The great James Earl Jones — Lt. Lothar Zogg in Dr. Strangelove, Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope, the voice and soul of Darth Vader in the first three Star Wars films, Tony Award winner for his portrayal of Troy Maxson in August Wilson‘s Fences, Vice Admiral James Greer in Clear and Present Danger (“Watch your back, Jack”), Terence Mann in Field of Dreams — has left the earth at age 93.

I’ve never heard the original, un-synthesized tapes of Jones speaking Darth Vader’s dialogue, but “no, I am your father” is not only the most famous single line he ever performed, but one of the famous lines in movie history.

Jones’ deep baritone voice was a thing of absolute beauty. I never knew he was plagued by stuttering, at least as a young man.

I have this half-century-old memory of Jones explaining to Dick Cavett that the then-current colloquial term for a dude of color was “spade cat.” That was once a term of respect and awe…really. When’s the last time anyone said “spade cat” in mixed company? Has Robin D’Angelo ever used it?