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' Slave/Toilet to Joe Papp's revivals of Long Day's Journey Into Night and Troilus and Cressida, and films, including My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, as well as television series The Mod Squad, Kojak, and Maude, and a long-running role on the soap opera One Life to Live.
Early life, family and education
Al Freeman was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist. His parents divorced when he was nine years old, his father relocated to Columbus, Ohio,
Al Freeman Jr. attended Los Angeles City College, studying acting in 1951, He relocated to New York City in 1959, He appeared in Black Like Me, the 1964 film adaptation of the novel of the same name. and in 1967, Dutchman was adapted into a film directed by English filmmaker Anthony Harvey. Also on Broadway, he performed as Homer Smith in Look to the Lilies, a musical adaptation of Lilies of the Field, opposite Shirley Booth. The show ran for 25 performances and 31 previews in 1970. He played the title role in the TV movie My Sweet Charlie (1970) which co-starred Patty Duke.
Selected filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1958
|Torpedo Run
|Sam Baker
|Uncredited
|-
|1960
|This Rebel Breed
|Satchel
|
|-
|1961
|Sniper's Ridge
|Medic Gwathney
|
|-
|1964
|Black Like Me
|Thomas Newcomb
|
|-
|1964
|The Troublemaker
|Intern
|-
|1964
|Ensign Pulver
|Taru
|
|-
|1966
|For Pete's Sake
|
|-
|1967
|Dutchman
|Clay
|
|-
|1968
|The Detective
|Robbie
|
|-
|1968
|Finian's Rainbow
|Howard
|
|-
|1969
|The Lost Man
|Dennis Lawrence
|
|-
|1969
|Castle Keep
|Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin
|
|-
|1970
|My Sweet Charlie
|Charles Roberts
|
|-
|1971
|A Fable
|The Leader
|
|-
|1972
|To Be Young, Gifted and Black
|
|
|-
|1988
|Seven Hours to Judgment
|Danny Larwin
|
|-
|1992
|Malcolm X
|Elijah Muhammad
|
|-
|1994
|Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
|Old Johnson Whittaker
|
|-
|1995
|Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
|Poppa
|
|-
|1998
|Down in the Delta
|Earl Sinclair
|
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1967
|The Edge of Night
|Assistant District Attorney Ben Lee
|
|-
|1968
|The F.B.I.
|Alan Harmon
|1 episode
|-
|1969
|Judd for the Defense
|Jeff Jones
|1 episode
|-
|1972
|The Mod Squad
|Jessie Cook
|1 episode
|-
|1972–1988
|One Life to Live
|Captain Ed Hall
|
|-
|1974
|Maude
|Roy
|1 episode
|-
|1975
|Hot l Baltimore
|Charles Bingham
|Main role
|-
|1976
|Kojak
|Donald Mosher
|1 episode
|-
|1978
|King
|Damon Lockwood
|
|-
|1979
|Roots: The Next Generations
|Malcolm X
|
|-
|1985
|The Cosby Show
|Coach Ernie Scott
|1 episode
|-
|1990
|Law & Order
|Reverend Thayer
|1 episode
|-
|1995–1996
|Homicide: Life on the Street
|Deputy Commissioner James Harris
|
|-
|2004
|Law & Order
|Stan Wallace
|1 episode
|-
|}
References
External links
- Al Freeman Jr. at Turner Classic Movies