[1] Freeman, a floor leader for Governor Edwin Edwards, was one of labor's strongest allies in either house of the Louisiana Legislature during his tenure.
Treen also angered Freeman by allowing the outgoing lieutenant governor, Jimmy Fitzmorris, to serve as the state's chief industrial recruiter.
[5] Hardy, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 1979, successfully tied Freeman to the scandal-plagued Edwards, who pulled out of the 1987 governor's race after running second to U.S. Representative Buddy Roemer of Bossier City in the open primary.
As a reward for his fealty to Edwards, the governor appointed Freeman's wife, Marianne, to the LSU Board of Supervisors in 1986.
On May 16, 2016 Freeman died from a ruptured aneurysm in Baton Rouge and his death was confirmed by his former press secretary Lester Duhe.