Known For
Acting
Born
Mar 21, 1934
Died
Aug 09, 2012
Place of Birth
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Credits
44 titles
Al Freeman Jr.
Biography
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
Filmography
Down in the Delta
Earl Sinclair
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Poppa
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
Old Johnson Whittaker
Homicide: Life on the Street
Deputy Commissioner James Harris
Boy Meets Girl
Curtis
Malcolm X
Elijah Muhammad
Law & Order
Reverend Thayer
Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice
Narrator (voice)
Seven Hours to Judgment
Danny Larwin
Perry Mason Returns
Lt. Cooper
The Cosby Show
Coach Ernie Scott
Roots: The Next Generations
Malcolm X
King
Damon Lockwood
Countdown at Kusini
Screenplay
Hot l Baltimore
Kojak
Donald Mosher
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
A Fable
The Leader
The Chicago Conspiracy Trial
My Sweet Charlie
Charles Roberts
Castle Keep
Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin
The Lost Man
Dennis Lawrence
Finian's Rainbow
Howard
The Mod Squad
One Life to Live
Capt. Ed Hall
The Detective
Robbie Loughlin
The World Premiere of 'Finian's Rainbow'
Self
Judd, for the Defense
Dutchman
Clay
For Pete's Sake
Harvey
The F.B.I.
Alan Harmon
Ensign Pulver
Taru
The Troublemaker
Intern
Black Like Me
Thomas Newcomb
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
The Defenders
Charlton White
Sniper's Ridge
Medic Gwathney
This Rebel Breed
Satchel
Adventures in Paradise
Para
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Taxi Man
Torpedo Run
Sam Baker
The Broken Mask
George
The Millionaire
Houseboy