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Al Freeman Jr.

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Al Freeman Jr.
Freeman in 1975
Born
Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr.

(1934-03-21)March 21, 1934
San Antonio, Texas, US
DiedAugust 9, 2012(2012-08-09) (aged 78)
Washington, D.C., US
Years active1958–2004
Spouse
Sevara E. Clemon
​
​
(m. 1960)​

Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The 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 The Mod Squad, Kojak, and Maude, and a long-running role on the soap opera One Life to Live.

Early life, family and education

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Al Freeman was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist.[2][3] His parents divorced when he was nine years old, his father relocated to Columbus, Ohio,[2] so Al was raised in both places.[4][5]

Al Freeman Jr. attended Los Angeles City College, studying acting in 1951,[2] but left school to enlist in the US Air Force, serving in the Korean War.[6][7][2] 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.[2] He "later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts."[5]

Career

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Freeman's acting career began in 1958, working on several TV shows.[8] He relocated to New York City in 1959,[2] and the following year made his Broadway debut in The Long Dream (based on the 1958 novel by Richard Wright).[9] He appeared in Black Like Me, the 1964 film adaptation of the novel of the same name.[8] He starred opposite Frank Sinatra in the 1968 feature film The Detective, directed by 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),[10] and in 1967, Dutchman was adapted into a film directed by English filmmaker Anthony Harvey.[11] Also on Broadway, he performed 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 in 1970. He played the title role in the TV movie My Sweet Charlie (1970) which co-starred Patty Duke.[8] He acted in another Broadway play, The Hot L Baltimore (1973).

His most recognized was as police captain Ed Hall on the 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 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 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,[6] in which he played a character in a 1990 episode and a different character in a 2024 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.[5] He was its department chairman for six years,[10] beginning in 2005,[9] and occasionally directed plays there and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, at Vineyard Playhouse.[5]

Personal life and demise

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Freeman married Sevara E. Clemon on January 8, 1960, but the marriage ended in divorce.[2][5]

He enjoyed his 40-foot (12 m) sailboat "moored in the Potomac basin."[2]

Freeman died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at age 78.[5][9] The next day, a memorial service was held for him at Howard University.[10] 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.[12]

Selected filmography

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Film

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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 Thomas Newcomb
1964 The Troublemaker Intern
1964 Ensign Pulver Taru
1966 For Pete's Sake
1967 Dutchman Clay
1968 The Detective Robbie
1968 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
1988 Seven Hours to Judgment Danny Larwin
1992 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

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Year Title Role Notes
1967 The Edge of Night Assistant District Attorney Ben Lee
1968 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 Roy 1 episode
1975 Hot l Baltimore Charles Bingham Main role
1976 Kojak Donald Mosher 1 episode
1978 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

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  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. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Al Freeman Jr., actor and teacher". aaregistry.org. African American Registry. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "Al Freeman Jr". filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  4. ^ Adams, Michael (15 March 2013). "Freeman, Al, Jr". African American National Biography. Oxford African American Studies Center. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.36854. Retrieved April 30, 2025 – via oxfordaasc.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Schudel, Matt (August 13, 2012). "Actor's career spanned Broadway, TV soap operas, films and academia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  6. ^ a b "Al Freeman, pioneering black actor, has died". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Actor's career spanned Broadway, TV soap operas, films and academia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Al Freeman Jr." tv.apple.com. Apple Inc. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Vitello, Paul (August 15, 2012). "Al Freeman Jr., Actor Prominent in Civil Rights Era, Dies at 78". Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "Acting Legend Al Freeman Jr. Remembered at Howard University". howard.edu (Press release). Howard University. 2012-09-12. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  11. ^ Lelyveld, Joseph (18 September 1966). "LeRoi Jones's 'Dutchman' in Exile". The New York Times. p. D7. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Howard University Celebrates 50th Anniversary Revival of 'Dutchman' and Theatre Dedication to Honor Al Freeman". howard.edu (Press release). Howard University. 2014-10-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
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