Wendell James Franklin (1916 – July 22, 1994) was an American film executive, who was the first Black member of the Directors Guild of America starting in 1960.
[1] He held several job roles in his career including film and television series director, assistant director, producer, and as a stage manager for live television series.
[1][2][3][4][5] In his early career Franklin was the parking lot attendant for a film studio,[6] followed by work as a stage manager for television series such as The Jerry Lewis Show, The Nat King Cole Show, This is Your Life, and Queen for a Day.
[7] He served as an assistant director to over forty three Hollywood films and television series, including Funny Girl (1968), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965),[6] and The Bill Cosby Show (from 1969 to 1971).
[8][7] In 1971, Franklin directed the Blaxploitation genre film, Ghetto Revenge (1971).