Who is Morgan Freeman? He is not just an actor; he is a symbol of perseverance and talent in Hollywood. Freeman's journey from a low-income childhood to becoming one of the most respected actors in the industry is a story of passion, resilience, and success. His life teaches us valuable lessons about following our dreams and overcoming obstacles.
Who Is Morgan Freeman?
Morgan Freeman joined the Air Force after high school to become a fighter pilot. He later realized it wasn't what he'd wanted and thus began his acting career. After years of small parts and limited success, he began to land big roles and win critical and popular acclaim. He's now one of Hollywood's most respected stars.
Early Life
Freeman was born on June 1, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee. The youngest of five children born to barber Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr. and schoolteacher Mayme Edna, Freeman was raised in Chicago and Mississippi in a low-income home. Not long after he was born, Morgan's parents, like so many other African Americans struggling under the pressures of the Jim Crow South, relocated to Chicago to find work. While his parents looked for jobs, Freeman remained with his maternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.
At the age of 6, Freeman's grandmother died, and he moved north to be with his mother, who had already separated from her alcoholic husband. They later moved to Tennessee and eventually back to Mississippi, where Mayme Edna settled her family in Greenwood.
As a kid, Freeman spent a good portion of his time scraping together enough money to see movies, developing an early admiration for actors like Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and Sidney Poitier. His journey into acting began by chance when he was in junior high school. As punishment for pulling out a chair from underneath a girl he had a crush on, Freeman was ordered to participate in the school's drama competition. To his surprise, and probably that of school administrators, the 12-year-old proved to be a natural on stage, taking top honors in the program.
Military Service
While Freeman loved to act, flying—particularly the idea of being a fighter pilot—was in his heart of hearts. Upon graduating high school in 1955, Morgan turned down a partial drama scholarship and joined the U.S. Air Force. However, the military proved to be much different than what he had expected. Instead of darting around the skies, Freeman was relegated to on-the-ground activity as a mechanic and radar technician, realizing he didn't want to be shooting down other people.
"I had this very clear epiphany," he told AARP Magazine. "You are not in love with this; you are in love with the idea of this." In 1959, Freeman left the Air Force and tried his fortunes out West, moving to Hollywood to see if he could make it as an actor. It wasn't an easy life. He took acting classes and struggled to find work. In the early 1960s, he moved again to New York City, where more petty day jobs and nighttime auditions followed.
Big Break
In 1967, the same year he married Jeanette Adair Bradshaw, Freeman's big career break came when he landed a part in an all African American Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! starring Pearl Bailey. Around that time, Freeman also performed in an off-Broadway production of The Nigger Lovers.
National exposure followed in 1971 when he started appearing regularly on The Electric Company, a public television-produced children's TV show that focused on teaching kids how to read. On a show that included such current and future stars as Rita Moreno, Joan Rivers, and Gene Wilder, Freeman had some of the show's more memorable characters, like "Easy Reader," "Mel Mounds," and "Count Dracula."
Despite some stage work, including a Tony-nominated performance in The Mighty Gents in the late 1970s, Freeman couldn't seem to break into movies like he wanted. When The Electric Company was canceled in 1976, Freeman saw himself staring at a career that was far from grounded. His personal life was hurting, too. Long before the show ended, Freeman found that his marriage had started to fall apart, and he began drinking too much. Freeman and Jeanette divorced in 1979.
Hollywood Star
In 1987, Freeman's fortunes changed when he was cast in the film Street Smart, where he portrayed the volatile pimp Fast Black. The role proved to be a huge success for Freeman, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Film critic Pauline Kael even asked, "Is Morgan Freeman the greatest American actor?" Two years later, Freeman earned more acclaim—a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a second Oscar nomination—as the kind-hearted chauffeur in 1989's Driving Miss Daisy. That same year, he starred in Edward Zwick's critically acclaimed Glory, a drama about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first recognized African American units in the Civil War.
By the 1990s, Freeman was riding high in his career, starring in big-budget films like 1994's The Shawshank Redemption, Seven (1995), and Deep Impact (1998). His booming voice and commanding presence made him a natural to play God in the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty and its 2007 sequel Evan Almighty.
In 2005, Freeman won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. He later reprised his role as Lucius Fox from Batman Begins (2005) in the blockbuster sequels The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). He also appeared in Rob Reiner's The Bucket List (2007) and the action-thriller Red (2010), co-starring Bruce Willis.
Off Camera
Freeman's journey is not just about acting; it's also about giving back. While it may be a late-blooming success, he has never been bitter about it. He has said, "Success comes when it comes. I had a career for 30 years; a 30-year career is not bad." He often reflects on how fortunate he is not to have been a wild success early on, as it could have led to burnout.
In 1997, Freeman co-founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment, along with an online movie distribution company, ClickStar. He has also launched numerous charitable endeavors. Residing in the Mississippi Delta, he raised money for Katrina victims shortly after the devastating hurricane struck. Through the Rock River Foundation, an organization he established, Freeman's group has donated millions to educational programs.
Freeman's personal life has seen turbulence, including a split from his second wife, Myrna, in 2007, and a near-fatal car accident in Charleston, Mississippi, the following year. However, among his setbacks, none was as tragic as in August 2015 when he learned that his step-granddaughter, E'Dena Hines, whom he and Myrna had adopted, was murdered by her boyfriend in New York City. Despite these difficulties, Freeman continues to work and shows no signs of slowing down.
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