Al Freeman Jr.(1931-2012)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Al Freeman, Jr. was an actor and director who was the first African
American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for acting. His most famous role
was that of Police Captain Ed Hall in the soap opera
One Life to Live (1968),
which brought him the Emmy in 1979. He was a regular on the soap from
1972 through 1987, and appeared off and on as Captain Hall from 1988
through 2000. He received three additional Emmy nominations playing the
role in 1983, '86 and '87. Freeman also was the first African American
to direct a TV soap opera, helming "One Life to Live" episodes.
Born on March 21, 1934 in San Antonio, Texas, he was raised primarily
by his father, an actor and jazz musician, after his parents divorced.
Al Freeman father and son left Texas, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. After
studying drama at Los Angeles City College, Freeman fils moved to New
York City to act in the theater, making his Broadway debut in
Ketti Frings's "The Long Dream" in 1960, a
flop that closed after five performances. He had a major success
playing the lead in
James Baldwin's play "Blues for
Mister Charlie" in 1964. In 1970, he appeared in "Look to the Lilies"
on Broadway, a musical version of the 1963 movie
Lilies of the Field (1963),
playing the part of Homer Smith, the role that brought
Sidney Poitier an Oscar. Despite a
prestigious production team that included director
Joshua Logan, composer
Jule Styne and lyricist
Sammy Cahn, the show was a flop.
Freeman made his reputation primarily in television. He debuted as a
television actor in the series
Suspicion (1957) in 1958, and his
soap opera debut came in 1967 in
The Edge of Night (1956).
He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for
My Sweet Charlie (1970)
and for
Roots: The Next Generations (1979),
in which he played Malcolm X.
In 1958, Freeman made his movie debut in an uncredited role in the
Glenn Ford WWII picture
_Torpedo Run (1958)_ and first received billing in the 1960 gang war B-movie potboiler This Rebel Breed (1960).
His most memorable role was the lead in
Amiri Baraka's
Dutchman (1966) opposite
Shirley Knight, who was named
Best Actress at the 1967 Venice Film Festival. Freeman won the
N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion
Picture for playing Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in
Spike Lee's
Malcolm X (1992).
Freeman was a professor in the drama department of Howard University.
When he died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78,
he had established himself as a legend in the African American arts
community.
American to win a Daytime Emmy Award for acting. His most famous role
was that of Police Captain Ed Hall in the soap opera
One Life to Live (1968),
which brought him the Emmy in 1979. He was a regular on the soap from
1972 through 1987, and appeared off and on as Captain Hall from 1988
through 2000. He received three additional Emmy nominations playing the
role in 1983, '86 and '87. Freeman also was the first African American
to direct a TV soap opera, helming "One Life to Live" episodes.
Born on March 21, 1934 in San Antonio, Texas, he was raised primarily
by his father, an actor and jazz musician, after his parents divorced.
Al Freeman father and son left Texas, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. After
studying drama at Los Angeles City College, Freeman fils moved to New
York City to act in the theater, making his Broadway debut in
Ketti Frings's "The Long Dream" in 1960, a
flop that closed after five performances. He had a major success
playing the lead in
James Baldwin's play "Blues for
Mister Charlie" in 1964. In 1970, he appeared in "Look to the Lilies"
on Broadway, a musical version of the 1963 movie
Lilies of the Field (1963),
playing the part of Homer Smith, the role that brought
Sidney Poitier an Oscar. Despite a
prestigious production team that included director
Joshua Logan, composer
Jule Styne and lyricist
Sammy Cahn, the show was a flop.
Freeman made his reputation primarily in television. He debuted as a
television actor in the series
Suspicion (1957) in 1958, and his
soap opera debut came in 1967 in
The Edge of Night (1956).
He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for
My Sweet Charlie (1970)
and for
Roots: The Next Generations (1979),
in which he played Malcolm X.
In 1958, Freeman made his movie debut in an uncredited role in the
Glenn Ford WWII picture
_Torpedo Run (1958)_ and first received billing in the 1960 gang war B-movie potboiler This Rebel Breed (1960).
His most memorable role was the lead in
Amiri Baraka's
Dutchman (1966) opposite
Shirley Knight, who was named
Best Actress at the 1967 Venice Film Festival. Freeman won the
N.A.A.C.P. Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion
Picture for playing Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in
Spike Lee's
Malcolm X (1992).
Freeman was a professor in the drama department of Howard University.
When he died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78,
he had established himself as a legend in the African American arts
community.