When it comes to gravitas, there are few entertainers that even can be considered on the list. When it comes to being an icon of entertainment, the list gets smaller.
Just think about it. What are the voices that you can always recognize, even without seeing a face? James Earl Jones, Orson Welles, Walter Cronkite, William Shatner, top the list of course. They are men that without question are immediately recognized. But, as much as I was sure that Darth Vader had to be Black (I was very disappointed when he wasn't), as much as I respect Cronkite for his reporting, I don't imagine those men with the reserved dignity and impact of one other voice.
Morgan Freeman.
Perhaps it is the fact that this one actor has such a voice, a voice that just seems to fit as a stand-in for God or Presidents, that CBS has decided to use it for it's news program. It is perhaps the one voice that can replace the heralded Cronkite as a voice of familiarity and trust when it comes to the news of the day.
It's quite the move for a man that most my age remember initially as Easy Reader (from the original Electric Company on PBS). Freeman has gone from Mississippi to the heights of Hollywood. He is respected and sought after. And his voice compels the audience to just listen.
At 72, Freeman is possibly one of the most momentus actors of several generations. Which is interesting as his movie career didn't start until he was 43, and didn't take off until he was 50. He is more in demand now than most actors are in their 20's, or ever.
Something that CBS news viewers might not know, Morgan Freeman can dance, which he did for the 1964 World's Fair. He can sing, as he did as a memeber of the Opera Ring in San Franscico. And like many men of the past, he served in the military - the Air Force.
Considering that back in 1937 when Freeman was born African Americans were not accepted on radio and only in movies as caricatures of people (there was no television), and now he is the voice and image of trust, sobriety, gravitas, and the sanctified. It's a thought that is both warming to me and inspiring.
Bravo Mr. Freeman, and bravo to CBS for their good taste.
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