Morgan Freeman, Movie Icon, Back In The Day (VIDEO)

Veteran movie star Morgan Freeman picked up a new award at last night's People's Choice Awards. Freeman beat out George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks to become the first "Favorite Movie Icon".

Freeman certainly has the credentials, appearing in such memorable movies as The Shawshank Redemption, Bruce Almighty [portraying God in the Buffalo-set production!], Se7en, and the "Dark Knight" series of Batman films. Among his many awards is a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar, for the 2004 drama Million Dollar Baby

Unlike many actors, Freeman has made relatively few performances on TV. But his first big fame came in 1971 as a member of public-TV's The Electric Company [he was in good company; other regulars on the award-winning kid's educational show included Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno]. Among his recurring characters was a fast-talking dj, "Mel Mounds". Since this web site is from a radio station, it seems only fair to give you a peek at Freeman as Mounds:

[dcs0582, via YouTube]

Question: if you'd had a vote, who would you choose as your "Favorite Movie Icon"? Freeman, one of the other four nominees, or someone not even on the list? Let us know, either here or on our Facebook page.

(CBSNews.com/IMDB.com)