Lifetime achievement award for Darth Vader
Posted
James Earl Jones, whose booming voice gave the world the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars, will receive the 2008 life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.
The award - given annually to the actor who fosters the finest ideals of the acting profession - will be presented to Jones in January when the Guild honours the year's top acting achievements on television and film.
Jones's voice is known around the world in roles such as Vader, Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King and in numerous commercials.
He also has had a long and distinguished career on Broadway in roles such as boxer Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope, on the big screen in Patriot Games and Cry The Beloved Country, and on television where he played Alex Hayley in Roots: The Next Generation.
Ironically, Jones, 77, spent his childhood as a virtual mute because of a severe stutter that he overcame only in high school.
SAG president Alan Rosenberg says Jones is an extraordinary actor whose long and quiet work off camera as an advocate for literacy and the arts "deserves our appreciation."
"Growing up, I was mute to the outside world, but there were hundreds of conversations in my head ... Through a love of reading, I was able to overcome my muteness and pursue a career in which my voice would be my most prominent asset," Jones said in a statement.
- Reuters
