Capstone Show; 205; The Life and Time of Al Freeman Jr.

Hello everyone I'm Doris McMillon and welcome to this edition of capstone. We have a very special guest. You may remember him as Lieutenant Ed Hall from ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. Well here at Howard we know him as actor director teacher and artist in residence Al Freeman Jr. and we're going to talk about his life and times right now welcome now. Thank you. I want to tell everybody I know Al for how many years all that many that many years in New York we used to be neighbors. And. It's just amazing how the world just comes full circle and of course we would meet in Washington where else is there to be at the spoil everybody meeting Orson and crossroads of the world. Well you know something you have been in New York for so many years I mean I can remember the times I used to see walking down the street going over to the studio across the street Well that's right you did. You know to go to the studio to do the soaps. Yeah. And I said There he goes again Captain. Captain we need your lieutenant Yes you did sort it out yeah lieutenant but then I kept you. I got promoted I think yeah yeah

you were on that show for how long. Seventeen years. How did you get the part in the first place and was that your desire to be on a soap. No but it worked out pretty good. I don't really know I was in between jobs as actors often are and they asked me to do this part they created it. I was dismayed when they called it Ed Hall because I have an actor friend at all that's a lot of people they know. So a very fine actor as a matter of fact I said you can't do that he's my neighbor and you're gay and he said no no no it's a nice black generic name. And they continued to use it. Well I was only supposed to be there for about eight months or something like that and. Suddenly it dawned on me that having a steady paycheck every week was a lot different than freelancing and it got to having a real time yeah working for a while you know if you're lucky you get a

picture I was on picture for six months in Yugoslavia which is pretty good also. But then you know that freelance is sort of well it has its spaces doesn't it. It's all I think you know really Jack began to give me. Some thoughts that maybe there were some things that. I could pick and choose rather than having to take a job just to be a job and we had a lot of input into the show in those days. Well at that time there weren't that many blacks on soaps anyway. That's right. Ellen Holliday who was there and Lillian Heyman. Began the show I think around 68 or something like that. And they had a sort of kinky storyline to she's very light skinned right now and. They decided that storyline had run its course and they should get married and there I go right. And the but as I say it that was somewhere around 1970 when black policemen were not

very good repute and this land names and all that sort of thing they were being caught and it gave me a little pause and I had to consider. Why need why be a black cop on television. Especially at a time when the headlines are screaming things especially in black newspapers about police brutality and especially how black officers were a bit more brutal trying to prove that you were kind of crusty too. Also your character but I hold fair because I was the idea. That's how I got to what I didn't know. A Black Jeopardy inspector on the New York Police Department who was a very very fair man tough and I think he headed something like Manhattan north us and some very large area there and he'd been on the force for I don't know 20 30 years and he was in charge I had I recall rally some kind of

political something. Will young people smoking things that they should not have in the park and saying all kinds of derisive things about the authorities and losing a lot. And being in charge of the security of the city for that event he decided that he had his plain clothes and going through there to protect life and limb. But sad as long as they can find their remarks and their behavior in that particular area for the length of time that the rally was on that it will be ok whatever they did as long as they didn't hurt anybody. And as soon as it was over he had to leave the park and they had to behave themselves and report themselves as like any other citizen. It was an innovation in that kind of police work and there were no incidents and very large large rally which you handle very well so he did so.

Obviously you spent some time with him. Yes but not not not officially on his job just socially and that helps you develop your character. Yeah I thought well. That he was firm but fair and surely there were some black policeman at the time who were responsible responsible not only to the general citizenry but also to black people. How much more effective they could be in seeing that the law was going to be enforced even handedly. And that was my model for how much input did you have. In terms of the writing of your part. I know that the writer sitting back in the little room and yeah you read whatever they write and write well. During that time. Course it has changed now. During that time it was we had a lot of awful lot to say and many times we could rewrite even the old scenes we would do it that morning at the

rehearsal if some of the content and the context was not quite correct. And being we were I guess they call that technical advisor colored. If you tell them what was happening Brian they in fact listened. They did and sure they allowed us to to have that kind of input. But you said made the show. Oh yeah right now. Well I suppose as you know the business has changed enormously. Now it's produces right Art and directors who have all the say and do things their way or they get somebody else. Which. I don't think bodes too well for television it helps them get their things done the way they want to send the control right. And then of course they get to get all the credit when it works and it doesn't Off you go.

Right. When you look at the different soaps now we have a plethora of black actors and actresses doing it would appear that way. I'm depending on what show you watch. Yeah. Well I haven't I have must confess I don't make it a habit of watching soap operas and I know you didn't watch it back then you would just know oh I did not as a matter of fact well actually I had my own. I took the feed RFE and the house so that I would watch the dress rehearsal to see what the acting was about and what angles they were getting and so I could determine what would best sell the particular idea depending on how they saw it whether they were cutting away at the time when I was making a huge trend. Wonderful transition which often happened. And that's when I would see it I would see it prior to its airing. You know in the wild just a dress rehearsal of that day's work was all I was looking at some of those were some long hours to one day. Yeah it was like the army hurry up and wait you know you had to

be there sometimes at 7:15 in the morning and you would do what they called a drive blocking it in a room without cameras and things where you would get the movement pattern for that day and whatever set you're working on and then wait to the nearest camera blocking and you do that for a while and wait. And then there are you know you're dispelling the myth of being in a soap operas glamourous said. While it is not necessarily unglamorous does have its moments on the other side of it all the rest accrues too I guess. Well it's been gosh as you said 17 years that you did that. Was there an opportunity for you to do some of the other things that you wanted to do. Oh sure. As a matter of fact during the same time I did Malcolm action roots too which is. Surprised me wind. Well when Ruben cannon and the casting director called me and said How would you like to do Malcolm X I'd love to do Malcolm X. He said well we've got Jimmy Jones who's going to

do Alex Haley and I said wait a minute and you could he be the other way around. And I mean Malcolm was 6 4 and and Alex is like a little comfortable socks just felt like myself maybe you know we should do that. No no no no. Markham didn't turn around with this with this size you train your own mind. So I've done that he said and directors assured me all everybody else sit down while you stand up OK. I mean did you really worry about things like that. All sure I mean I saw Malcolm at a rally and I mean he was an imposing opposing figure and I think his stature had something to do with that although I think ruin was quite correct the man was brilliant and elect and who were just that striding through the streets he commanded a great deal of attention and it wasn't just because of his height it was because of the inner stature. I mean his sense of himself and and purpose and mission on so it came out all right I mean they

bleached my hair and then died red and all that stuff you know. And it came out fine but that. That was the. Time when I was doing the soap and I was nominated for an Emmy for the soap and I was also nominated for an Emmy for that particular things. I think though I haven't researched it fully I like to say as a sort of dim little accolade that there have been no other actors I can think of have been nominated for both daytime and nighttime in the same season. Did you do you think you ever got typecast being on soaps and then said Well this is all Al Freeman Jr. can do our soaps. You know I don't think so. I never really felt that although subsequent to that I did do the first Perry Mason Perry Mason returns ever so many years and I did play a cop on

Saturday. I don't think so I did some some some theater pieces and I don't think I was typecast but I do think that sometimes people do get some of the work on soaps gets a little slick. I try to avoid that I'm not sure I did. When you say slick with all the writing is a little glib sometimes and they don't like to spend the time with the cameras and the studio time to allow those things to flow in a very real sort of way. They tried to speed it up and they cut things from one and they don't nearly rarely do you see a shot of soaps I think where there's someone just doing what you're doing no listening as a half well that takes too much time. Absolutely amazing and well it gets to be a little do you just from that standpoint. Did you get Was there a point in that 17 years that one morning you said The heck with this let me go do something else and many times often times and then the paycheck came and

if they let me be real my wife very having and allowed me to buy Oh a lot of little toys and drink is mostly well video equipment just camera stuff and I used to be. So I got a chance to practice what you were doing every day also. Well I'm yours you know with my own stuff my idea of course was to revolutionize television industry brand shops and procedures that of course are all mine very innovative and that hasn't happened. I want to ask you about that and have not yet but you're approaching work enough. Let's talk about. Stage and it's a whole different medium do you prefer that to television. I do and I don't. I do I do because you know you're one on one with the audience. And there's there's no apparatus or you know I mean you know my nose eyes all those eyes sort of sitting there but

actually not that that's the whole point of it you know I when I get worried is when those eyes are not there. You know. It's it's you and the audience it's you with the ideas the you're carrying everybody else's work you know it's all the designers all your fellow performers you have the ball you thought of them. So it's sort of a movement of ideas and you are of a large large direct part of that which is not true and some of the Cameron where their apparatus is and opposed depending on the size of the shot the angle depending on when they cut it for a. Huge or some other view they control the flow of ideas. So that's a little frustrating but it's also there's a there's a very satisfying part not to. There are some wonderful film actors like Lou Gossett for instance whose per superb. And there are others.

What does it take to have staying power in this industry. From your point of view I know from the news perspective it's something else but from the acting what is it what does it take. I'm not sure I know the answer to that question I think to get a good agent. Definitely not a good agent. No I mean you know where all of us build a sort of what do you use constituency you know people who remember you from things that you've done. And. They see your name or an image of you appearing and they remember that you did something that pleased them and they will probably turn it there. I think certainly if you lose that constituency you know you're out of work and you're out I said. Or how do you maintain that I don't know I think probably it has something to do with doing quality work for the best you can every time you're at the starting line and it

has something to do with the kind of pieces that you were asked to do. And then to lend your efforts toward some pieces have no content as you know or I mean you know. I'm going to I've done very few of those right. Saint Peter should know right. Well it it it has to do with that I think it has to do with with being identified with ideas that are of substance I think that people remember most. What of all of the works that you've done television and stage what has been the favorite thing that you've done. The piece that you want people to remember you for about all else. Well that's a difficult one and I'm. I have been lucky to have some a crack at some very very large people with large ideas I played Bobby Seale once and. And Chicago Seven trial better stop playing these people who keep getting you know. Yeah

OK. He would have played if you were dead all right anything like I just did. From roughly you know small boys. Where they put a skull top and you know they do all that kind of thing with makeup on. I'm not sure I know I have some things that I am fairly satisfied to like Malcolm that I didn't violate them at least and I'm sure there are many actors who could have done a. Better and. Are you real critical of yourself. I mean do you look at something that you've done for on television for instance and then take the knife and dissect it and rip yourself to pieces. Well you have it works or it doesn't and try to be as objective as I can. And when they view my work one does objectivity just run into just outright just critical just major criticism of yourself or do you do that I know a lot of actors and actresses that I know sit there and they just pick themselves apart I said

why do you do that. That other people who do that. All I want. And I think I'm not unique in this I think I learned more from mistakes than I knew from successes and the things that I see myself doing in correctly that is to say the idea is not clear. Then there's something wrong with what I've done. And I try to learn from that. So I guess when I critique my own work that's what I'm looking for I'm looking for ideas that I missed that I didn't quite perform. Good rejection. That's real big in your industry. How have you dealt with it. Well. There are a lot of young people who come to me and say. They want to be actors and how what do they do and what should they do. You know they go about it and I think you know I what I tell them is I think I live life which is that you have to be absolutely

certain that being an actor is the thing you want to be and you are goal oriented and you are very clear on that and you're clear within your own psyche within your own soul that that's what you want to be then you can be anything or do anything to maintain your body and soul because you have that particular goal and mind you know what it is and it's in place and it's clear. And you do whatever you have to do in order to get there. What does that mean. Well I mean what I really have to do. You have to stay alive. OK. You have to maintain yourself so that you are able to work when something comes around that means taking care of yourself taking care of your body you must fill up your story or your knowledge of the world as you go through it. We work 50000 different jobs perhaps and that's what it takes but you're not defined by any one of those you're defined by your own goal. OK so you can watch cars you can buy tables where you table you can do anything soul dishware or you can do anything

you define yourself. You know I wanted to be an actress once. Oh you are of course. Well no I don't tell that to this community. But I remembered going to college that I'm going to major in theater and I told my mom I said I'm going to be a famous actress and you know what she told me get a real job. Yeah right. My mother said the same thing. You didn't listen to her. Well well yes I did because she sent me. When I when I when I would have went to college the first time I was a pre-law major only because she said what you want to study and I said well I'm not sure. And she had the application that was with my father. And she said Well how about lawsuit sure fine and so I go off to Los Angeles City College to be pretty low on major and I hooked up with a little theater group on the campus and economics 101 and history of all the stuff to make sure I you know not eat all the stuff and I was

spending more time with Hillel Jewish theater group than we did our own plays and things. Then I was studying all those other things and it was during the Korean War and I was about to get drafted anyway but I knew I was going to be on scholastic probation. So before my grades got home I enlisted in the Air Force and while I was there I befriended a young fellow who was a theater arts major at s c and that was the beginning of the end. Well he had some techniques and some things that were learned or were taught to him and I said I'm what I want to do I want to learn that you know did you ever think you'd be teaching it. No. OK you know and. Here you are at Howard University. Yeah our right here I'm right and. I'm here and it's been it's it has its ups and downs. I think I described it once and someone asked me. That's what Harry Truman said A splendid sort of

misery. And it is really very gratifying every now and then when you see one of the people you're talking to floor light bulb go off there and write oh my god. And then it translates on the stage. Yeah well it unfortunately doesn't happen that often. I want to tell him he said Well do you have to say to the students that you're working with that they have an excellent opportunity to just gain a wealth of information and experience just from what you have been doing all of your life. Well how can they receive it better if it's possible. What can they do. What can they do well to just pay attention. Listen you know acting one of the tenets. Acting is to listen to be smart to be an actor. You cannot be a dummy so therefore I mean you know that the general public sometimes has a well some people do have an attitude that

actors are just rather self-centered they don't know a lot of things about the world I don't know if they still think that after going to Ronald Reagan as a benefactor. Well that will go on like any case. No you cannot. Well actor has what does he have as his voice is body and his mind. And there are those all those things go into your box and make an instrument so that you can't be. You've got to use them all. Does this sector have any regrets regrets. I have a few. But then again if you didn't mention how did I know you were going to do that series. There may be some things that I would probably hope that I would have done differently. What might they think oh I'm not going to tell you that don't help me. I asked you a very straightforward question I think I deserve a straightforward answer. You can tell me tell me why.

Well you know where they go and get stuff over there and and fine arts when I'm lugging my equipment up the Cardiac Hill. Here is the thing their eyes are well you know a guy could be sailing in the Bahamas right now on my boat getting a heart attack going and will you please right now with the quality of your life. Am I pleased. Well I'm I'm not displeased. I'm I'm you know because you talked about earlier having the goal and I guess if you're going to be an actor actress if you set that goal like you've suggested these potential folk ought to do. Does the gold start from here and end up. Where you are now or does it go beyond that the new the goals change. Well if I understand you correctly I think you are is certainly along the paths of where you're supposed to be. It's whether I'm satisfied with or not I never really give it that much thought and

things that I'm pleased with things that I am satisfied with. What would you like to be in another year in another year what would you like to be doing. Well I think I'd like to. I want to get into some production I think during me doing Soldier's Play here was a wonderful experience for me and by the way it was also an interesting way I think of seeing the students some of the things about how you do things because I was there doing them with them and they could see me with all my warts hang it out. God knows I made a lot of mistakes and they could see that. And. And we had a grand time together. We were we develop a sort of ensemble. It was really quite satisfying for me and I hope for them. We have to go but just quickly what's the next production that you have in mind. Well there is one that is pending now that I cannot talk

about while in a bad case. We're totally off guard. Thanks a lot out. You know very mature. That's all the time that we have. For today I thank you for joining us here on capstone. And by the way if you have any anything you'd like to say or if you just like to say hello. Why don't you give us a call write us our address 22 3:40 Street Northwest Washington D.C. Two hundred fifty nine I'm Doris McMillon We'll see you next time on capstone.