As an infant, Freeman was sent to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.[9][10] He moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago.[10] He made his acting debut aged nine, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School, a building which serves today as Threadgill Elementary School in Greenwood.[11] At the age of 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while settling into school, discovered music and theater. When Freeman was 16 years old, he contracted pneumonia.[12]
Freeman graduated from high school in 1955, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to enlist in the United States Air Force.[6] He served as an Automatic Tracking Radar repairman, rising to the rank of airman first class.[13] After serving from 1955 to 1959, he moved to Los Angeles and took acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse.[6] He also studied theater arts at Los Angeles City College, where a teacher encouraged him to embark on a dance career.[14]
1 thought on “For the director, see Morgan J. Freeman”