Al Freeman, a renowned film and television actor who served as the chair of Howard University’s Department of Theater Arts, died last week at the age of 78. Freeman was best known for his roles as Captain Ed Hall on the soap opera, ‘One Life to Live’ and as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee’s ‘Malcolm X.’

For six years, he served as chair of the department before returning to his passion of the classroom laboratory where he devoted 21 years to molding the talent of the next generation of performers, administrators, and media artists.  Despite his countless honors and prestigious awards, Professor Freeman cherished his work training students to become thinking artists by mastering the skill of how the actor can communicate the deep inner emotions of human thought.

In 1979, Freeman became the first African-American to win a Daytime Emmy.

 

Al Freeman Howard University