read every single line and made everyone else laugh. That’s a true artist that was dignified enough that the movie star label was never required. After all, once his voice climbed into your head, it was never leaving.
Trust me. There were more times than I can count with ten fingers that his voice and portrayal of Darth Vader kept me up at night. The lightsaber wasn’t really even necessary with a sound like that. It was so powerful, one would think it could stop any bad soul from entering a school with bad intentions. Just play his voice, and see if it frightens.
It is a voice that will rest easy now after 93 years lived, 190 acting credits, and 226 times where he was credited for playing himself. Fittingly enough, his last credited role was voicing Vader one last time in the Disney+ miniseries, Obi-Wan Kenobi. No matter how outlandish the playground he was on, Jones made you believe.
He made you believe that building a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield would make your dad reappear.
He made you believe that the daughter of a fast food restaurant manager wasn’t good enough for his beloved prince.
He made us believe that cinema’s greatest villain secretly had a heart that would use his last breaths to defend his son.
He made you believe every time. As I always say in these tributes, all of his work awaits our attention even with him gone. Rest easy, king.