Morgan Freeman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
For the Dawson's Creek director, see Morgan J. Freeman.
Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman in 2006
Born June 1, 1937 (age 69)
Flag of United States Memphis, Tennessee
Spouse(s) Jeanette Adair Bradshaw (1967 - 1979)

Myrna Colley-Lee (1984-present)
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actor
2005 Million Dollar Baby

Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, film director, and regular film narrator. He became known during the 1990s, after having appeared in a series of successful Hollywood films.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis, and Mayme Edna Revere, a cleaner.[1] He has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, and had lived in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at the age of eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At the age of twelve, he won a state-wide drama competition and while in high school he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing 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 time, 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 made his acting debut 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 Lindfors in The Nigger Lovers[2][3] (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.

[edit] Career

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, (notably as Easy Reader and Dracula) which he claimed he should have left earlier than planned.

“ It was my idea to just do The Electric Company for a couple of years and go on. But, you get trapped by that money thing. It's golden handcuffs. It gets a lot of people, including soap opera actors and commercial actors. Then, they don't want to see you in serious work. That was going to be me, having people come up to me saying "My kids love you!". I was there three years too long. ”

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. 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 1989). 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 head its sister online movie distribution company ClickStar. Freeman also hosts the channel "Our Space" on Clickstar, with specially crafted film clips where he shares his love for the sciences, especially space exploration and flight.

Morgan Freeman alongside Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2007-03-22.
Morgan Freeman alongside Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption
The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2007-03-22.

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. 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.

In 2006, Freeman began filming Rob Reiner's The Bucket List, opposite Jack Nicholson, playing dying men who must fulfill their list of goals. The film is scheduled to be released in 2007.

[edit] Personal life

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, Alphonso 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, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Freeman has come out publicly against the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying that "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." 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".[4]

On Saturday October 28, 2006, Freeman was honored at the 1st Mississippi's Best Awards in Jackson, Mississippi with the Lifetime Achievement Award award for his tireless works on and off the big screen. "He's been like a father figure to me," related C. A. Webb, the event's founder. "Mr. Freeman is one of those men who you cannot help but respect, no matter what role he plays".[citation needed]

Freeman received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts and Letters from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13, 2006.

[edit] Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1971 The Electric Company television series
1978 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Uncle Hammer made-for-television
1980 Brubaker Walter
1981 The Marva Collins Story Clarence Collins made-for-television
1984 Teachers Al Lewis
1985 Marie Charles Traughber
1987 Street Smart Fast Black Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor
Fight For Life Dr. Sherard made-for-television
1989 Glory Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins
Driving Miss Daisy Hoke Colburn Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
Lean on Me Principal Joe Clark
1990 The Bonfire of the Vanities Judge Leonard White
1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Azeem
1992 Unforgiven Ned Logan
The Power of One Geel Piet
1993 Bopha! director only
1994 The Shawshank Redemption Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
1995 Se7en Detective Lt. William Somerset
Outbreak Brig. Gen. Billy Ford
1996 Chain Reaction Paul Shannon
Moll Flanders Hibble
1997 Amistad Theodore Joadson
Kiss The Girls Dr. Alex Cross
1998 Deep Impact President Tom Beck
Hard Rain Jim
2000 Nurse Betty Charlie
Under Suspicion Victor Benzet
2001 Along Came a Spider Dr. Alex Cross
2002 The Sum of All Fears DCI William Cabot
High Crimes Charlie Grimes
2003 Bruce Almighty God
Dreamcatcher Col. Abraham Kurtz
2004 Million Dollar Baby Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor
The Hunting of the President (Narrator) limited release
The Big Bounce Walter Crewes
2005 An Unfinished Life Mitch Bradley
War of the Worlds (Narrator)
March of the Penguins (Narrator)
Batman Begins Lucius Fox
Unleashed Sam
2006 Edison Force Ashford
Lucky Number Slevin The Boss
10 Items or Less Him Limited release. Was the first film in history to be legally available for download while it was still in theaters.[citation needed]
2007 Evan Almighty God
The Bucket List
2008 Wanted Sloan
The Dark Knight Lucius Fox

[edit] Awards

Preceded by
Tim Robbins
for Mystic River		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
2004
for Million Dollar Baby		 Succeeded by
George Clooney
for Syriana

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/morganfreeman/
  2. ^ Biography for Morgan Freeman, IMDB.com database, retrieved 16 Mar 2007
  3. ^ Morgan Freeman Biography, tiscali.co.uk Film & TV, retrieved 16 Mar 2007]
  4. ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10482634/

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Cinema of the United States
Actors • A-Z of films • Directors

Academy Awards • Animators  • Box office • Cinematographers • Critics  • Editors • Festivals • Film series  • Golden Globes • Hollywood • Movie theatres  • Producers • Production companies • Score composers • Screenwriters  • Silent films • Studios • Stunt performers • AFI 100 Years •
Persondata
NAME Freeman, Morgan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Memphis, Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/o/r/Morgan_Freeman_8a4e.html"