www.franklinsmith.com
Biography & Resume
 |
|
| Franklin Ojeda Smith Height: 5' 11" Eyes: Brown / Hair: Bald |
Born on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Franklin and his siblings joined their mother in the ‘Fort Apache’ section of the South Bronx in 1953. A native Gullah speaker, Franklin says, “my dialect was so rich that I was put into classes with students who only spoke Spanish and the teacher spoke neither.” Early on he met life long friends and was “adopted” into a Puerto Rican family (The Ojedas). In the South Bronx, he attended the same junior (P.S. 52) and high schools (Morris) as General Colin Powell. As a collegian at Hampton Institute in Virginia, Franklin excelled as a baseball player (he won a national batting championship) but more importantly, he found his grounding in academic life. He is a professor of sociology and has been at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey for over thirty-eight years. But he says, “I avoided my secret, inner passion for over forty-five years, then 12 years ago cancer ran me down. I had an epiphany. I said yes! Franklin explains that "back in the day the 'barb wire' was more visible" and early on he chose baseball over acting; then academia and not baseball. Dr. Smith made his stage debut in the role of 'Troy Maxon' in August Wilson's Fences(’01); and subsequently, understudied the role of 'Elmore' in another Wilson play, King Hedley II for the Philadelphia Theatre Company. A busy commercial actor, noted storyteller and orator, Franklin says, "...the kids are grown, the dog is dead and now that I may, I choose acting."
FILM & TV
THEATRE
| This Train Is Bound For Glory | Old Llyod | Cherry Lane Theater |
Skewed Shakespeare |
King Lear & Henry V | Triangle Theater Philadelphia |
| King Hedley II | Elmore (u/s) | Philadelphia Theatre Co |
| Women of a Certain Age… | I Put You Here | Triangle Theater Philadelphia |
| Gilgamesh (stage reading) | Narrator | Jim Milton – Grier Studios |
| The Royal Family | Jo (Butler) | Hedgerow Theatre |
| A Different Kind of Hope | Reverend Atwater | Faith In God Ensemble |
| Fences | Troy Maxon | Richard Stockton College |
COMMERCIALS / VO CESD Talent Agency
Spiriva (TV) - on camera |
Rick Knief |
| Aetna Healthcare (TV) - on camera | David McNamara |
McDonald's- Dollar Menu- ( Radio) |
Spalding |
| Verizon- No Matter What the Weather- (Radio) | Scott McIntosh |
| Spiriva- (Industrial) - Narrator | Ian Smith |
| Vanderbilt Heart- (TV)- Narrator | David McNamara |
General Electric - The Africa Project / Signature Program ( Industrial) - Narrator |
Jeff Berman |
| Johnson & Johnson- Minority Fellowships (Indust) - Narrator | Betsy Peterson |
| A Tribute to Muhammad Ali - Greatest of All Time - Narrator | Kina Pickett |
| Canada v. World Football - Narrator | Jason Johnson |
| Share the Warmth Cayman Islands (Web)- on camera | Jim Ritterhoff |
| Peter and the Wolf ( musical)- Narrator | Tony Picciotti |
EDUCATION & TRAINING
| Advance Scene Study | Austin pendleton |
| Nexxus - Gold Dust | Susan Batson |
| Fearless Cold Reading | Karen Kohlhaas |
| Master Acting Class | George DiCenzo |
| Advance on Camera | Penny Templeton |
| On Camera | Geoffrey Stoffer |
| Auditioning | Erica Jensen |
| Film Acting | Mike Lemon |
| On the Breath | Carol Fox Prescott |
| Meisner | Larry Silverburg |
| Private Acting Coach | Susan Grace Cohen |
| Private Acting Coach | Donald McKenna |
| Scene Study | Cesario Tio |
| Methods | J.T. Wagner |
| Voice over | Marla Kirban, JJ Adler, Rodney Robb, Joann Joella |
| Commercial | Joan See, Patricia Durante |
| Business of Show Business | Tom Logan |
| Hampton Institute | BA Psychology |
| Springfield College | M. Ed. Urban Education |
| Univ. of Mass., Amherst | Ed. D. Sociology of Education |
SPECIAL SKILLS
"God Voice," Professor of Sociology, Gullah Dialect, Dog Training, Collegiate Batting Champ