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Early life

Early life

Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (ne Revere) and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis. Freeman was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi. He has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at age 9, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School, currently Threadgill Elementary School, in Mississippi. At age 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while still at Broad Street High School, he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he graduated from Broad Street High School, 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 Lindfors in The Nigger Lovers (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.

Career

Freeman at the 10 Items or Less premiere in Madrid with co-star Paz Vega.

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 Vincent the Vegetable Vampire) which he later said 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. 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). In 1994 he portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in the acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption. He also starred in films such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Unforgiven, Seven, 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 supporting actor nomination for Street Smart, and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy, and The Shawshank Redemptione won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards. Freeman is recognized for his distinctive voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two films, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary film March of the Penguins.

In 1991, Freeman was offered a lead role in Jurassic Park. Unsure that dinosaurs could make for interesting co-stars, Freeman traveled to the American Museum of Natural History to see the "damn beasts". In a 2007 interview with Atlanta Radio Correspondent Veronica Waters, Freeman revealed that he was stunned when he learned that birds are 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 appeared as God in the hit movie Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty, as well 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. He teamed with Christopher Walken and William H. Macy for the comedy The Maiden Heist, which was released direct to video due to financial problems of the distribution company. In 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.

He has wanted to do a film based on Nelson Mandela for some time. At first he tried to get Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, adapted into a finished script, but it could never be finalized. In 2007 he purchased the film rights to a pre-published 2008 book by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation. Clint Eastwood directed the Nelson Mandela bio-pic titled Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain Francois Pienaar. It was reported in July 2009 that Freeman is in talks to co-star alongside Bruce Willis in Red.

Effective January 4, 2010, Freeman replaced Walter Cronkite as the voiceover introduction to the CBS Evening News featuring Katie Couric as news anchor. CBS cited the need for consistency in introductions for regular news broadcasts and special reports as the basis for the change.

Personal life

Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He married Myrna Colley-Lee on June 16, 1984. The couple separated in December 2007. Freeman's attorney and business partner, Bill Luckett, announced in August 2008 that Freeman and his wife are in the process of divorce. He has two sons from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter and the couple also had a fourth child. Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He has a private pilot's license, which he earned at age 65, 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 Ground Zero in Memphis, Tennessee on April 24, 2008.

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." 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." Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle flag.

On October 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.

In 2004 Freeman and others formed the Grenada Relief Fund to aid people affected by Hurricane Ivan on the island of Grenada. The Grenada Relief Fund has since become PLANIT NOW, an organization that seeks to provide preparedness resources for people living in hurricane and severe-storm afflicted areas.

Freeman has worked on narrating small clips for global organizations, such as One Earth, whose goals include raising awareness of environmental issues. He has narrated the clip "Why Are We Here", which can be viewed on One Earth's website.

Freeman endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for the United States presidential election, 2008, although he stated that he would not join Obama's campaign. He narrates for The Hall of Presidents with Barack Obama, who has been added to the exhibit. The Hall of Presidents re-opened on July 4, 2009 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

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.

Wikinews has related news: American actor Morgan Freeman in serious condition after car accident

Freeman was injured in an automobile accident near Ruleville, Mississippi, on the night of 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, Demaris Meyer, were rescued from the vehicle using the "Jaws of Life". Freeman was taken via medical helicopter to The Regional Medical Center (The Med) hospital in Memphis. Police ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash. Freeman was coherent following the crash, as he joked to a photographer about taking his picture at the scene. He broke his shoulder, arm and elbow in the crash and had surgery on August 5, 2008. Doctors operated for four hours to repair nerve damage in his shoulder and arm. His publicist announced he was expected to make a full recovery. Meyer, his passenger, has sued him for negligence, claiming that he was drinking the night of the accident. She has denied reports that they were romantically involved.

In July 2009 Freeman was one of the presenters at the 46664 concert (celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday) at Radio City Music Hall, NYC.

Filmography

Films

Year

Film

Role

Notes

1980

Brubaker

Walter

1981

Eyewitness

Lieutenant Black

1984

Teachers

Al Lewis

Harry & Son

Siemanowski

1985

Marie

Charles Traughber

That Was Then... This Is Now

Charlie Woods

1987

Street Smart

Fast Black

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male

Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture

1988

Clean and Sober

Craig

1989

Glory

Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins

Driving Miss Daisy

Hoke Colburn

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

National Board of Review Award for Best Actor

Nominated Academy Award for Best Actor

Lean on Me

Principal Joe Clark

Johnny Handsome

Lt. A.Z. Drones

1990

The Bonfire of the Vanities

Judge Leonard White

The Civil War

Voice of Frederick Douglass

1991

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Azeem

Nominated MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo shared with Kevin Costner

1992

Unforgiven

Ned Logan

The Power of One

Geel Piet

1993

Bopha!

director only

1994

The Shawshank Redemption

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, Narrator

Nominated Academy Award for Best Actor

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama

Nominated Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture

1995

Outbreak

Brig. Gen. Billy Ford

Se7en

Detective Lt. William Somerset

Nominated MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo shared with Brad Pitt

Nominated Saturn Award for Best Actor

1996

Chain Reaction

Paul Shannon

Moll Flanders

Hibble

Cosmic Voyage

Narrator

1997

Amistad

Theodore Joadson

Kiss The Girls

Dr. Alex Cross

1998

Deep Impact

President Tom Beck

Hard Rain

Jim

2000

Nurse Betty

Charlie Quinn

Under Suspicion

Victor Benezet

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 Curtis

Levity

Pastor Miles Evans

Drug War

Lt. Redding

2004

Million Dollar Baby

Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture

Nominated Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

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

The Contract

Frank Carden

Lucky Number Slevin

The Boss

10 Items or Less

Himself

2007

Evan Almighty

God

Feast of Love

Harry Stephenson

Gone, Baby, Gone

Jack Doyle

The Bucket List

Carter Chambers

also narrator

2008

Wanted

Sloan

The Love Guru

Himself

Voice

The Dark Knight

Lucius Fox

2009

Prom Night in Mississippi

Himself

limited release

Thick as Thieves

Keith Ripley

The Maiden Heist

Charlie

Invictus

Nelson Mandela

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

National Board of Review Award for Best Actor tied with George Clooney for Up in the Air

Nominated Academy Award for Best Actor

Nominated Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama

Nominated Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor

Nominated Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor

2010

Red

Joe

filming

Television appearances

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1971-1977

The Electric Company

Easy Reader, DJ Mel Mounds, Dracula, Vincent the Vegetable Vampire

television series

1978

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Uncle Hammer

made-for-television

1981

The Marva Collins Story

Clarence Collins

made-for-television

1985

The Twilight Zone

Tony

Television series (episode "Dealer's Choice")

1986

Resting Place

Luther Johnson

made-for-television

1987

Fight For Life

Dr. Sherard

made-for-television

2008

2008 Olympic VISA commercials and other VISA commercials

Voice-over

Television advertisement

Smithsonian Channel's Sound Revolution

Himself

television series, series host

Stephen Fry in America

Himself

television series, appears in episode 3

2010

The Colbert Report

Himself

interview

Other awards and honoraries

1978 Nominated for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play in The Mighty Gents.

1997 Received an honorary degree from Rhodes College, becoming an honorary alumnus

2003 Received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

2006 Guest of honor at the Cairo International Film Festival.

2007 He and his wife received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

2007 Outstanding Contribution To Film And TV gong at the Screen Nation Film and TV Awards.

2008 Kennedy Center Honors

References

^ Morgan Freeman biography. Film Reference.com.

^ Profiles: Morgan Freeman. Hello Magazine.com

^ a b c d e f Inside the Actors Studio. Original air date: January 2, 2005 (Season 11, Episode 10)

^ Morgan Freeman at the Internet Movie Database

^ Morgan Freeman Biography. tiscali.co.uk Film & TV.

^ Gumbel, Andrew. "The Independent: Morgan Freeman to play Mandela in new movie". The Independent. September 26, 2007.

^ "Morgan Freeman to Star as Nelson Mandela". New York Times. June 25, 2007.

^ Keller, Bill. "Entering the Scrum". The New York Times Book Review. August 17, 2008.

^ "Morgan Freeman Joins The Big Screen Adaptation of Warren Ellis Red". /Film. 19-07-2009. http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/07/19/morgan-freeman-joins-the-big-screen-adaptation-of-warren-ellis%e2%80%99-red/. Retrieved 19-01-2010.

^ a b "Freeman replaces Cronkite on CBS news". Boston Globe. 2010-01-05. http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2010/01/05/freeman_replaces_cronkite_on_cbs_news/. Retrieved 2010-01-05.

^ Access Hollywood - Celebrity News, Photos & Videos

^ Morgan Freeman: The Bucket List video interview

^ a b Freeman calls Black History Month idiculous . MSNBC.msn.com. December 15, 2005.

^ Freeman calls Black History Month ridiculous

^ David Firestone (2001-04-18). "Mississippi Votes by wide margin to keep state flag That includes Confederate emblem". http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E2DC1730F93BA25757C0A9679C8B63. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

^ "Morgan Freeman defies labels". CBS News. 2005-12-18. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/14/60minutes/main1127684.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

^ Morgan Freeman biography. http://www.superstarbiography.com/.

^ "PLAN!T NOW History". http://www.planitnow.org/explore01.php. Retrieved 2008-08-21.

^ OneEarth.org - ECO

^ Eleanor Clift (2007-12-21). "Freeman, Obama and Hollywood immortality". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/81393. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

^ "Hall of Presidents". WDW Radio. 2007-09-16. http://www.wdwradio.com/Liberty-Square/Hall-of-Presidents.html. Retrieved 2009-12-03.

^ a b "Hail to the chief: Obama makes Disney debut at Hall of Presidents." Orlando Sentinel. June 29, 2009.

^ "Mississippi State Campus Map" (PDF). http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/pdf/MissStateCampusMap.pdf. Retrieved accessdate = 2008-08-05.

^ Matt Webb Mitovich (2008-08-04). "Morgan Freeman in Car Accident, Listed in Serious Condition". TV Guide. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Morgan-Freeman-Car/800044492. Retrieved 2008-08-04.

^ "Freeman injured in car accident". BBC News. 2008-08-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7541667.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-04.

^ "Actor Morgan Freeman badly injured in crash". The Irish Times. 2008-08-04. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0804/breaking54.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-04.

^ "Morgan Freeman hurt in car crash". BBC News. 2008-08-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7541667.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-04.

^ Morgan Freeman recovering after surgery - CNN.com

^ Horn, James (2008-08-05). "Morgan Freeman 'in good spirits' after accident". The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-et-freeman5-2008aug05,0,5752402.story. Retrieved 2008-08-05.

^ Morgan Freeman discharged from hospital - CNN.com

^ "Morgan Freeman Sued for Car Accident". WHBQ. February 25, 2009. http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/022509_Morgan_Freeman_Sued_for_75000. Retrieved 2009-02-25.

^ Morgan's Friend--He Was Drinking Before the Crash TMZ.com, February 25, 2009

^ Wood, Bennett. Rhodes 150: A Sesquicentennial Yearbook, pg. 214.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman at the Internet Movie Database

Morgan Freeman at the Internet Broadway Database

Morgan Freeman at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

Morgan Freeman at Allmovie

ClickStar headed by Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary

Revelations Entertainment Production company co-founded by Freeman

A detailed biography of his history as an actor

Morgan Freeman movies at Movie Information

Awards for Morgan Freeman

vde

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Jim Broadbent (2001) Chris Cooper (2002) Tim R

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