Al Freeman Jr. obit

Al Freeman, pioneering black actor, has died

 

He was not on the list.

Emmy-winning actor, director and screenwriter Al Freeman, Jr., who played Capt. Ed Hall on “One Life to Live” for more than a decade, and Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee’s 1992 film “Malcolm X,” has died.

Freeman, 78, lived on a boat outside of Washington, D.C. and taught at Howard University.

“It is with tremendous sadness that the passing of our beloved Professor Al Freeman, Jr. is confirmed,” Kim James Bey, chair of Howard University’s theater department, told the Star Tribune Friday afternoon.

Freeman was best known for his screen roles. He appeared on such programs as "Roots," “The Cosby Show,” “Law and Order” and “Homicide: Life on the Streets.” He won Emmys for “One Life to Live” and “Malcolm X." He also won an NAACP Image Award for his Elijah Muhammad.

Freeman first gained acclaim for his stage work in Amiri Baraka’s “Dutchman,” in a 1967 off-Broadway production. He played a black subway rider who is tormented by a white woman. He reprised his performance on screen in a movie adaptation.

On Broadway, he acted alongside legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey and acting icon Cicely Tyson in Peter S. Feibleman’s “Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright” in 1962. Two years later, he starred in James Baldwin’s “Blues for Mister Charlie,” under the direction of Burgess Meredith.

Born in San Antonio, Tex., Freeman served in the Air Force during the Korean War. Afterwards, he embarked on an acting career that was inspiring to many in the field.

"At a time when we rarely saw black actors on TV, he was on a soap," said Ralph Remington, director of theater and musical theater at the National Endowment for the Arts and founder of Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis. "He was well-known and all over the TV. "He was legendary for his contributions."

 

Selected filmography

 

 

Film

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

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1967    The Edge of Night            Assistant District Attorney Ben Lee     

1968    The FBI      Alan Harmon            1 episode

1969    Judd for the Defense            Jeff Jones    1 episode

1972    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     

1990    Law and Order            Reverend Thayer            1 episode

1995-1996            Homicide: Life on the Street   Deputy Commissioner James Harris    

2004    Law and Order            Stan Wallace            1 episode