Morgan Freeman biography, news, links, pics (pictures), and products (actor)

Morgan Freeman[1] (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won 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, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Batman Begins, March of the Penguins, The Bucket List, Wanted, The Dark Knight, and RED.

Early life

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

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,[5] (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, fatherly characters.[5] 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).[5] 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.[8]

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 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.[5] 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 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 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.[9] 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.[10] Clint Eastwood directed the Nelson Mandela bio-pic titled Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain Francois Pienaar.[11] In October 2010, Freeman co-starred alongside Bruce Willis in Red.[12]

Freeman's latest project is the Danny DeVito directed film Charlotte Doyle which will also feature Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and is due to start filming in Ireland in early 2012.[13]

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.[14]

At age 65, Freeman earned a private pilot's license.[15] 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[16] long-range private jet, and took delivery in December 2009.[17] He is certified to fly all of them.[18]

Effective January 4, 2010, Freeman replaced Walter Cronkite as the voiceover introduction to the CBS Evening News featuring Katie Couric as news anchor.[19] CBS cited the need for consistency in introductions for regular news broadcasts and special reports as the basis for the change.[19]

As of 2010, Freeman is the host and narrator of the Discovery Channel television show Through the Wormhole.[20]

In September 2011, Freeman was featured with John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, '8' — a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage — as Attorney David Boies.[21] The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.[22][23]

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's attorney and business partner, Bill Luckett, announced in August 2008 that Freeman and his wife are in the process of divorce.[24] On September 15, 2010, their divorce was finalized in Mississippi.[25] He adopted his first wife's daughter, and the couple also had his fourth child.[citation needed]

In 2008, the TV series African American Lives 2 revealed that 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 South).[2]

Properties

Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

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.[26][27] Police ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash.[28] Freeman was coherent following the crash, as he joked to a photographer about taking his picture at the scene.[29] 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.[30] On CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight he stated that he is left handed but currently 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.[31][32] Meyer, his passenger, has sued him for negligence, claiming that he was drinking the night of the accident.[33]

Beliefs

In an interview with CNN, Freeman denied the claim that he was a "man of God," immediately assuming a scientific position on faith, saying that "the question of faith is whatever you actually believe is. 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."[34]

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 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.[35]

Freeman has worked on narrating small clips for global organizations, such as One Earth,[36] 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 Horse park is part of Mississippi State University. Freeman has several horses that he takes there.[37]

Comments on race

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."[38] He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month."[39] 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."[38] Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle flag.[40][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 USA bid committee's final presentation to FIFA for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[45]

Freeman sparked an outcry in September 2011 when, on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, he accused the Tea Party movement of racism.[46] He said that the Tea Party's "stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What's, what does that, what underlines that? Screw the country. We're going to do whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we're going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here." Piers Morgan responded, "But is that necessarily a racist thing?...Wouldn't they say that about any Democrat?" Freeman replied, "It is a racist thing...[The rise of the Tea Party] shows the weak, dark underside of America. We’re supposed to be better than that. We really are. That’s why all those people were in tears when Obama was elected president. ‘Ah look at what we are–this is America.’ Then it just sort of started turning because these people surfaced–like stirring up muddy water."[47][48] Freeman was criticized for the comments; black Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said the comments were short-sighted and said most who have criticized the Tea Party have never been to a Tea Party,[49] and actor Adam Baldwin said, "It's the content of Obama's character [and] policies, not the color of his skin, that's at issue."[46]

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.[50]

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.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Pawnbroaker !The Pawnbroker	Man on Street	uncredited
1966	Man Called Adam, AA Man Called Adam	Unknown	uncredited
1968	Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?	Grand Central Commuter	uncredited
1980	Brubaker	Walter
1981	Eyewitness	Lieutenant Black
1984	Teachers	Al Lewis
1984	Harry & Son	Siemanowski
1985	Marie	Charles Traughber
1985	That Was Then... This Is Now	Charlie Woods
1987	Street Smart	Fast Black	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor 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	Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
1989	Driving Miss Daisy	Hoke Colburn	40th Berlin International Film Festival – Silver Bear for Best Joint Performance (shared with Jessica Tandy)^[51] Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
1989	Lean on Me	Principal Joe Clark
1989	Johnny Handsome	Lt. A.Z. Drones
1990	Bonfire of the Vanities, TheThe Bonfire of the Vanities	Judge Leonard White
1990	Civil War, TheThe 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
1992	Power of One, TheThe Power of One	Geel Piet
1993	Bopha!		director only, his directorial debut
1994	Shawshank Redemption, TheThe Shawshank Redemption	Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, Narrator	Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor (tied with Wallace Shawn for Vanya on 42nd Street) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting 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
1995	Outbreak	Brig. Gen. Billy Ford
1995	Se7en	Detective Lt. William Somerset	Empire Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Brad Pitt) Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1996	Chain Reaction	Paul Shannon
1996	Moll Flanders	Hibble
1996	Cosmic Voyage	Narrator
1997	Amistad	Theodore Joadson
1997	Kiss The Girls	Dr. Alex Cross
1997	Long Way Home, TheThe Long Way Home	Narrator
1998	Deep Impact	President Tom Beck
1998	Hard Rain	Jim
2000	Nurse Betty	Charlie Quinn	Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2000	Under Suspicion	Victor Benezet
2001	Along Came a Spider	Dr. Alex Cross
2002	Sum of All Fears, TheThe Sum of All Fears	DCI William Cabot
2002	High Crimes	Charlie Grimes
2003	Bruce Almighty	God
2003	Dreamcatcher	Col. Abraham Curtis
2003	Levity	Pastor Miles Evans
2003	Drug War	Lt. Redding
2004	Million Dollar Baby	Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Italian Online Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor 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
2004	Hunting of the President, TheThe Hunting of the President	Narrator	limited release
2004	Big Bounce, TheThe Big Bounce	Walter Crewes
2005	Unfinished Life, AnAn Unfinished Life	Mitch Bradley
2005	War of the Worlds	Narrator
2005	March of the Penguins	Narrator
2005	Batman Begins	Lucius Fox
2005	Unleashed	Sam
2006	Edison Force	Ashford
2006	Contract, TheThe Contract	Frank Carden
2006	Lucky Number Slevin	The Boss
2006	10 Items or Less	Himself
2007	Evan Almighty	God
2007	Feast of Love	Harry Stephenson
2007	Gone, Baby, Gone	Jack Doyle
2007	Bucket List, TheThe Bucket List	Carter Chambers	Also Narrator
2008	Wanted	Sloan
2008	Love Guru, TheThe Love Guru	Narrator	Voice
2008	Dark Knight, TheThe Dark Knight	Lucius Fox	Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
2009	Prom Night in Mississippi	Himself	limited release
2009	Thick as Thieves	Keith Ripley
2009	Maiden Heist, TheThe Maiden Heist	Charlie
2009	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—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—Denver Film Critics Society 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—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor
2010	RED	Joe
2011	Born to Be Wild 3D	Narrator
2011	Conan the Barbarian	Narrator^[52]
2011	Dolphin Tale	Dr. Cameron McCarthy
2012	Dark Knight Rises, TheThe Dark Knight Rises	Lucius Fox	filming
2012	The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle	Zachariah	in production
2012	Summer at Dog Dave's		pre-production
2013	Untitled Tom Cruise Project		Filming

Other awards and honors

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[53]

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

References

1.^ In a July 3, 1978 interview with The New Yorker, Freeman states about his grandmother, "She had been married to Morgan Herbert Freeman, and my father was Morgan Porterfield Freeman, but they forgot to give me a middle name.", see here.

2.^ a b "Morgan Freeman". African American Lives 2. PBS. Retrieved July 13, 2011.

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

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

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

12.^ "Morgan Freeman Joins The Big Screen Adaptation of Warren Ellis’ Red". /Film. July 19, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2010.

13.^ "Morgan Freeman & Pierce Brosnan in Danny DeVito's 'Charlotte Doyle', Filming in Ireland 2012". IFTN. Retrieved April 15, 2011.

17.^ "Luxury Launches". Luxury Launches. December 23, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

19.^ a b "Freeman replaces Cronkite on CBS news". Boston Globe. January 5, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.

21.^ "Prop 8 Play On Broadway Makes Its Debut". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2012.

22.^ ""8": A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality". YouTube. Retrieved March 18, 2012.

23.^ "YouTube to broadcast Proposition 8 play live". pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved March 18, 2012.

24.^ "Celebrity News, Photos & Videos". Access Hollywood. August 6, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2010.

26.^ Matt Webb Mitovich (August 4, 2008). "Morgan Freeman in Car Accident, Listed in Serious Condition". TV Guide. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

27.^ "Freeman injured in car accident". BBC News. August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

28.^ "Actor Morgan Freeman badly injured in crash". The Irish Times. August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

29.^ "Morgan Freeman hurt in car crash". BBC News. August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

30.^ "Freeman recovering after surgery". BBC News. August 5, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

31.^ Horn, James (August 5, 2008). "Morgan Freeman 'in good spirits' after accident". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2008.

33.^ "Morgan Freeman Sued for Car Accident". WHBQ. February 25, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.[dead link]

34.^ "Morgan talks faith and science to CNN". Pingerati.net. Retrieved February 8, 2012.

35.^ "PLAN!T NOW History". Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2008.

37.^ "Mississippi State Campus Map" (PDF). Retrieved accessdate = August 5, 2008.

38.^ a b Freeman calls Black History Month ‘ridiculous’ . MSNBC.msn.com. December 15, 2005.

39.^ "Freeman calls Black History Month ridiculous". MSNBC. December 15, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2010.

40.^ David Firestone (April 18, 2001). "Mississippi Votes by wide margin to keep state flag That includes Confederate emblem". The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2008.

41.^ "Morgan Freeman defies labels". CBS News. December 18, 2005. Retrieved April 2, 2008.

42.^ Eleanor Clift (December 21, 2007). "Freeman, Obama and Hollywood immortality". Newsweek. Retrieved April 2, 2008.

43.^ "Hall of Presidents". WDW Radio. September 16, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.[dead link]

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

46.^ a b "Morgan Freeman Sparks Outcry After Calling Tea Party Racist". Hollywoodreporter.com. September 24, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

47.^ "Morgan Freeman Calls Tea Party ‘Racist’ (Video)". The Wall Street Journal. September 24, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

48.^ "Obama backer: Some attacks are 'a racist thing'". USA Today. September 25, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

49.^ "Herman Cain, GOP presidential candidate, hits back at Morgan Freeman for calling Tea Party 'racist'". Daily News. New York. September 24, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

52.^ William Bibbiani (August 17, 2011). "Marcus Nispel and Fredrick Malmberg on 'Conan the Barbarian'". Crave Online. Crave Online. Retrieved August 18, 2011.

54.^ "Nelson Mandela To Receive Honorary Degree in Absentia, One of Eight Candidates". News.brown.edu. April 27, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.

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