Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The Actors Studio, Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays, ranging from

Leroi Jones Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

' ''Slave/Toilet'' to

Joe Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a y ...

's revivals of '' Long Day's Journey Into Night'' and ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. M ...

'', and films, including '' My Sweet Charlie'', '' Finian's Rainbow'', and ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of ...

'', as well as television series and soap operas, such as '' One Life to Live'', ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

''.

Life and career

Al Freeman was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist. Taking a hiatus from college, Freeman enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 to serve in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. He starred opposite Frank Sinatra in the 1968 Gordon Douglas film '' The Detective'', before taking his most recognized acting role as police captain Ed Hall on the ABC

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' One Life to Live'' from 1972 through 1987, with recurring appearances in 1988 and 2000. He won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

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. After leaving ''One Life to Live'', Freeman appeared in the 1998 motion picture ''

Down in the Delta ''Down in the Delta'' is a 1998 American-Canadian drama film, directed by Maya Angelou in her sole film directorial effort and starring Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., Esther Rolle (in her final film appearance before her death), Loretta Devine, ...

''. His

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

credits include ''

The Hot L Baltimore #REDIRECT The Hot l Baltimore the title is a play on the word 'Hotel' with a missing 'e', hence, ''"Hot l"''. The only "official" rendering with a capital "L" (official being defined as actual promotional material) is when the entire word, or ...

'' and ''

Look to the Lilies ''Look to the Lilies'' was a short-lived Broadway musical with a book by Leonard Spigelgass, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne. Based on both the 1962 novel and film versions of '' Lilies of the Field'', it tells the story of a gro ...

''. His portrayal of

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his deat ...

, the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

leader, in the film ''

'' earned him the 1992 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. He had played

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 Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

in Washington, D.C., and served for six years as department chairman. Al Freeman Jr. also appeared on Broadway in 1970 as Homer Smith in ''

'', 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. On September 10, 2012, a memorial service was held for Freeman at

. 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.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Al Jr. 1934 births 2012 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners Howard University faculty Male actors from San Antonio 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people