Albert Freeman Jr., the veteran actor who played Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee’s epic film, “Malcolm X,” has died. He was 78.
Howard University in Washington, D.C., confirmed his death Friday night but details weren’t immediately available. Freeman taught acting there for years and served as chairman and artistic director of its theater arts department.
He was a brilliant professor, a renowned actor and a master director who made his mark in the classroom as well as on stage, screen and television. … He has mentored and taught scores of outstanding actors. He was a resounding voice of Howard and will be missed,” university spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton said in a statement.
Freeman earned an NAACP Image Award for playing Malcolm X’s mentor in Lee’s 1992 biography. His other movie credits include” My Sweet Charlie” and “Finian’s Rainbow.”
He also received an Emmy nomination for his role as Malcolm X in the 1979 miniseries “Roots: The Next Generations.”
He was also known to a generation of TV soap fans as Capt. Ed Hall on the soap opera “One Life to Live,” a role he played from 1972 through 1987, with recurring roles in 1988 and 2000. He won won a best-actor Daytime Emmy in 1979 for his work on that show and was the first African-American to win a Daytime Emmy.
(source-msnbc.com)
