Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson have been left red-faced following an on-air gaffe while announcing the death of acting icon James Earl Jones.
James, who provided the iconic voice for ubiquitous movie villain Darth Vader, died this week at his home in Duchess County, New York.
‘James Earl Jones has died,’ Jackie, 49, announced to which a crestfallen Kyle, 53, added: ‘Not the Voice of Darth Vader?’
When Jackie called for some audio of the actor delivering an iconic Darth Vader line it appeared that panel operator Zane Dean wasn’t all that up to speed with the veteran actor’s filmography.
Zane began playing audio of James in the role of Mufasa in the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King.
‘No, no, that’s Mufasa,’ Jackie yelled across the studio. ‘Now listen, we had this conversation,’ she added, hinting that it wasn’t the first time Zane had made the live error.
Kyle added that Zane’s level of professionalism would not be tolerated on other outlets.
‘Do you reckon this would happen on Entertainment Tonight,’ Kyle joked before Zane had another crack at the audio.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson have been left red-faced following an on-air gaffe while announcing the death of acting icon James Earl Jones
‘I got it wrong,’ Zane said sheepishly before playing the correct audio clip of Darth Vader.
Although it appears that Zane’s error proved educational for Jackie, who admitted she had no idea that Darth Vader and Mufasa were voiced by the same person.
James Earl Jones died on September 9 at his home in Dutchess County, NY, his representatives confirmed to Deadline.
He made his screen debut as a bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black-comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove – and forged an acclaimed Hollywood career.
When Jackie called for some audio of the actor delivering an iconic Darth Vader line it appeared that panel operator Zane Dean wasn’t all that up to speed with the veteran actor’s filmography
Zane began playing audio of James in the role of Mufasa in the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King
He never appeared on screen when playing his most famous role, Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, as it was the former bodybuilder David Prowse who wore the iconic black suit.
His distinctive gravelly tones also saw him voice doomed lion Mufasa in the animated 1994 classic, The Lion King.
The actor is among an illustrious list of entertainers who achieved coveted EGOT status – winning two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards and being presented with the Honorary Academy Award.
He was hired by Star Wars director George Lucas for Vader’s terrifying vocals – with Jones saying: ‘He thought about using Orson Welles but realized he might be too recognizable, so he hired me to do the voice, by just reading the words off the page. I did it in a couple of hours.’
James was paid a mere $7000 for Star Wars but a string of commercials that followed ‘took good care of him’, he said.
He initially did not want to be credited for the film, as he felt his voiceovers were simply part of the movie’s special effects, but eventually conceded, and went on to voice the character in multiple films, television series and video games
He played Vader in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) then again in the first installment of the Star Wars anthology series—Rogue One (2016), and the third installment of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
‘I am your father,’ Vader tells Luke Skywalker, portrayed by Mark Hamill, in a pivotal fight scene in The Empire Strikes Back – a twist etched in cinema history.
James, who provided the iconic voice for ubiquitous movie villain Darth Vader, died this week at his home in Duchess County, New York
