Al Freeman Jr.

Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012)

was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The
Al Freeman Jr.
Actors Studio,[1] Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays,
ranging from Leroi Jones' Slave/Toilet to Joe Papp's revivals of Long
Day's Journey Into Night and Troilus and Cressida, and films,
including My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, as
well as television series and soap operas, such as One Life to Live,
The Cosby Show, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street and
The Edge of Night.

Contents
Life and career
Death
Selected filmography
References Freeman in 1975
External links Born Albert Cornelius
Freeman Jr.
March 21, 1934
Life and career San Antonio, Texas,
U.S.
Freeman was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Lottie Brisette (née Died August 9, 2012
Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist.[2]
(aged 78)
He is mostly recognized for his portrayal of police captain Ed Hall Washington, D.C.,
on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role he played from 1972 U.S.
through 1987, with recurring appearances in 1988 and 2000. He won Years active 1958–2004
a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for that role in
Spouse(s) Sevara E. Clemon
1979, the first actor from the show as well as the first African-
American actor to earn the award. A director of One Life to Live, he (m. 1960)
was one of the first African Americans to direct a soap opera.

After leaving One Life to Live, Freeman appeared in the 1998 motion picture Down in the Delta. His
Broadway theatre credits include The Hot L Baltimore and Look to the Lilies. His portrayal of Elijah
Muhammad, the Nation of Islam leader, in the film Malcolm X earned him the 1992 NAACP Image Award
for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. He had played Malcolm X in the 1979 miniseries,
Roots: The Next Generations. In the 1990s he had a recurring guest role as the manipulative Baltimore
deputy police commissioner James Harris in Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1991 Freeman joined the
Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and served for six years as
department chairman.[3]

Al Freeman Jr. also appeared on Broadway in 1970 as Homer Smith in Look to the Lilies, a musical
adaptation of Lilies of the Field, opposite Shirley Booth. The show ran for 25 performances and 31
previews.
Death
Freeman died on August 9, 2012 in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78.[4]

On September 10, 2012, a memorial service was held for Freeman at Howard University.[3] In 2014, the
Environmental Theatre Space at the Howard University Fine Arts Building was renamed The Al Freeman Jr.
Environmental Theatre Space in his honor.[5]

Selected filmography
Torpedo Run (1958) - Sam Baker (uncredited)
This Rebel Breed (1960) - Satchel
Sniper's Ridge (1961) - Medic Gwathney
Black Like Me (1964) - Thomas Newcomb
The Troublemaker (1964) - Intern
Ensign Pulver (1964) - Taru
For Pete's Sake (1966)
Dutchman (1967) - Clay
The Detective (1968) - Robbie
Finian's Rainbow (1968) - Howard
The Lost Man (1969) - Dennis Lawrence
Castle Keep (1969) - Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin
My Sweet Charlie (1970) - Charles Roberts
A Fable (1971) - The Leader
To Be Young, Gifted and Black (1972)
King (1978) - Damon Lockwood
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) - Malcolm X
Seven Hours to Judgment (1988) - Danny Larwin
Malcolm X (1992) - Elijah Muhammad
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (1994) - Old Johnson Whittaker
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1995) - Poppa
Down in the Delta (1998) - Earl Sinclair

References
1. Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A
Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio (https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00g
arf). New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278 (https://archive.org/details/playersplacest
or00garf/page/278). ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
2. "Al Freeman Jr. profile at FilmReference.com" (http://www.filmreference.com/film/15/Al-Freema
n-Jr.html). Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
3. "Acting Legend Al Freeman Jr. Remembered at Howard University" (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20151119031802/http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/20120912ActingLegend
AlFreemanJrRememberedatHowardUniversity.html). Howard University. 2012-09-12. Archived
from the original (http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/20120912ActingLegendAlF
reemanJrRememberedatHowardUniversity.html) on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
4. Matt Schudel (August 13, 2012). "Actor's career spanned Broadway, TV soap operas, films
and academia" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/actors-career-spanned-broad
 way-tv-soap-operas-films-and-academia/2012/08/11/f4e2c02e-e3e0-11e1-a25e-15067bb3184
9_story.html). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
5. "Howard University Celebrates 50th Anniversary Revival of 'Dutchman' and Theatre Dedication
to Honor Al Freeman" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053907/http://www.howard.edu/n
ewsroom/releases/2014/20141014HowardUniversityCelebrates50thAnniversaryRevivalofDutc
hmanandTheatreDedicationtoHonorAlFreeman.html). Howard University. 2014-10-14.
Archived from the original (http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/20141014Howard
UniversityCelebrates50thAnniversaryRevivalofDutchmanandTheatreDedicationtoHonorAlFree
man.html) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-30.

External links
Al Freeman Jr. (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0293272/) on IMDb
Al Freeman Jr. (https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/47293) at the Internet Broadway
Database
Al Freeman Jr. (https://www.allmovie.com/artist/p24948) at AllMovie
Al Freeman Jr. (http://www.tcm.turner.com/participant/participant.jsp?participantId=65909) at
the TCM Movie Database
Al Freeman Jr. (http://www.lortel.org/Archives/CreditableEntity/17631) at the Internet Off-
Broadway Database
Al Freeman Jr. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95166258) at Find a Grave

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