J. E. Freeman

Freeman (February 2, 1946 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor and poet.

J. E. Freeman
J.E. Freeman as Marty Cantor in Patriot Games (1992)
Born	James E. Freeman (1946-02-02)February 2, 1946 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died	August 9, 2014(2014-08-09) (aged 68) San Francisco, California, United States
Occupation	Actor/Poet
Years active	1979–2007

He was often cast in menacing roles, such as the evil mobster Marcello Santos in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990), the terrifying henchman Eddie "the Dane" in the Coens' Miller's Crossing (1990), and the cruel scientist Dr. Mason Wren in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection (1997).

Other notable films in which he played include Ruthless People (1986) as the "Bedroom Killer", Patriot Games (1992) as the bearded CIA agent Marty Cantor, Copycat (1995) as the police lieutenant Thomas Quinn, and Go (1998) as strip-club owner Vic Sr.

Freeman trained as an actor with Jean Shelton at Shelton Studios in the San Francisco area in the 1970s. He was nominated for best actor for playing Teach in the West Coast premiere of David Mamet's American Buffalo, which also featured George Eckel and Charles Bouvier. After directing Look Back in Anger in 1979, Freeman moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first movie appearance was in the action film An Eye for an Eye (1981) in which he played a tow-truck driver who exchanges words with Chuck Norris.

He retired from acting in 2007.

James E. Freeman attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, New York. He was a three-year member of the track team. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin in 1964. As a high school student, he was assertively conservative.

He was gay. At age 22, he revealed his sexuality to the United States Marine Corps, leading to his discharge. He had been HIV-positive since around 1984. In 2009, he published a letter to the editor on sfgate.com, describing his reminiscences of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.

He wrote poetry and had a tumblr blog ("Freedapoet") dedicated to his work.

Freeman died in the evening of August 9, 2014, of AIDS. He was 68.