J.E. Freeman

Biography

James E. Freeman was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 2, 1946. He attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School and graduated in 1964. A three-year member of the track team, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 22. There, he revealed his sexuality to the United States Marine Corps, leading to his discharge. He moved to San Francisco, where trained as an actor at Shelton Studios in the 1970s. Freeman was nominated for best actor for playing Teach in the West Coast premiere of David Mamet's American Buffalo. His other stage credits included Marsha Norman's Getting Out for the Portland Stage Company in 1982, and a stint at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1983. Freeman made his first feature film appearance in Chuck Norris' An Eye for an Eye (1981), playing a tow-truck driver. During the decade, he played guest spots on various television series like Hill Street Blues and MacGyver. A breakout performance came as Marcelles Santos, a ruthless gangster, in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990). He was cast as intimidating mob henchman Eddie Dane in the Coens' Miller's Crossing (1990), and played Dr. Mason Wren in Alien Resurrection (1997). Other notable films included Ruthless People (1986), Patriot Games (1992), Copycat (1995), Go (1998), and Miller's Crossing (1990). Freeman was openly gay, HIV-positive since 1984, and had written a letter to the editor on SFGate.com describing his reminiscences of the 1969 Stonewall riots. He retired from acting in 2007. Before retiring, he wrote poetry and maintained a tumblr blog ("Freedapoet") dedicated to his work. Freeman passed away on August 9, 2014, at age 68, leaving behind a legacy as an actor known for menacing characters and authority figures.