Actor, Longview native Heath Freeman remembered for friendship, encouragement

Published 5:45 am Monday, November 29, 2021

Actor and Longview native Heath Freeman was known for making authentic, genuine connections with people.

Vance Freeman said his brother “collected friends like some people collect stamps.”

“I mean he had so many meaningful friendships with people. He was super supportive. I think especially because it’s in an industry that is just kind of hard on people,” he said. “He sort of stood out in that way. I think that’s what I’ll remember most about him is how encouraging he was and the way he really saw people.”

Heath, who graduated in 1995 from Pine Tree High School, died Nov. 15 at age 44.

Among his roles was portraying killer Howard Epps in the first two seasons of the TV series “Bones.”

Heath’s Hollywood career began with the movie “Skateland,” which he wrote, produced and acted in, along with his brother, Brandon Freeman, and friend Anthony Burns. The film premiered in 2010 at the Sundance Film Festival.

His other acting credits included an episode of “ER” along with appearances on “NCIS,” “The Closer,” “Without a Trace” and “Raising the Bar.”

Vance recalled that his brother’s interest in becoming an actor began in childhood and that he did well in Pine Tree’s theater program.

“Even when he was a little kid, he would make the family gather in the living room so he could do a magic show or he would do standup comedy,” Vance said.

Heath was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. After attending NYU for a year, he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and studied theater for a year before moving to Los Angeles.

Vance said his brother also was very involved with his family, especially his 10 nieces and nephews.

“He was really involved in all of their lives and would go out of his way to come to performances and sporting events,” Vance said. “He was just really supportive of them.”

Vance remembered when his son was in an ATV crash a couple of years ago and needed to have surgery on his hand without anesthesia, Heath was in the operating room holding his nephew’s other hand as a distraction.

“I couldn’t even do it — it was too upsetting for me,” Vance said. “He was always there for his family in case there was a crisis.”

Reggie Roel, a lifelong friend of Heath’s, said they were roommates for a couple of years in Austin before Health moved to Los Angeles. He said Heath was a great connector with a big personality and was always laughing.

“He could walk into any group and immediately charm everyone. He had a really good knack for connecting people,” Roel said. “He was just a really great caring person that really listened and just a fantastic person to be around.”

Heath was a “beacon” and really cared about all of his friends and family, Roel said.

He recalled Heath was Hook in Pine Tree’s production of “Peter Pan” and said it felt great seeing him reach his acting aspirations professionally.

“It was great watching the whole process to watch him develop himself as an actor. It was really awesome to watch because I’d been seeing it since high school,” Roel said. “The connections he made in LA were great and helped him move his career along. He had other projects that were coming down the pipeline — just unfortunately those projects aren’t going to come to a realization.”

Roel, who lives in Longview, said Heath was basically an uncle to his kids.

“He was over every holiday. He spoke on the phone weekly. I would visit him in Austin, Aspen, L.A. or wherever he was,” Roel said. “It’s really hard to process it all. It’s still kind of surreal. He was just a very talented person that would light up any room and people were drawn to him naturally.”

Heath would come back to his hometown often and even recorded a video for the city of Longview’s 150th sesquicentennial celebration, Vance said.

The loss of Heath and his supportive nature has left a significant void, Vance said.

“When you’re in a relationship with someone like that and they’re not there anymore, it leaves a big vacuum because you just don’t have as much support or love in your life, your kids’ lives and your family’s,” he said. “It’s just painfully acute when you lose somebody who was like that.”

Heath is survived by his father, Wayne Freeman and wife, Sheila; his mother, Cheryl Freeman Kern; his brother, Vance and wife Meg and their, children Caelan, Ella, Owen, Sarah Cate, and Elliott; his brother, Brandon and wife Ashley and their children, Chloe and Alexandra; and brother, Brian Stephens and his children, Amelia, Adelyn, and Jacob.