Mark Hamill Has Touching Birthday Wish For Star Wars Dad

Legendary star James Earl Jones is known for many things, not the least of which is voicing the role of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. Now, his celluloid son, Mark Hamill, is sending him a very special message on a special day.

Mark Hamill Delivers Birthday Wish

Hamill is wishing Jones a very happy birthday today, on the anniversary of Jones’s birth! The younger actor shared to Twitter the following wish, “Happy Birthday, Dad. Thank you for a lifetime of superb performances! @jamesearljones #NationalTreasure”

Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi to parents Ruth and Robert, Jones’s dad left the family shortly after his birth. The two men didn’t reconcile until the 1950s. Raised by his maternal grandparents, John and Maggie Williams, Jones developed a stutter early in life, making it hard to speak. Ironically, he was functionally mute until he got to high school.

Huge Success

Jones has been a success over several decades, having made his Broadway debut in 1957. He went on to become an accomplished actor and voice artist. He’s done voice-over/narrating for CNN (“THIS is CNN!”) but is best known for voicing Darth Vader. For the first two Star Wars movies, Jones’s name wasn’t in the credits — at the actor’s request.

“When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her,” Jones told Newsday. “And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no, I’m just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I’ll let them put my name on it.”

For the record, Hamill has honored all the actors who’ve played his film dad and who have helped bring the role of Darth Vader to life! Check out the tweets below.

Entertainment Hub joins Hamill along with Jones’s family, friends — and Star Wars fans everywhere — in wishing the legendary actor a happy birthday and many happy returns! May the force be with him!