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Some fans may remember a false report from August 2015 claiming James Earl Jones had died. It came from a parody website and spread on Facebook, but Jones was alive and working. He died years later, on September 9, 2024, at age 93.
What happened in the 2015 death hoax?
In August 2015, a parody website published a fake story announcing Jones’s death. E! News reported that readers who followed the link landed on a prank page saying, “You got owned!” The announcement also circulated on Facebook. The contemporaneous account identifies the parody site as the source of the claim and Facebook as a way it spread—not as its origin. E! News reported on the hoax on September 1, 2015.
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The rumor was false: Jones was alive. On August 31, 2015, UPI relayed CNN’s report that he was “alive and well” and working amid the online rumors. UPI’s report provides the contemporary correction.
How does the hoax differ from the confirmed news in 2024?
The 2015 story was a parody-site prank that circulated while Jones was alive. The later announcement was real: SAG-AFTRA and Lucasfilm both confirmed his death on September 9, 2024, at age 93. SAG-AFTRA’s September 9 statement said he “died today at age 93,” and Lucasfilm’s tribute that day also confirmed his death and honored his long-running role as Darth Vader.
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| Date | What was reported | Confirmation status |
|---|---|---|
| August 2015 | A parody website falsely claimed Jones had died; the story circulated on Facebook. | False. Jones was alive and working, according to contemporary reporting. |
| September 9, 2024 | Jones died at age 93. | Confirmed by SAG-AFTRA and Lucasfilm. CBS News later reported that his representative, Barry McPherson, confirmed the death and said Jones died Monday morning surrounded by family. CBS News published that report on September 11, 2024. |
Why might someone remember the false report?
The documented explanation is that the 2015 hoax was shared widely enough to reach people through Facebook, where a death announcement can be encountered without its original context. The available reports do not establish how many people believed it, whether it became a trend, or why any particular person remembers it as real. A mistaken memory may reflect exposure to the hoax, but the sources do not prove that this explains every person’s recollection.
So if you remember hearing that Jones had died before 2024, the 2015 parody story is a concrete possible source. It was not a genuine obituary or an earlier death announcement.
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