Morgan Freeman In A Casket On 'The Electric Company' (VIDEO)

As part of the presentation for Morgan Freeman's Cecil B. DeMille Golden Globe award for career achievement, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association put together a montage of his many career highlights. Clips from "The Shawshank Redemption," "Invictus," "Driving Miss Daisy" and a whole host of other classics moved across the screen, reminding the audience just how accomplished Freeman's entertainment career has been.

Near the end of the presentation, a particularly interesting clip from his early days popped up: Freeman, as a vampire, soaping himself inside a casket in a 1974 episode of "The Electric Company."

Yes, this happened; you weren't hallucinating. Here's video proof.

Comments

[westreal]

09:09 AM on 01/17/2012

It's amazing that Morgan Freeman grew to become one of the most successful movie stars ever. I want his agent working for me.

[Firehorsegirl]

11:29 PM on 01/16/2012

I loved Electric Company! He was great in the show.

[antskip2]

06:39 PM on 01/16/2012

I loved seeing that again. I can remember seeing that when I was a little girl watching the Electric Company. It was awesome.

[MikeDu]

04:12 PM on 01/16/2012

By a 'lost' clip i guess you mean everyone knew where it was but nobody had a reason to dig it up for 38 years.

[troosvelt]

03:34 PM on 01/16/2012

I would not be surprised if the clip was included at his request. I've heard him say in interviews he is quite proud of his work on EC (and who would not be proud of teaching children to read).

Indeed it is entirely possible that the scriptwriter for one of his legendary roles learned to read with Easy Reader.

[Archer110]

01:43 PM on 01/16/2012

LOL. The Electric Company is still an amazing show (not that I was alive during the original version). I watch it every day with my nephew. Congrats to Freeman.

[itzy8940]

11:36 AM on 01/16/2012

I wish they had included his EASY READER character.

"Easy Reader, that's my name.
Uh-uh-uh.
Reading, Reading, that's my game.
Uh-uh-uh.
I talked about 'um, left to right,
that reading stuff is-a OUTASIGHT!
Easy Reader, that's my name.
Uh-uh-UH!!!"

[JenniferWest]

11:29 AM on 01/16/2012

This clip is so funny and weird. Too bad everything is so homogenized today. The Electric Company was a great show.

[trweste144]

09:47 AM on 01/16/2012

That might be one of the most disturbing and hillarious children show segments ever. It's not too scary for kids, but still a bit weird, macabre. I didn't grow up with the Electric Company but it looks like the type of drug influenced children's programming when H.R. turned a blindeye to Puffin' stuff.

[PhillipCollins]

09:30 AM on 01/16/2012

I love this photo of Morgan Freeman. This is how I imagine Frederick Douglas would have looked like had he lived in modern times.... and been a total pimp!

[Wookiee1972]

08:11 PM on 01/16/2012

Freeman once said that people have told him that he looks like Jimi Hendrix would have looked if he had lived.

[O K Ali]

05:30 AM on 01/16/2012

I remember watching that as a child, but Easy Reader was the coolest cat around.

[myviews]

12:06 AM on 01/16/2012

Love this clip, love his work, all of it. An actor gives of themselves to their audience. Today it would be racy, in a tub and such, but in the 70's, was no big deal, just teaching kids to read!

[Pennsylvanianne]

10:54 PM on 01/15/2012

I remember Morgan Freeman in "The Electric Company," in which he always seemed the epitome of smoothness and cool. I heard somewhere he did not like doing the show, which if true is a testament to his acting ability because he always seemed as if he were enjoying everything he did, from Easy Reader to the casket bath scene. Nowadays, of course, he elevates every film he's in and is always, always, eminently watchable. Congratulations on the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Mr. Freeman!

[chuckleboy]

10:51 PM on 01/15/2012

I always thought of vampires as being of a very pale complexion because they cannot be in direct sunlight. He set the foreground for future vampire films such as Blade. Thus, making the fantasy of black vampires as possibility as well !!

[lesaltatum]

11:07 PM on 01/15/2012

You obviously never saw the movie Blackula.

[tweeties1120]

10:50 PM on 01/15/2012

It made me happy to see The Electric Company clip. I grew up on that show in the 70's and remember Morgan Freeman as "Easy Reader." It was one of my favorite parts of the show!

[SuzeC]

12:00 AM on 01/16/2012

Absolutely - me too! There's a great YouTube video of him as Easy Reader with Rita Moreno - the clip is actually pretty risque in retrospect; they're obviously having a flirty good time!