Morgan Freeman
Freeman in October 2006
Born	(1937-06-01) June 1, 1937 (age 77) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Jeanette Adair Bradshaw (1967–1979) Myrna Colley-Lee (1984–2010)

Morgan Freeman[2] (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, film director, and narrator. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus, and won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Freeman has appeared in many other box office hits, including Unforgiven, Glory, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Along Came a Spider, The Dark Knight trilogy, March of the Penguins and The Lego Movie. He is known for his distinctively smooth, deep voice. He got his first break as part of the cast of The Electric Company.

Early life and education

Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 1, 1937. He is the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere), a teacher,[3] and Morgan Porterfield Freeman,[2] a barber who died April 27, 1961, from cirrhosis. He has three older siblings. According to a DNA analysis, some of his ancestors were from Niger.[4] Freeman was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.[5][6][7] He moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago, Illinois.[7]

Freeman made his acting debut at age nine, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School, a building which serves today as Threadgill Elementary School, in Greenwood, Mississippi.[8] 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, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to enlist in the United States Air Force.[9] Freeman served in the U.S. Air Force as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman and rose to the rank of Airman 1st Class.[10]

After four years in the military, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he took acting lessons at the Pasadena Playhouse and dancing lessons in San Francisco in the early 1960s and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles City College.[9] During this period, Freeman 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 musical theater group. He 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. Freeman made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Nigger Lovers[11][12] (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.

He continued to be involved in theater work and received the Obie Award in 1980 for the title role in Coriolanus. In 1984, he received his second Obie Award for his role as the preacher in The Gospel at Colonus. Freeman also won a Drama Desk Award and a Clarence Derwent Award for his role as a wino in The Mighty Gents. He received his third Obie Award for his role as a chauffeur for a Jewish widow in Driving Miss Daisy, which was adapted for the screen in 1989.[9]

Career

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

Freeman and daughter Morgana Freeman at the 1990 Academy Awards

Acting 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[7] (notably as Easy Reader, Mel Mounds the DJ, and Vincent the Vegetable Vampire).

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Freeman began playing prominent supporting roles in many feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise, fatherly characters.[7] 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).[7] In 1994, he portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in the acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption. In the same year he was a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.[13]

He also starred in such films as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Unforgiven, Seven, and Deep Impact. In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the film production company Revelations Entertainment, and the two co-head its sister online film 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, and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption—he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.[7] 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.

Freeman appeared as God in the hit film Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty, as well as Lucius Fox in the critical and commercial success Batman Begins and its sequels, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. 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 with 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 had 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 was not finalized.[14] In 2007, he purchased the film rights to a book by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.[15] Clint Eastwood directed the Nelson Mandela bio-pic titled Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain Francois Pienaar.[16]

In 2010, Freeman co-starred alongside Bruce Willis in Red.[17] In 2013, Freeman appeared in the action-thriller Olympus Has Fallen and in the science fiction film Oblivion. In 2014, he appeared in "Last Vegas".

Other work

In July 2009, Freeman was one of the presenters at the 46664 Concert celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Freeman was the first American to record a par on Legend Golf & Safari Resort's Extreme 19th hole.[18]

At age 65, Freeman earned a private pilot's license.[19] He owns or has owned at least three private aircraft, including a Cessna Citation 501 jet and a Cessna 414 twin-engine prop. In 2007 he purchased an Emivest SJ30[20] long-range private jet and took delivery in December 2009.[21] He is certified to fly all of them.[22]

Effective January 4, 2010, Freeman replaced Walter Cronkite as the voiceover introduction to the CBS Evening News featuring Katie Couric as news anchor.[23] CBS cited the need for consistency in introductions for regular news broadcasts and special reports as the basis for the change.[23] As of 2010[update], Freeman is the host and narrator of the Discovery Channel television show Through the Wormhole.[24]

He was featured on the opening track to B.o.B's second album Strange Clouds. The track "Bombs Away" features a prologue and epilogue (which leads into a musical outro) spoken by Freeman. In 2011, Freeman was featured with John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. Freeman played Attorney David Boies.[25] The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.[26][27]

Personal life

Family

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 and Colley-Lee had adopted Freeman's step-granddaughter from his first marriage and together helped to raise her. Freeman's attorney and business partner Bill Luckett announced in August 2008 that Freeman and his wife were in divorce proceedings. On September 15, 2010, their divorce was finalized in Mississippi.

In 2008, the TV series African American Lives 2 revealed that some of Freeman's great-great-grandparents were slaves who migrated from North Carolina to Mississippi. Freeman also discovered that his Caucasian maternal great-great-grandfather had lived with, and was buried beside, Freeman's African-American great-great-grandmother (the two could not legally marry at the time, in the segregated South).[3] A DNA test on the series stated that he is descended from the Songhai and Tuareg peoples of Niger.[4]

Properties

Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He owns and operates Ground Zero, a blues club, located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He formerly co-owned Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, also in Clarksdale. [28]

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.[29][30] Police ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash.[31] Freeman was coherent following the crash, as he joked with a photographer about taking his picture at the scene.[32] His left shoulder, arm, and elbow were broken in the crash, and he had surgery on August 5, 2008. Doctors operated for four hours to repair nerve damage in his shoulder and arm.[33] On CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight he stated that he is left handed but cannot move the fingers of his left hand. He wears a compression glove to protect against blood pooling due to non-movement. His publicist announced he was expected to make a full recovery.[34][35] Meyer, his passenger, sued him for negligence, claiming that he was drinking the night of the accident.[36] Subsequently, the suit was settled.[37]

Beliefs

When a CNN interviewer suggested Freeman had previously said he was a "man of God", he replied "When did I ever say I was a man of God?" "You're not?" "No ...no no no no no!". He instead explained how he considers his faith in science, "We take a lot of what we're talking about in science on faith; we posit a theory, and until it's disproven we have faith that it's true. If the mathematics work out, then it's true, until it's proven to be untrue."[38]

Activism

Charitable work

In 2004, Freeman and others formed the Grenada Relief Fund to aid people affected by Hurricane Ivan on the island of Grenada. The fund has since become PLANIT NOW, an organization that seeks to provide preparedness resources for people living in areas afflicted by hurricanes and severe storms.[39] Freeman has worked on narrating small clips for global organizations, such as One Earth,[40] 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 has donated money to the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville, Mississippi. The park is part of Mississippi State University and Freeman has several horses that he takes there.[41]

Politics

Freeman endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for the 2008 presidential election, although he stated that he would not join Obama's campaign.[42] He narrates for The Hall of Presidents with Barack Obama, who has been added to the exhibit.[43][44] The Hall of Presidents re-opened on July 4, 2009, at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.[44] Freeman joined President Bill Clinton, USA Bid Committee Chairman Sunil Gulati, and USMNT midfielder Landon Donovan on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, in Zurich for the U.S. bid committee's final presentation to FIFA for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[45]

Comments on racism

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."[46] He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month."[47] Freeman once said on an interview with 60 Minutes's 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."[46][48] Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle flag.[49][50] Freeman sparked controversy in 2011 when, on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, he accused the Tea Party movement of racism.[51][52][53]

Filmography

Awards and honors

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.[54] In 2013, Boston University presented him with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.[55]

Notes and references

• 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
• Morgan Freeman collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Morgan Freeman collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• 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