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{{Short description|American actor (1934–2012)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Al Freeman, Jr. 1975.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Freeman in 1975
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|3|21}}
| birth_place = [[San Antonio, Texas]], US
| birthname = Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|8|9|1934|3|21}}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], US
| yearsactive = 1958–2004
| spouse = {{marriage|Sevara E. Clemon<br>|1960}}
}}
'''Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr.''' (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of [[Actors Studio|The Actors Studio]],<ref>{{cite book|first=David |last=Garfield|title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio |url= https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf |url-access=registration| year=1980 |publisher= MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.| ___location=New York| isbn= 0-02-542650-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/278 278]|chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980}}</ref> 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 (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'', and ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]'', as well as television series ''[[The Mod Squad]]'', ''[[Kojak]]'', and ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'', and a long-running role on the soap opera ''[[One Life to Live]]''.
==Early life, family and education==
Al Freeman was born in [[San Antonio, Texas]], to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist.<ref name= aareg>{{cite web| url= https://aaregistry.org/story/al-freeman-jr-actor-and-teacher/ |title= Al Freeman Jr., actor and teacher| website= aaregistry.org| publisher= African American Registry| access-date= August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/15/Al-Freeman-Jr.html |title= Al Freeman Jr. | date= |publisher= | website= filmreference.com |access-date= 2012-08-13}}</ref> His parents divorced when he was nine years old, his father relocated to [[Columbus, Ohio]],<ref name= aareg /> so Al was raised in both places.<ref name= Oxford-AASC>{{cite web| url= https://oxfordaasc.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.001.0001/acref-9780195301731-e-36854#acref-9780195301731-e-36854| title= Freeman, Al, Jr.| first= Michael| last= Adams| doi= 10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.36854| work= African American National Biography| url-access= subscription| publisher= Oxford African American Studies Center| via= oxfordaasc.com| date= 15 March 2013 |access-date= April 30, 2025}}</ref><ref name= WP-spanned>{{cite news| first= Matt| last= Schudel |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/actors-career-spanned-broadway-tv-soap-operas-films-and-academia/2012/08/11/f4e2c02e-e3e0-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_story.html| title=Actor's career spanned Broadway, TV soap operas, films and academia |newspaper=The Washington Post |date =August 13, 2012| url-access= subscription| url-status= live| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150429144555/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/actors-career-spanned-broadway-tv-soap-operas-films-and-academia/2012/08/11/f4e2c02e-e3e0-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_story.html| archivedate= April 29, 2015| access-date= 2025-04-30}}</ref>
Al Freeman Jr. attended [[Los Angeles City College]], studying acting in 1951,<ref name= aareg /> but left school to enlist in the US Air Force, serving in the [[Korean War]].<ref name= "star obit">{{cite news| url= https://www.startribune.com/al-freeman-pioneering-black-actor-has-died/165792116/ |title= Al Freeman, pioneering black actor, has died| work= [[Star Tribune]]| date= | access-date= August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/actors-career-spanned-broadway-tv-soap-operas-films-and-academia/2012/08/11/f4e2c02e-e3e0-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_story.html| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150429144555/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/actors-career-spanned-broadway-tv-soap-operas-films-and-academia/2012/08/11/f4e2c02e-e3e0-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_story.html| title= Actor's career spanned Broadway, TV soap operas, films and academia| work= [[The Washington Post]]| archivedate= April 29, 2015| access-date= August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name= aareg /> After three years in the military, he returned to Los Angeles, taking courses in "speech, broadcasting and drama" and "train[ing] for the stage with [[Jeff Corey]], Harold Clifton, and [[Frank Silvera]].<ref name= aareg /> He "later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts."<ref name= WP-spanned />
==Career==
Freeman's acting career began in 1958, working on several TV shows.<ref name= "TV Apple">{{cite web| url= https://tv.apple.com/us/person/al-freeman-jr/umc.cpc.4r3551xfeass3fued6y15pci2 |title= Al Freeman Jr.<!--added period after this is not a typo-->. | website= tv.apple.com| publisher= Apple Inc.| date= | access-date= 30 April 2025}}</ref> He relocated to New York City in 1959,<ref name= aareg /> and the following year made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in ''The Long Dream'' (based on the 1958 novel by [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]]).<ref name= "NYT obit">{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/theater/al-freeman-jr-actor-prominent-in-civil-rights-era-dies-at-78.html| title= Al Freeman Jr., Actor Prominent in Civil Rights Era, Dies at 78 | first= Paul| last= Vitello | archiveurl= | archivedate= | date= August 15, 2012| access-date= 30 April 2025}}</ref> He appeared in ''[[Black Like Me (film)|Black Like Me]]'', the 1964 film adaptation of [[Black Like Me|the novel of the same name]].<ref name= "TV Apple" /> He starred opposite [[Frank Sinatra]] in the 1968 feature film ''[[The Detective (1968 film)|The Detective]]'', directed by [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas]]. Freeman starred opposite [[Shirley Knight]] in the Los Angeles production of the play ''Dutchman'', written by [[Amiri Baraka]] (then known as LeRoi Jones),<ref name="memorial">{{cite press release |url= http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/20120912ActingLegendAlFreemanJrRememberedatHowardUniversity.html |title= Acting Legend Al Freeman Jr. Remembered at Howard University | website= howard.edu |publisher=Howard University |date=2012-09-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151119031802/http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/20120912ActingLegendAlFreemanJrRememberedatHowardUniversity.html |archive-date= 2015-11-19 |access-date=2015-09-30}}</ref> and in 1967, ''Dutchman'' was adapted into a film directed by English filmmaker [[Anthony Harvey]].<ref name= exile>{{cite news| last= Lelyveld| first= Joseph| title= LeRoi Jones’s ‘Dutchman’ in Exile| work= The New York Times| date= 18 September 1966| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1966/09/18/archives/leroi-joness-dutchman-in-exile-joness-dutchman-in-exile.html | page= D7| publisher= | url-access= subscription | access-date= 30 April 2025}}</ref> Also on Broadway, he performed as Homer Smith in ''[[Look to the Lilies]]'', a musical adaptation of ''[[Lilies of the Field (novel)|Lilies of the Field]]'', opposite Shirley Booth. The show ran for 25 performances and 31 previews in 1970. He played the title role in the TV movie ''[[My Sweet Charlie]]'' (1970) which co-starred [[Patty Duke]].<ref name= "TV Apple" /> He acted in another Broadway play, ''[[The Hot L Baltimore]]'' (1973).
His most recognized role was as police captain [[Ed Hall (One Life to Live)|Ed Hall]] on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[soap opera]] ''[[One Life to Live]]'' from 1972 through 1987, with recurring appearances in 1988 and 2000. He won a [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series|Outstanding Lead Actor]] for that role in 1979, the first actor from the show as well as the first African-American actor to earn the award. He 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]]''. Freeman acted in the motion picture ''[[Down in the Delta]]'' (1998). His portrayal of [[Elijah Muhammad]], the [[Nation of Islam]] leader, in the film ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]'' earned him the 1992 [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture]]. Guest appearances included the TV series ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' and ''[[Law & Order]]'',<ref name= "star obit" /> in which he played a character in a 1990 episode and a different character in a 2004 episode.
In 1988, Freeman became a visiting artist-in-residence at the Department of Theatre Arts of [[Howard University]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], then became a full-time faculty member in 1991.<ref name= WP-spanned /> He was its department chairman for six years,<ref name="memorial" /> beginning in 2005,<ref name= "NYT obit" /> and occasionally directed plays there and on [[Martha's Vineyard]], [[Massachusetts]], at Vineyard Playhouse.<ref name= WP-spanned />
==Personal life and death==
Freeman married Sevara E. Clemon on January 8, 1960, but the marriage ended in divorce.<ref name= aareg /><ref name= WP-spanned />
He enjoyed his {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=mid}} sailboat "moored in the Potomac basin."<ref name= aareg />
Freeman died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at age 78.<ref name= WP-spanned /><ref name= "NYT obit" /> The next day, a memorial service was held for him at [[Howard University]].<ref name="memorial"/> 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.<ref name= "theatre">{{cite press release| title= Howard University Celebrates 50th Anniversary Revival of 'Dutchman' and Theatre Dedication to Honor Al Freeman |url= http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/20141014HowardUniversityCelebrates50thAnniversaryRevivalofDutchmanandTheatreDedicationtoHonorAlFreeman.html | website= howard.edu |publisher= Howard University |date= 2014-10-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053907/http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/20141014HowardUniversityCelebrates50thAnniversaryRevivalofDutchmanandTheatreDedicationtoHonorAlFreeman.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2015-09-30}}</ref>
==Selected filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1958
|''[[Torpedo Run]]''
|Sam Baker
|Uncredited
|-
|1960
|''[[This Rebel Breed]]''
|Satchel
|
|-
|1961
|''[[Sniper's Ridge]]''
|Medic Gwathney
|
|-
|1964
|''[[Black Like Me (film)|Black Like Me]]''
|Thomas Newcomb
|
|-
|1964
|''[[The Troublemaker (1964 film)|The Troublemaker]]''
|Intern
|-
|1964
|''[[Ensign Pulver]]''
|Taru
|
|-
|1966
|''For Pete's Sake''
|
|-
|1967
|''[[Dutchman (film)|Dutchman]]''
|Clay
|
|-
|1968
|''[[The Detective (1968 film)|The Detective]]''
|Robbie
|
|-
|1968
|''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]''
|Howard
|
|-
|1969
|''[[The Lost Man]]''
|Dennis Lawrence
|
|-
|1969
|''[[Castle Keep]]''
|Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin
|
|-
|1970
|''[[My Sweet Charlie]]''
|Charles Roberts
|
|-
|1971
|''A Fable''
|The Leader
|
|-
|1972
|''[[To Be Young, Gifted and Black (play)#Reception|To Be Young, Gifted and Black]]''
|
|
|-
|1988
|''[[Seven Hours to Judgment]]''
|Danny Larwin
|
|-
|1992
|''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]''
|[[Elijah Muhammad]]
|
|-
|1994
|''[[Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker]]''
|Old Johnson Whittaker
|
|-
|1995
|''[[Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored]]''
|Poppa
|
|-
|1998
|''[[Down in the Delta]]''
|Earl Sinclair
|
|-
|}
===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1967
|''[[The Edge of Night]]''
|Assistant District Attorney Ben Lee
|
|-
|1968
|''[[The F.B.I. (TV series)|The F.B.I.]]''
|Alan Harmon
|1 episode
|-
|1969
|''[[Judd for the Defense]]''
|Jeff Jones
|1 episode
|-
|1972
|''[[The Mod Squad]]''
|Jessie Cook
|1 episode
|-
|1972-1988
|''[[One Life to Live]]''
|Captain Ed Hall
|
|-
|1974
|''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]''
|Roy
|1 episode
|-
|1975
|''[[Hot l Baltimore]]''
|Charles Bingham
|Main role
|-
|1976
|''[[Kojak]]''
|Donald Mosher
|1 episode
|-
|1978
|''[[King (TV miniseries)|King]]''
|Damon Lockwood
|
|-
|1979
|''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]''
|[[Malcolm X]]
|
|-
|1985
|''[[The Cosby Show]]''
|Coach Ernie Scott
|1 episode
|-
|1990
|''[[Law & Order]]''
|Reverend Thayer
|1 episode
|-
|1995-1996
|''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''
|Deputy Commissioner James Harris
|
|-
|2004
|''[[Law & Order]]''
|Stan Wallace
|1 episode
|-
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/65909%7C8189/Al-Freeman%20Jr.#overview Al Freeman Jr.] at [[Turner Classic Movies]]
* {{Iobdb name|17631}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Al Freeman Jr.
|list =
{{Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Al Jr.}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male soap opera actors]]
[[Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners]]
[[Category:Howard University faculty]]
[[Category:Male actors from San Antonio]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American educators]]
[[Category:21st-century American educators]]
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