How Miss. Native James Earl Jones Fell in Love with Tiny N.Y. Town, Where He Had a Home for 50 Years and Died

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Getty

James Earl Jonesnever intended to live in Pawling, N.Y. — where he had a house for 50 years and died this week.

The acclaimed actordied at age 93 on Monday, August 9, at his home in the small town about 70 miles north of New York City, his agent confirmed to PEOPLE.

The Arkabutla, Miss. native resided in the town for more than 50 years, having purchased a property there in the 1970s after a fateful visit with a friend.

John Paul Filo/CBS via Getty

The friend ended up not buying the land he was looking at, but Jones did.

“I liked it,” Jones told the outlet at the time, praising its “Big trees … they were big enough to hug.”

He put down roots of his own in the area and would keep a home there for the next 50 years until his death. (He also owned a home in Los Angeles, according to theNew York Times.) Over that time, he raisedhis son, Flynn, in Pawling, and began purchasing adjoining properties to his original plot, according toRealtor.com, eventually amassing 10 lots.

The Appalachian Trail boardwalk in Pawling, N.Y.Getty

Getty

But the star wasn’t just investing in real estate. He also gave back to the small community of just under 2,000 residents.

TheJournalnotes that he was involved in fundraising for his son’s alma mater, Poughkeepsie Day School, and took part in the Young Playwrights Festival at Bardavon 1869 Opera House.

“Yes, he was a celebrity, but he was the most genuine person you would ever want to meet. There was nothing phony about the man," Pawling native Dave Gamache told the outlet. “He loved Pawling, he really loved Pawling, and he loved the people. He was active in the community.”

Despite his star status, Gamache adds, he was “just as nice and wonderful and kind a person as he was as a person at the top of his profession.”

Jones wasn’t the only famous resident of the area. Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates calls Pawling home and owns arestaurant and music clubcalled Daryl’s House there.

Jeffrey Dean Morganand his wifeHilarie Burton, andPaul Ruddcall the town of Rhinebeck home. Theactors even co-own a candy store, Samuel’s Sweet Shop, there.

Jones is best known for portraying Darth Vader in theStar Warsfilms and Mufasa inThe Lion King. In recent years, he starred in productions ofOn Golden Pond,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, andMuch Ado About Nothing, which costarred Vanessa Redgrave. In 2012, Jones earned his fourth Tony nomination forThe Best Man.

Through his decades-long career, he never lost his passion for storytelling.

“I’d like to play anything that gives me a chance to learn about people who are truly different from me,” he once told PEOPLE. “I want to say as much as possible about how I feel about myself — not my Black self or my American self, but my real self.”

source: people.com