There are few Hollywood legends more dignified than the iconic Morgan Freeman. Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1937, Freeman was the youngest child of a teacher and a barber. When he was a baby, his parents sent him to live with his grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi, where he enjoyed his acting debut at the tender age of nine years old when he played the lead role in a school play. When Freeman was 12 years old, he won a statewide drama competition and was able to perform in a radio show in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating from high school in 1955, he turned down a drama scholarship.
Freeman had a grander goal in mind. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force instead of going straight into college. He made a name for himself after his military service as a narrator, actor, and director. He’s known most for his deep and distinctive voice. In his long and successful career, Freeman has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, and he won one: the Best Actor Award for his role in the hit movie “Driving Miss Daisy.” He has also received three Screen Actors Guild Awards and won one for “Million Dollar Baby”: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
He won his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Million Dollar Baby.” In addition to winning the Oscar for that movie, Freeman has been nominated for Academy Awards four other times. Those films included “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Street Smart,” “Invictus,” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” With all of these credentials, it’s easy to forget that like most Hollywood greats, Mr. Freeman had to pay his dues with some less-than-exciting roles that weren’t necessarily dream gigs. One of them was for a role he played when he was working for “The Electric Company.”
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In the video below, watch Morgan Freeman as “Vincent the Vegetable Vampire.” It’s amazing!
