James Earl Jones, who died on Monday, September 9, at the age of 93, left behind an impressive body of work on screen and stage, but another part of his legacy was his 34-year marriage to Cecilia Hart.

“She made me laugh. She was inspiring,” the late actor wrote in his 1993 memoirs Voices and silence“And she didn’t seem to take me seriously at all, which meant I could relax with her and be myself.”

Jones, who was previously married to Julienne Marie Hendricks from 1968 to 1972, met Hart on a television series, but it was short-lived: Parisa police series by Steven Bochco, which ran in 13 episodes between 1979 and 1980. Lion King The actor played the role of Detective Captain “Woody” Paris, while Hart, who was also previously married to actor Bruce Weitz, played Sergeant Stacey Erickson.

The project was the first collaboration between the couple, who later appeared together in a production of Othello in 1982. That same year, they married at the United Nations Chapel in New York City and welcomed their son, Flynn (who later worked as Jones’ assistant). “He was conceived on our wedding night,” Jones said The New York Times in 2012.

Although Hart and Jones kept their private lives in Dutchess County, New York, out of the spotlight, the two were often each other’s dates at red carpet events in the city. Since they were both working on different acting projects, star Wars Star often praised his wife in interviews. “She’s how I stay grounded,” he said The New York Timesamidst the “glamour” of show business.

In a 2009 PEOPLE interview, Jones stated that it was Hart who suggested he take the role of the reclusive Terence Mann in Kevin Costner’s 1989 film Field of Dreams.

“It’s on my bucket list,” he said of the hit project. “My wife read the script before I got home. She said, ‘Here’s a little film you have to make.’ It was a family… It was special.”

In conversation with the WashingtonPost In 2014, Jones gave an insight into his own family’s everyday life.

“Rest is important, and it’s hard to stick to that schedule,” he said at the time. “But I try to get eight hours of sleep every night. That’s not something I’m used to. I’m used to staying up until 1 or 2 a.m. But my wife feeds me well, (and) I do moderate exercise on the treadmill or stair machine just to get the heart going.”

He also recalled meeting Hart’s parents and asking them to agree to the marriage. Jones joked that the only problem with marrying Hart was that he would have to “stop flirting with her mother.”

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Tragically, Hart died of ovarian cancer in 2016 at the age of 68. Jones paid a touching tribute to his wife of 34 years when he accepted a Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement at the 2017 Tony Awards.

“I want to thank my wife Ceci for being such a wonderful companion in my life and work,” he said on stage. “And for being the amazing co-producer of our son Flynn and for looking so stunning on the red carpet.”