Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor. He played Sonny Pruit in Movin' On, a 1974–1976 American drama series about a trucking team; Sheriff Lobo on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, a 1979–1981 American action comedy television series; and in a variety of other roles on television as well as in feature films.
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Early years
Akins was born in Nelson, Georgia, and grew up in Bedford, Indiana, the son of Maude and Ernest Akins. Although film reference books gave his age at death as 75, Akins's son said his father was born in 1926, which is supported by public records. He was Cherokee.
Akins served in the Pacific with the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1949, where he had majored in theatre arts and was trained in Shakespeare. He began his theatrical career at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. He became an actor on Broadway in the late 1940s, and had a role in the play The Rose Tattoo.
Film career
Akins was signed up by talent agent Meyer Mishkin and became one of "Meyer Mishkin's Band of Uglies," a group of character actors represented by Mishkin that included Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jeff Chandler, James Coburn, Michael Ansara and Chuck Connors. He later recounted that early in his career demands were made on actors in low-budget movies that included doing their own stunts to save money. As a result, Akins once was run over by a wagon in one western.
As a film actor, Akins first appeared in From Here to Eternity (1953). In The Caine Mutiny (1954), he appeared as one of a pair of incorrigible seamen, Horrible and Meatball, the other played by Lee Marvin. He portrayed prisoner Joe Burdette in Rio Bravo (starring John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, and Angie Dickinson). He played Naval Lt. Commander Farber in Don't Give Up the Ship, starring Jerry Lewis.
Akins appeared in Porgy and Bess (1959) and went on to portray Rockwell W. "Rocky" Rockman in The Devil's Brigade, the Reverend Jeremiah Brown in the movie Inherit the Wind (1960), outlaw Ben Lane in Comanche Station that same year. He was featured in Sam Fuller's 1962 film Merrill's Marauders, receiving critical acclaim for his performance as Sgt. Kolowicz, a hard-bitten, weary soldier, especially for a scene in which his unit rests for a short while in a Burmese village. Kolowicz is fed a bowl of rice by an elderly woman and weeps. Writing in his memoir A Third Face, Fuller said it was "one of the scenes I'm most proud of," and that whenever he sees it he bursts into tears.
He played Seely Jones in A Distant Trumpet (1964), and the gorilla leader Aldo in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), the last original Apes movie.
He had a small part in The Sea Chase with John Wayne. He appeared with Yul Brynner and Robert Fuller in the film Return of the Seven (1966) (also called Return of the Magnificent Seven and The Magnificent Seven 2), and also appeared in the movie Seasons of the Heart (1993).
In a 1987 interview, Akins called his film career "disappointing," and said that his biggest regret was that he lost the role of "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967) to George Kennedy, who went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Television
Akins was cast in myriad television series, including The Adventures of Superman (episode number 69, "Peril by Sea"), in which he plays a villainous conspirator, Crusader, and I Love Lucy in which he portrays himself. Much of his work was on Westerns, including Frontier, My Friend Flicka (three times), Boots and Saddles, Maverick, Northwest Passage, The Restless Gun (four times), The Sheriff of Cochise, Wagon Train (four times), Overland Trail, Frontier Circus, The Tall Man, The Rebel, The Big Valley, Daniel Boone, The Legend of Jesse James, Death Valley Days with Jane Russell, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (four times), The Rifleman (three times), Rawhide (seven times), Gunsmoke (10 times), Bonanza (four times), The Alaskans (twice), The Texan (twice), and Bat Masterson (season 1, ep 29, "The Death of Bat Masterson").
He appeared once on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Empire, Laredo ("The Treasure of San Diablo"), the syndicated series, Pony Express (in "The Story of Julesburg" with Sebastian Cabot and James Best), and The Oregon Trail, with Rod Taylor. He was cast as Jarret Sutton in "Escape to Memphis" (1959) and as Beaudry Rawlins in Duel on the River (1960) on Darren McGavin's NBC series, Riverboat.
Akins played a rodeo clown convicted of armed robbery in "Killer on Horseback", an episode of the NBC anthology series Star Stage, which became the pilot episode for the syndicated police drama State Trooper, starring Rod Cameron. The episode was later broadcast on the regular series as "Rodeo Rough House". Akins also appeared in the 1963 episode "The Chooser of the Slain" on the ABC/Warner Bros. Western series, The Dakotas.
Among Akins's four appearances on NBC's Laramie with series stars John Smith and Robert Fuller was the role of former Sheriff Jim Dark in the episode "Queen of Diamonds" (September 20, 1960).
Akins was featured in two episodes of the original CBS series The Twilight Zone ("The Little People" and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"). He also guest-starred in three episodes each of Combat! (fourth and fifth seasons) and The Untouchables. He made a comedic turn on Hazel, as a frustrated painter.
He appeared on Rod Cameron's early syndicated series, City Detective, Meet McGraw with Frank Lovejoy, the ABC/WB drama, The Roaring 20's, and Police Story.
Personal life
Akins was married to Therese Fairfield from 1952 until his death. His widow died on June 12, 2006. They had three children together.
Illness and death
Akins died of stomach cancer in Altadena, California, on January 27, 1994, at the age of 67. In May 1993, half of his stomach had been removed in cancer surgery. He was cremated, and his ashes were returned to Altadena.
Legacy
Akins told an interviewer in 1987 that he felt "like an outsider in a business I have been a part of for 37 years. For some reason, Hollywood's mainstream has eluded me." Said Akins: "A guy who looks like Robert Redford will most often be cast as a hero. A guy like me or Ernie Borgnine plays a lot of heavies. If you're big, they think you're tough. And if you're tough, they think you're dumb."
The Claude Akins Memorial Golf Classic, a six-person scramble-format golf tournament, takes place at Otis Park Golf Course in Bedford, Indiana, in August or September of each year. Proceeds from the event go to the Akins Scholarship and the Bedford Recreation Foundation Scholarship, given every year to a graduating senior at Bedford North Lawrence High School, as well as many projects involving recreation and improvements.
In 1986, Akins attended the 55th annual American Indian Exposition in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Akins, who was part Cherokee, was a guest speaker and received the Outstanding Indian/Native American of the Year Award.
Selected filmography
Film
Man in the Saddle (1951)
From Here to Eternity (1953) as Sergeant "Baldy" Dhom (uncredited)
Bitter Creek (1954) as Vance Morgan - Henchman
Witness to Murder (1954) as Police Officer (uncredited)
The Caine Mutiny (1954) as Seaman Dlugatch a.k.a. "Horrible"
The Raid (1954) as Lieutenant Ramsey (uncredited)
Shield for Murder (1954) as Fat Michaels
Down Three Dark Streets (1954) as Matty Pavelich
The Human Jungle (1954) as George Mandy
The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954) as Chief Executioner's Aide (uncredited)
The Sea Chase (1955) as Winkler
Man with the Gun (1955) as Jim Reedy (uncredited)
Battle Stations (1956) as Marty Brennan
The Proud and Profane (1956) as Big Soldier (uncredited)
Johnny Concho (1956) as Lem
The Burning Hills (1956) as Ben Hindeman
The Sharkfighters (1956) as Chief "Gordy" Gordon
Hot Summer Night (1957) as Truck Driver
The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957) as Pete Logan
