About

Known credits:
34
Birthday:
1934-03-21
Place of birth:
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Website:
N/A

Al Freeman Jr.

Overview

Al Freeman, Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor and director. Freeman made appearances in many films, such as My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, and television series such as The Cosby Show, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street and The Edge of Night. He is mostly recognized for his portrayal of Police Captain Ed Hall on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, a role he played from 1972 through 1985, with recurring roles in 1988 and 2000. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for that role, the first African-American actor to be so honored. He left the show briefly to appear in the network's controversial sitcom Hot L Baltimore. During that period, "Ed" was played by another actor, Arthur Pendleton. He was also a director of One Life to Live, and was one of the first, if not the first, African-Americans to direct a soap opera.

After leaving One Life to Live, Freeman appeared in the motion picture Down in the Delta. His Broadway theatre credits include Look to the Lilies, Blues for Mister Charlie, and Medea. His portrayal of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in the motion picture Malcolm X earned him the 1995 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Coincidently, he had previously played Malcolm X in the 1979 miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations.

Freeman also taught acting as a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C..

Description above from the Wikipedia article Al Freeman, Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Acting

1998 Down in the Delta Actor Earl Sinclair 58
Average
1996 Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored Actor Poppa 58
Average
1994 Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker Actor Old Johnson Whittaker 58
Average
1993 Boy Meets Girl Actor N/A
N/A
1992 Malcolm X Actor Elijah Muhammad 71
Good
1989 Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice Actor Narrator (voice) N/A
N/A
1988 Seven Hours to Judgment Actor Danny Larwin 58
Average
1985 Perry Mason Returns Actor Lt. Cooper 59
Average
1985 Perry Mason Returns Actor Lt. Cooper 70
Good
1979 Roots: The Next Generations Actor 71
Good
1979 Roots: The Next Generations Actor Malcom X 71
Good
1978 King Actor Damon Lockwood 69
Fair
1975 Hot l Baltimore Actor 69
Fair
1972 To Be Young, Gifted and Black Actor 58
Average
1971 A Fable Actor The Leader 59
Average
1970 The Chicago Conspiracy Trial Actor 58
Average
1970 My Sweet Charlie Actor Charles Roberts 58
Average
1969 Castle Keep Actor Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin 58
Average
1969 The Lost Man Actor Dennis Lawrence 58
Average
1968 Finian's Rainbow Actor Howard 58
Average
1968 One Life to Live Actor Capt. Ed Hall 70
Good
1968 The Detective Actor Robbie Loughlin 58
Average
1968 The World Premiere of 'Finian's Rainbow' Actor Self N/A
N/A
1966 Dutchman Actor Clay 58
Average
1966 For Pete's Sake Actor Harvey N/A
N/A
1964 Ensign Pulver Actor Taru 58
Average
1964 The Troublemaker Actor Intern 58
Average
1964 Black Like Me Actor Thomas Newcomb 59
Average
1961 Sniper's Ridge Actor Medic Gwathney 58
Average
1960 This Rebel Breed Actor Satchel 59
Average
1958 Torpedo Run Actor Sam Baker 58
Average
1958 The Broken Mask Actor George N/A
N/A

Directing

1971 A Fable Directing Director 59
Average

Writing

1976 Countdown at Kusini Writing Screenplay N/A
N/A