Walking Dead's Laila Robins remembers working with James Earl Jones in Gabriel's Fire

Walking Dead actress Laila Robins made her feature film debut with Steve Martin and John Candy in the holiday classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles in 1987. This role led to many others throughout the 1990s, including co-starring with icon James Earl Jones in the ABC series Gabriel's Fire. After the announcement of Jones's devastating passing, Robins shared some outstanding images of herself and her co-star from the series.

Created by Donald R. Boyle, Coleman Luck, and Jacqueline Zambrano, the crime drama Gabriel's Fire debuted on ABC in 1990 and ran for one twenty-two-part season. The series follows the story of Gabriel Bird (Jones), a cop who was sent to prison for killing his partner and freed by a lawyer who then hires him to do private investigative work for him.

Jones won an Emmy and Image award for his performance in the series which stars Robins as Victoria Heller, Brian K. Grant and Jamil Duke, Dylan Walsh as Louis Klein, and Madge Sinclair as "Empress" Josephine Austin. Sinclair and guest actor David Opatoshu were also awarded Emmy's for their performances.

The following year Jones returned for ABC's revamp version of the series in a spinoff, Pros and Cons, which also aired for one season.

Robins shared promotional images of herself with Jones from the series with the caption "Dear James. What an honor to have spent a year with such an amazing talent and gorgeous soul. I will always cherish our days together. So kind, brilliant and beautiful. RIP, dear man."

James Earl Jones died on September 9, 2024 at the age of 93. He was an icon who is one of the short list of actors to receive the EGOT title, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards. He received numerous accolades throughout this career and impacted many with his outstanding performances.

Known for his distinct voice, Jones made his film debut in Dr. Strangelove (1964). The movie is a political black comedy co-written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, featuring Peter Sellers in three roles.

Jones gained worldwide fame when he was cast as the voice of Darth Vader in George Lucus' blockbuster film Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He would continue to voice Vader in the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) but was only credited in the third movie. He has also voiced Vader in several other Star Wars productions, and in September 2022, he announced that he would be retiring as Vader. Jones signed an agreement with Lucasfilm, which authorized using his Vader archived recordings.

He is well known for his roles in Field of Dreams and The Sandlot and as the voice of Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King (1994). He reprised the role of Mufasa for Jon Favreau's CGI remake of The Lion King in 2019.

Jones' final screen credit came in another role reprisal. He appeared in Coming to America 2 as King Jaffee Joffer, a role he played in the 1988 original film.

James Earl Jones is known worldwide as one of the best actors in American history. After his death was announced, media outlets and social media were alive, singing his praises for his long-running career and legacy. He is also remembered for voicing CNN's tagline, "This is CNN." The network stated that he "was the voice of CNN and our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech instant authority, grace, and decorum. That remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about James."

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