Morgan Freeman
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Morgan Freeman, October 2006
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| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanette Adair Bradshaw (1967–1979) Myrna Colley-Lee (1984–present) |
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, film director and narrator. Noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice, Freeman has become one of Hollywood's most popular and respected actors.[1]
Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere), a cleaner, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis. He was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.[2][3][4] He has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago, Illinois.[4] Freeman made his acting debut at age eight, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Greenwood High School in Mississippi. At age twelve, he won a statewide drama competition, and while still at Greenwood High, he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he graduated from Greenwood High, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force.
Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this period, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca LindforsinThe Nigger Lovers[5][6] (about the civil-rights era "Freedom Riders"), before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.
Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the soap opera Another World and the PBS kids' show The Electric Company,[4] (notably as Easy Reader and Vincent the Vegetable Vampire) which he claimed he should have left earlier than he did.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Freeman began playing prominent supporting roles in many feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters.[4] As he gained fame, he went on to bigger roles in films such as the chauffeur Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy, and Sergeant Major Rawlins in Glory (both in 1989).[4] In 1994 he portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in the acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption. His star power was already confirmed as he starred in some of the biggest films of the 1990s, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Se7en, and Deep Impact. In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment, and the two co-head its sister online movie distribution company ClickStar. Freeman also hosts the channel Our Space on ClickStar, with specially crafted film clips in which he shares his love for the sciences, especially space exploration and aeronautics.
After three previous nominations– a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart (1987), and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994)– he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.[4] Freeman is recognized for his distinctive voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary film March of the Penguins.
In 1991, Morgan Freeman was offered a lead role in Jurassic Park. Unsure that dinosaurs could make for interesting co-stars, Freeman traveled to the Museum of Natural History to see the “damn beasts” in person. In a 2007 interview with Atlanta Radio Correspondent Veronica Waters, Freeman revealed that he was stunned when he learned that birds descended from dinosaurs. While he turned down the role, Freeman spent the next summer reading books on Ornithology. This would later lead to his desire to narrate the documentary March of the Penguins.
Freeman has recently been well known for his role as God in the hit movie Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty, as well as his role as Lucius Fox in the critical and commercial success Batman Begins and its 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight. He starred in Rob Reiner's 2007 film The Bucket List, opposite Jack Nicholson, playing terminal cancer patients who must fulfill their lists of goals. He teams with Christopher Walken and William H. Macy in the comedy The Lonely Maiden, due out in late 2008. In April 2008, Freeman returned to Broadway to co-star with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher for a limited engagement of Clifford Odets's play, The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.
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Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. He has two sons, Alfonso and Saifoulaye, from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter, Deena, and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana. Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He has a private pilot's license, which he gained at age 65,[7] and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He officially opened his second club Ground ZeroinMemphis, Tennessee on April 24, 2008. His pilot’s license was suspended in 2004 for 45 days for failing to maintain altitude on approach.[8]
Freeman has publicly criticized the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying, "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."[9] He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month". Freeman once said on an interview with 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace: "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man."[9] Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which echoes the Confederate "Stars and Bars" flag.[10][11]
OnOctober 28, 2006, Freeman was honored at the first Mississippi's Best Awards in Jackson, Mississippi, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his works on and off the big screen. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts and Letters from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13, 2006.
In 2008 Freeman's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Songhai and Tuareg peoples of Niger.
Morgan Freeman also has worked on narrating small clips for global organizations, such as One Earth (www.oneearth.org), whose goal includes making the public aware of environmental issues, and raising interest in the Earth. He has narrated the clip 'Why Are We Here', which can be viewed for free under One Earth's website mentioned above.
Freeman has endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for the United States presidential election, 2008, although he has stated that he will not be joining Obama's campaign.[12]
Freeman has donated money to the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville, Mississippi. The Horse park is part of Mississippi State University. Freeman has several horses that he takes there.[13]
Freeman was injured in an automobile accident near Ruleville, Mississippi, on August 3, 2008. The vehicle in which he was traveling, a 1997 Nissan Maxima, left the highway and flipped over several times. He and a female passenger were rescued from the vehicle using the "Jaws of Life". Freeman was evacuated via medical helicopter to a hospital in Memphis.[14][15] Police ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash.[16] Freeman was coherent during the crash, as he joked to a photographer about taking his picture at the scene.[17] He broke his shoulder, arm and elbow in the crash and is due to have minor surgery on August 5. His publicist announced he is expected to make a full recovery.[18]
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Electric Company | television series (1971-77) | |
| 1978 | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Uncle Hammer | made-for-television |
| 1981 | The Marva Collins Story | Clarence Collins | made-for-television |
| 1986 | Resting Place | Luther Johnson | made-for-television |
| 1987 | Fight For Life | Dr. Sherard | made-for-television |
| 2004 | Jimmy Timmy Power Hour | ||
| 2008 | 2008 Olympic commercials for VISA | Voice-over | Commercial |
| Preceded by | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 1990 for Driving Miss Daisy |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 2004 for Million Dollar Baby |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 2004 for Million Dollar Baby |
Succeeded by |
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