What was James Earl Jones' Net Worth and Salary?
James Earl Jones was an American actor who had a net worth of $40 million. James Earl Jones, who passed away on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93, enjoyed a legendary career spanning over seven decades. Born in 1931, he overcame a severe childhood stutter to become one of the most recognizable voices in entertainment history.
Jones began his career on stage, making his Broadway debut in 1957. He gained critical acclaim for his performances in Shakespeare plays and won a Tony Award for "The Great White Hope" in 1969. His film career took off with the same role in 1970, earning him an Oscar nomination.
While he appeared in numerous films, Jones is perhaps best known for his iconic voice work. Perhaps most famously, James voiced Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise. He declined to be credited in the first movie, out of deference to the actor who played the physical on-screen role of Vader. He returned, again uncredited, in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back." He returned again for 1983's "Return of the Jedi," finally accepting credit. He returned again for 2005's "Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" and 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." For the 2022 Disney series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Lucasfilm, with his permission, used AI and archival technology to create Vader's voice. and Mufasa in "The Lion King." His deep, resonant voice also became synonymous with CNN's tagline, "This is CNN."
Throughout his career, Jones received multiple honors, including three Emmy awards, three Tony awards one Grammy, and an honorary Academy Award. Therefore, he was one of a very few actors who achieved "EGOT" status. James continued working well into his 90s, lending his voice to various projects and making occasional stage appearances. His final years saw him celebrated as one of the last great actors of Hollywood's golden age.
"Star Wars" Salary Bad Decision
When James Earl Jones was contacted with an offer to voice Darth Vader in 1977's "Star Wars" (later renamed "A New Hope"), he was skeptical about the film's potential. Although he was offered a percentage of the film's gross earnings, he elected to accept an up-front cash payment for his voice role. He ended up spending a few hours in the studio recording his lines, and he was paid a total of $7,000 for his time. For James, this was a great deal – as he was strapped for cash at the time and needed money to buy groceries. To put things in perspective, $7,000 in 1977 is the equivalent of about $27,000 in today's money.
Decades later, Jones would explain his thought process at the time:
"$7000 was big money for me in those days. I was broke and needed the money to pay rent and buy groceries!"
Unfortunately, a cash payment turned out to be an extremely bad decision on Jones' part. As everyone is aware today, the "Star Wars" franchise went on to become massively popular and successful, thanks in no small part to James' ominous voice work. In 1977 alone, the first film grossed over $775 million (not adjusting for inflation). This made it the third-highest-grossing film of all time. So what did all that mean for James Earl Jones? In short, it meant that he lost a lot of money. James would later reveal in an interview that the decision to take $7,000 up front instead of points, cost him "tens of millions of dollars" just on the first film!
In contrast, Sir Alec Guinness elected to accept a percentage of box office earnings as part of his contract (even though he too was skeptical about the film's potential). To date, this decision has resulted in payouts of over $95 million for his estate and heirs. This gives you an idea of what Jones missed out on.
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Early Life
James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi. James was raised primarily on a farm in Dublin, Michigan, by his grandparents after his father left the family to pursue an acting career in New York and in Hollywood. Jones came to Michigan as part of the Great Migration.
Jones began suffering from speech impediments shortly after moving away from Mississippi. At first, he refused to speak at all, remaining fully mute until he entered high school. A teacher later helped him deal with a stutter, although he still shows slight signs of a stutter to this day.
After graduating from high school, Jones attended the University of Michigan as a pre-med major. However, he was lured by the structure that the military offered and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. James later abandoned his goal of becoming a doctor and focused wholeheartedly on drama, attending the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan. Part of his reasoning for becoming involved in drama was simple: he wanted to do something enjoyable before he was drafted into service during the Korean War, as he was not sure he would ever return from the conflict.
After a brief stint working as a stagehand, Jones found himself deployed as a second lieutenant after the Korean War had ended. He attended Ranger School and then cold weather training command in Colorado. He eventually reached the rank of first lieutenant before being discharged.
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Career
James Earl Jones began his career with theatre work in Michigan. In 1955, he appeared in a production of "Othello." This sparked the beginning of a career-long involvement with Shakespeare productions, and Jones became quite a prominent Shakespearean actor in the '60s.
Jones also began his film career in the '60s, starting with roles in movies like "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Comedians." He then gained recognition for starring in the play "The Great White Hope" as well as its film adaptation. After more theatre work and performances in films like "The Man" and "Claudine," James accepted a voiceover role as Darth Vader in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope." He then reprised his role in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi."
After more theatre work, Jones starred in a number of successful films during the '80s, including "Conan the Barbarian," "Coming to America" and "Field of Dreams." This string of successful film roles continued throughout the '90s, and he appeared in films like "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," and many others. His voice acting career also advanced during this period, and he accepted the voice role of Mufasa in "The Lion King." During this period, he also starred in TV series such as "Gabriel's Fire," "Roots: The Next Generations," and "Heat Wave."
Over the years, Jones had more TV roles on shows like "Law & Order," "Will & Grace," "Two and a Half Men," The Big Bang Theory," and "The Simpsons." Throughout the 2010s, Jones focused more on theatre work once again.
Personal Life & Death
In 1968, James Earl Jones married his first wife, actress Julienne Marie. Their marriage lasted for four years before ending in divorce. In 1982, Jones married another actress, Cecilia Hart. They had one child together before Hart died of ovarian cancer in 2016. James died on September 9, 2024, at the age of 93.
Real Estate
At the time of his death, James owned 10 properties in the tiny town of Pawling, New York. He bought his first Pawling property in the 1980s. Over the next two decades he bought nine additional surrounding homes and parcels. For example, in 1994 he paid $177,00 for a neighboring property and in 2000 he paid $320,000 for another.
