Franklyn Seales was a film, television and stage actor. He was best-known for his portrayals of business manager Dexter Stuffins in the 1980s sitcom, Silver Spoons, and real-life convicted cop killer Jimmy Lee (Youngblood) Smith in the 1979 film, The Onion Field.

Seales was born in Calliqua on July 15, 1952, to Francis Seales and government employee and Olive Seales a homemaker. His family left the West Indies in 1960 and settled in New York City. After completing Lincoln High School, he intended to study at the Pratt Institute but instead attended the Julliard School after being offered a four-year scholarship. He was the graduate from Juilliard from St. Vincent.

His first breakthrough in acting was in 1978 with the PBS drama, Trial of the Moke, portraying Lt. Henry O. Flipper, the first African-American graduate of West Point. He went on to appear in The Onion Field (1979), in which he portrayed real-life convicted cop killer Jimmy Lee (Youngblood) Smith.

He later landed roles on television shows including Silver Spoons, Hill Street Blues, and Amen. On May 14, 1990, Seales died at the age of 37 from complications of AIDS at his family’s home in Brooklyn.

source:

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-05-15/news/mn-195_1_stage-actor

http://www.famousfix.com/topic/franklyn-seales