(CBS/AP) James Earl Jones, who has voiced some of entertainment's most memorable characters, will receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

SAG President Alan Rosenberg called Jones "a vocal presence without peer" and lauded his TV, film and stage work.

"His long and quiet devotion to advancing literacy, the arts and humanities on a national and local scale deserves our appreciation," Rosenberg said Thursday.

The 77-year-old actor's career highlights include an Academy Award nomination for "The Great White Hope," as well as Two Tonys, three Emmys and the National Medal of Arts.

He received perhaps his greatest fame from an uncredited dubbing job, when he was picked to record the ominous vocals of Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars." Jones made $2,500 for his vocal work, and considerably more for its sequels.

The notoriety, once the identity of the Dark Lord's voice became known, was all the more ironic because Jones had suffered as a child from a terrible stuttering problem.

He said he was virtually mute, but that reading helped him find his voice.

"Through a love of reading, I was able to overcome my muteness and pursue a career in which my voice would be my most prominent asset," he said.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Michigan, he studied drama after being discharged from the Army Rangers as a first lieutenant.

His film credits began with Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove: or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964), "The Man" (as the first black president) "Claudine," "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings." "The Greatest," "Conan the Barbarian," "Matewan," "Field of Dreams," "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger."

Among his notable TV credits (which garnered him three Emmy Awards) are "The Cay," "The UFO Incident," "Roots: The Next Generation," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Heat Wave," as well as early appearances on "The Guiding Light," "Dr. Kildare," "As the World Turns" and "Sesame Street."

His Broadway credits include two Tony Award-winning turns as Best Actor, for "The Great White Hope" (1969) (pictured, left, at the Tony ceremony), and August Wilson's "Fences" (1987). He also starred in revivals of "On Golden Pond" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Jones, the "voice of CNN," also narrated the TV documentary "Lincoln," and recorded the voice of King Mustafa in the Disney animated film "The Lion King" and its sequel. He's also done commercial work for Verizon, Bell Atlantic and Chrysler.

He will be presented with the Life Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 25.

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