Born on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Franklin and his siblings joined their mother in the 'Fort Apache' section of the South Bronx, New York 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 (University) 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 Stockton University for over 40 years. But he says, "I avoided my secret passion since my early teenage years; then when I was 55, 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 he chose baseball over acting; then academia and not baseball. After his battle with cancer, Dr. Smith made his stage debut in the role of 'Troy' in August Wilson's Fences; other stage roles followed. Franklin believes his professorial career truly compliments his actor training both of which are preparatory to his ongoing journey.