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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

44

Gender

Male

Birthday

1934-03-21

Day of Death

2012-08-09 (78 years old)

Place of Birth

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Also Known As

Al Freeman

Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr.

Albert C. Freeman Jr.

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

Acting

Malcolm X

1992

Malcolm X

as

Elijah Muhammad

The Detective

1968

The Detective

as

Robbie Loughlin

A Fable

1971

A Fable

as

The Leader

Dutchman

1966

Dutchman

as

Clay

This Rebel Breed

1960

This Rebel Breed

as

Satchel

Down in the Delta

1998

Down in the Delta

as

Earl Sinclair

The Lost Man

1969

The Lost Man

as

Dennis Lawrence

My Sweet Charlie

1970

My Sweet Charlie

as

Charles Roberts

The Troublemaker

1964

The Troublemaker

as

Intern

For Pete's Sake

1966

For Pete's Sake

as

Harvey

Castle Keep

1969

Castle Keep

as

Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin

Sniper's Ridge

1961

Sniper's Ridge

as

Medic Gwathney

Black Like Me

1964

Black Like Me

as

Thomas Newcomb

Seven Hours to Judgment

1988

Seven Hours to Judgment

as

Danny Larwin

The Broken Mask

1958

The Broken Mask

as

George

Ensign Pulver

1964

Ensign Pulver

as

Taru

Perry Mason Returns

1985

Perry Mason Returns

as

Lt. Cooper

Finian's Rainbow

1968

Finian's Rainbow

as

Howard

Torpedo Run

1958

Torpedo Run

as

Sam Baker

One Life to Live

One Life to Live

as

Capt. Ed Hall

Law & Order

Law & Order

as

Reverend Thayer

The F.B.I.

The F.B.I.

as

Alan Harmon

The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show

as

Coach Ernie Scott

Kojak

Kojak

as

Donald Mosher

Homicide: Life on the Street

Homicide: Life on the Street

as

Deputy Commissioner James Harris

The Millionaire

The Millionaire

as

Houseboy

The Defenders

The Defenders

as

Charlton White

Law & Order

Law & Order

as

Stan Wallace

King

King

as

Damon Lockwood

Production

Crew

Directing

A Fable

1971

A Fable

as