Mark Hamill Leads Tributes To James Earl Jones With Emotional Two-Word Note

The legendary James Earl Jones was confirmed dead at his New York residence yesterday, and as soon as his agent broke the news, tributes began to pour in on social media. One of them came from James’ Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill, who wrote a simple note for the late icon.

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, simply quoted the announcement of Jones’ death with the words “RIP dad” followed by a heart emoji, referencing Jones’ line, “I am your father,” to his character. The two-word post got thousands of responses from fans, who also paid their respects to Jones.

Fans join Mark Hamill to express their loss

Star Wars fans took to the comments on X to gush about Jones’ impactful seven-decade career. “A true icon and legend of his time. Will always remember him with his iconic voice of Darth Vader,” someone wrote. “I’ll treasure this forever,” another added with a memorabilia photo autographed by Jones.

Mark and James shared an enviable relationship beyond set, which lasted long after filming the space-themed classic. The 72-year-old has always addressed James as dad on social media, and his latest post, though short, had a heartbreaking tone to it. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Mark,” a fan empathized with him.

James Earl Jones’ Hollywood run

Jones’s career began on the theater stage in Michigan, where he worked as a stage carpenter, manager, and actor. He became famous on Broadway in the ‘70s; however, his voice-over role as Darth Vader drove his popularity to a new level, though he asked to be uncredited for the first two releases.

He starred in more films like Eddie Murphy’s Coming To America, and Disney’s The Lion King of 1994, and made guest appearances on classics like Frasier and The Big Bang Theory. Jones’ successful career is marked by multiple awards including Emmys, Tonys, a Grammy, a National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center honors and an honorary Academy Award.