James E. Freeman (February 2, 1946 – August 9, 2014) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. He was often cast in menacing roles, such as the evil mobster Marcello Santos in David Lynch's '' Wild at Heart'' (1990), the terrifying henchman Eddie "the Dane" in the Coens' ''

Miller's Crossing ''Miller's Crossing'' is a 1990 American neo-noir gangster film written, directed and produced by the Coen brothers and starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, and Albert Finney. The plot concerns a ...

'' (1990), and the cruel scientist Dr. Mason Wren in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's ''

Alien Resurrection ''Alien Resurrection'' is a 1997 American science fiction horror film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the ''Alien'' franchise, and wa ...

'' (1997).

Acting career

Freeman trained as an actor with Jean Shelton at

Shelton Studios The Shelton Studios, also known as the Jean Shelton Actors Lab, is an American method acting school based in San Francisco. The school was founded in 1961 by stage actors Robert Elross and Jean Shelton. It prepares students to the art of film and th ...

in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

area in the 1970s. He was nominated for best actor for playing Teach in the West Coast premiere of

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

's ''

American Buffalo American Buffalo may refer to: *American Buffalo (play), ''American Buffalo'' (play), a play by David Mamet *American Buffalo (film), ''American Buffalo'' (film), a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente *American Buffalo (coin), a ...

'', which also featured George Eckel and Charles Bouvier. After directing ''

Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...

'' in 1979, Freeman moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to pursue a film career. His first movie appearance was in the action film ''

An Eye for an Eye "An eye for an eye" ( hbo, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The principle exists also in Babylonian law. In Roman c ...

'' (1981) in which he played a tow-truck driver who exchanges words with

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts champions ...

. Other notable films in which he played include ''

Ruthless People ''Ruthless People'' is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and written by Dale Launer. It stars Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Anita Morris, and Helen Slater, with Bill Pullman ...

'' (1986) as the "Bedroom Killer", ''

Patriot Games ''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. '' Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character i ...

'' (1992) as the bearded

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent Marty Cantor, ''

Copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...

'' (1995) as the police lieutenant Thomas Quinn, and '' Go'' (1998) as

strip-club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

owner Vic Sr. He retired from acting in 2007.

Personal life

James E. Freeman attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was a three-year member of the track team. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin in 1964. As a high school student, he was assertively

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. He was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. At age 22, he revealed his sexuality to the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, leading to his discharge. He had been

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-positive since around 1984. In 2009, he published a letter to the editor on sfgate.com, describing his reminiscences of the 1969 Stonewall Riots."Letters to datebook"
'' sfgate.com, June 26, 2009. He wrote

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and had a

tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

("Freedapoet") dedicated to his work.

Death

Freeman died in the evening of August 9, 2014, of AIDS. He was 68.

Filmography

*1981: ''

'' - Tow Truck Dude *1983: '' Twice Upon a Time'' - Rusher of Din - Pool Player *1986: '' Stingray'' (1x01 - Ancient Eyes) *1986: ''

'' - The Bedroom Killer *1986: '' Hard Traveling'' - Ed Sloan *1988: ''Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami'' (TV Movie) - Agent Peter Nello *1988: ''

The Couch Trip ''The Couch Trip'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Dan Aykroyd, Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin and Donna Dixon. It is loosely based on the 1971 novel ''The Couch Trip'', by Ken Kolb. Plot Alleged mental pa ...

'' - Unger *1990: '' Wild at Heart'' - Marcellus Santos *1990: ''

'' - Eddie Dane *1991: ''

One Good Cop ''One Good Cop'' is a 1991 American crime drama film written and directed by Heywood Gould and starring Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia and Benjamin Bratt. Keaton portrays New York City Police Department Detective Artie Lewis, ...

'' - Captain Schreiber *1991: '' The Doctor'' - Ralph *1991: '' Aces: Iron Eagle III'' - Ames *1992: ''Memphis'' (TV Movie) - Podjo Harris *1992: ''

'' - Marty Cantor *1992: '' Highlander: The Series'' - Joe Scanlon (1x02 - Family Tree) *1993: '' Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story'' - Marty Algar *1993: ''

Mother's Boys ''Mother's Boys'' is a 1993 American psychological thriller film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Peter Gallagher, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Vanessa Redgrave. Plot Jude Madigan (Curtis) suddenly and inexplicably leaves her husband, Robert (Gallagher), ...

'' - Everett, Principal *1994: '' It Could Happen to You'' - Sal Bontempo *1994: '' There Goes My Baby'' - George *1995: ''

'' - Thomas Quinn *1997: '' Dream with the Fishes'' - Joe, Nick's father *1997: ''

'' - Dr. Mason Wren *1997: ''

The Man Who Knew Too Little ''The Man Who Knew Too Little'' is a 1997 spy comedy film starring Bill Murray, directed by Jon Amiel, and written by Robert Farrar and Howard Franklin. The film is based on Farrar's 1997 novel ''Watch That Man'', and the title is a parody of A ...

'' - CIA Man *1998: '' Dance with Me'' - (uncredited) *1998: ''Fool's Gold'' - George *1999: '' Go'' - Victor Sr. *2000: ''

Auggie Rose ''Auggie Rose'', also known as ''Beyond Suspicion'', is a 2000 American drama film directed by Matthew Tabak and starring Jeff Goldblum and Anne Heche. It was originally shown on Cinemax and then released on video with the title ''Beyond Suspic ...

'' - Pawn Shop Owner *2000: '' Skeleton Woman'' - Luigi *2000: ''Along for the Ride'' - Jake Cowens *2001: ''

Suspended Animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

'' - Philip Boulette *2003: '' Carolina'' - Wrecking Yard Owner *2003: '' 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out'' (TV Movie) - Police commander *2003: ''

Mystery Woman ''Mystery Woman'' is the name of a series of 11 made-for-television mystery films released by the Hallmark Channel between 2003 and 2007, and now appearing regularly on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. While on the Hallmark Channel, it was broadca ...

'' (TV Movie) - Ian Philby *2004: '' Tremors 4: The Legend Begins'' (Video) - Old Fred

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, J. E. 1946 births 2014 deaths American male film actors People from Brooklyn Male actors from New York City LGBT people from New York (state) American gay actors AIDS-related deaths in California Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School alumni