James Earl Jones Is Not Dead, Despite Hoax And Rumors
On August 26, a false report spread throughout the internet, stating that veteran actor James Earl Jones passed away. Yet, despite the distasteful hoax, the Star Wars voice actor is alive and well.
The false media report published by FeedNewz, a site notorious for creating online hoaxes, indicated that Jones passed away recently in his hometown of Arkabutla, Mississippi. The bogus news was set up to appear as valid news sources, yet when readers clicked on the link, they were taken back to FeedNewz site and informed it was a prank.
The problem, however, is that numerous people failed to click on the link, and had no idea that Jones’ death rumor was merely a prank, albeit a distasteful one. For those who clicked through to the site, a meme appeared that stated, “You Got Owned.”
Snopes reports that anyone can create a false story on FeedNewz by simply going to the site and adding a rumor. Unfortunately, if the story trends, numerous readers are given false information.
Jones, however, is healthy and active. The Inquisitr reports that the actor will reprise his role as the voice of Mufasa in the animated series, The Lion Guard, an upcoming television series that’s based off of the popular 1994 movie, The Lion King. It’s slated to air this fall.
Earlier this month, Jones met up with Cicely Tyson. The duo will appear in a revival play of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Gin Game, a story depicting two nursing home residents who become close friends. The Broadway play will official begin on October 14. Jones recently wrapped up his appearance in the New York City-based play, You Can’t Take It With You.
Jones is arguably best-known for his voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. He recently voiced Darth Vader once again in the television series, Star Wars Rebels, released on the Disney Channel on June 20. Dave Filoni, the supervising director and executive producer of the series states that Jones was a bit apprehensive about the role, since he hadn’t voiced Darth Vader in years.
“Just before he goes into the booth, James turns to me and says ‘David, I haven’t done Vader in ten years. Can you remind me how?’ And he’s telling me this in his big deep James Earl Jones voice. So I just laugh and ‘James, you’re doing it already.'”
James Earl Jones celebrated his 84th birthday on January 17. The accomplished actor has appeared in numerous films, plays, and television shows for the past 60 years.
[Photos Courtesy of Mike Coppola/Getty Images & Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images]
