Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The Actors Studio, Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays, ranging from Leroi Jones' Slave/Toilet to Joe Papp's revivals of Long Day's Journey Into Night and Troilus and Cressida, and films, including My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, as well as television series The Mod Squad, Kojak, and Maude, and a long-running role on the soap opera One Life to Live.
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Early life, family and education
Al Freeman was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Lottie Brisette (née Coleman) and Albert Cornelius Freeman, a jazz pianist. His parents divorced when he was nine years old, his father relocated to Columbus, Ohio, so Al was raised in both places.
Al Freeman Jr. attended Los Angeles City College, studying acting in 1951, but left school to enlist in the US Air Force, serving in the Korean War. After three years in the military, he returned to Los Angeles, taking courses in "speech, broadcasting and drama" and "train[ing] for the stage with Jeff Corey, Harold Clifton, and Frank Silvera. He "later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts."
