The James Earl Jones death hoax made us extra grateful that this wonderful man is still with us

We recently got a scare when internet rumor mill churned out the story that the great actor James Earl Jones had passed away. It must be said that it was the height of uncool for website FeedNewz to publish a headline about the actor’s “death” (the link led to a page that said “You Got Owned.”) The site tricked 1.5 million people into clicking, meanwhile, social media was flooded with condolence messages for Jones.

Luckily, the hoax was just that, a hoax. The 84-year-old actor is still very much with us, and now is as good a time as any to celebrate the man, the myth, the legend. Not everyone knows just how much James Earl Jones has contributed to the world of film because a few of his truly iconic characters were Jones’ voice matched with a masked or animated character. So, below, a round-up of our favorite JEJ roles/quotes.

MUFASA (THE LION KING)

“Simba, let me tell you something my father told me. Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars… So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. And so will I.”

DARTH VADER (STAR WARS)

LT. LOTHAR ZOGG (DR. STRANGELOVE)

“Perhaps it might be better, Mr. President, if you were more concerned with the American People than with your image in the history books.”

TERRANCE MANN (FIELD OF DREAMS)

“Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

THELONIUS MERTLE (THE SANDLOT)

“Baseball was life! And I was good at it… real good.”

EDGAR ALLEN POE (THE SIMPSON’S TREEHOUSE OF HORROR)

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
‘Tis some visiter,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.’”Related:

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Images  via Giphy and YouTube

Quotes via IMDb and Wikipedia