Al Freeman Jr.
Freeman in 1975
Born	Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (1934-03-21)March 21, 1934 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died	August 9, 2012(2012-08-09) (aged 78) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Years active	1958–2004
Spouse	Sevara E. Clemon ​ ​ (m. 1960)​

Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member ofThe Actors Studio,^[1] Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays, ranging fromLeroi Jones'Slave/Toilet toJoe Papp's revivals ofLong Day's Journey Into Night andTroilus and Cressida, and films, includingMy Sweet Charlie,Finian's Rainbow, andMalcolm X, as well as television series and soap operas, such asOne Life to Live,The Cosby Show,Law & Order,Homicide: Life on the Street andThe Edge of Night.

Al Freeman was born inSan Antonio, Texas, to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist.^[2] Taking a hiatus from college, Freeman enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 to serve in theKorean War.^[3][4][5]

He starred oppositeFrank Sinatra in the 1968Gordon Douglas filmThe Detective, before taking his most recognized acting role as police captainEd Hall on theABCsoap operaOne Life to Live from 1972 through 1987, with recurring appearances in 1988 and 2000. He won aDaytime Emmy Award forOutstanding Lead Actor for that role in 1979, the first actor from the show as well as the first African-American actor to earn the award.

After leavingOne Life to Live, Freeman appeared in the 1998 motion pictureDown in the Delta. HisBroadway theatre credits includeThe Hot L Baltimore andLook to the Lilies. His portrayal ofElijah Muhammad, theNation of Islam leader, in the filmMalcolm X earned him the 1992NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. He had playedMalcolm X in the 1979 miniseries,Roots: The Next Generations. In the 1990s he had a recurring guest role as the manipulative Baltimore deputy police commissioner James Harris inHomicide: Life on the Street. In 1991 Freeman joined the Department of Theatre Arts atHoward University inWashington, D.C., and served for six years as department chairman.^[6]

Al Freeman Jr. also appeared on Broadway in 1970 as Homer Smith inLook to the Lilies, a musical adaptation ofLilies of the Field, opposite Shirley Booth. The show ran for 25 performances and 31 previews.

Freeman died on August 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78.^[7]

On September 10, 2012, a memorial service was held for Freeman atHoward University.^[6] In 2014, the Environmental Theatre Space at the Howard University Fine Arts Building was renamed The Al Freeman Jr. Environmental Theatre Space in his honor.^[8]

• Al Freeman Jr. atIMDb 
• Al Freeman Jr. at theInternet Broadway Database
• Al Freeman Jr. at theTCM Movie Database
• Al Freeman Jr. at theInternet Off-Broadway Database

• 1934 births
• 2012 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male film actors
• American male soap opera actors
• Daytime Emmy Award winners
• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners
• Howard University faculty
• Male actors from San Antonio
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• 21st-century African-American educators
• 21st-century American educators

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• IBDB name template using Wikidata
• Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata
• TCMDb name template using numeric ID
• Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata
• Place of death missing