Claude Akins
(1926 - 1994)He was the All-American guy, tall, husky, tough and ruggedly handsome. His stocky large frame, muscular physique, mop of wavy black hair framing an oval face with a toothy grin and sparkling eyes, as well as his booming bass voice, all served him well in his acting career. He was a quite versatile actor who could play the vilest villain, a loyal friend, a hero and everything in between. Born Claude Marion Akins in Nelson, Georgia on May 25, 1926 (erroneous reports claim he was born in 1918) the son of a police officer, he was raised in Bedford, Indiana and took on his first character role at age 5 in a church play. He was bitten by the acting bug in high school working in speech and drama. He was a straight A student. He attended Northwestern University and then joined acting stock companies to fulfill his dream of an acting career. He served during World War II with the Army Signal Corps in India, Burma and the Philippines. Eventually he landed a role in "The Rose Tattoo" on Broadway with Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton and he was on his way. He worked in television in its infancy on shows such as "You Are There." In 1953 he tested for "From Here to Eternity" (1953) and made his film debut in an uncredited role as Dhom. His other films included: "Bitter Creek" (1954) as Vance Morgan; "The Caine Mutiny" (1954) as Horrible; "Shield for Murder" (1954) as Fat Michaels; "The Adventures of Hajji Baba" (1954) as Chief Executioner's Aide; "The Human Jungle" (1954) as Mandy; "Down Three Dark Streets" (1955) as Matty Pavelich; "The Sea Chase" (1955) as Winkler; "Man with the Gun" (1955) uncredited, as Jim Reedy; "Battle Stations" (1956) as Marty Brennan; "The Proud and the Profane" (1956) as Big Soldier; "Johnny Concho" (1956) as Lem; "The Burning Hils" (1956) as Ben Hindeman; The Sharkfighters" (1956) as Chief 'Gordy' Gordon; "The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm" (1957) as Pete Logan; "The Lonely Man" (1957) as Blackburn; "Joe Dakota" (1957) as Aaron Grant; "Onionhead" (1958) with Andy Griffith, as Poznicki; "The Defiant Ones" (1958) with Tony Curtis & Sidney Poitier, as Mac; "Rio Bravo" (1959) as Joe Burdett; "Porgy and Bess" (1959) as a Detective; "Don't Give Up the Ship" (1959) as Lt. Cmdr. Farber; "Frontier Rangers" (1959) as Caleb Brandt; Yellowstone Kelly" (1959) as Sergeant; "Hound-Dog Man" (1959) as Hog Peyson; "Comanche Station" (1960) as Ben Lane; "Inherit the Wind" (1960) as Rev. Jeremiah Brown; "Claudelle Inglish" (1961) as S.T. Crawford; "Merrill's Marauders" (1962) as Sgt. Kolowicz; "Black Gold" (1963) as Chick Carrington; "A Distant Trumpet" (1964) as Seely Jones; "The Killers" (1964) as Earl Sylvester; "Ride Beyond Vengeance" (1966) as Elwood Coates; "Incident at Phantom Hill" (1966) as Krausman; "Return of the Seven" (1966) as Frank; "Waterhole # 3" (1967) as Master Sgt. Henry J. Foggers; "The Devil's Brigade" (1968) as Pvt. Rocky Rockman; "The Great Bank Robbery" (1969) as Slade; "A Man Called Sledge" (1970) as Hooker; "Flap" (1970) as Lobo Jackson; "Skyjacked" (1972) as Sgt. Ben Puzo; "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973) as Gen. Aldo; "Tentacoli" (1977) as Sheriff Robards; "Master Ninja I" (1984) as Mr. Trumbull; "Pushed Too Far" (1986) as Sheriff; "Monster in the Closet" (1986) as Sheriff Sam Ketchem; "Monster in the Closet" (1986) as Sheriff Sam Ketchem; "The Curse" (1987) as Nathan Hayes; "Falling From Grace" (1992) as Speck Parks and "Seasons of the Heart" (1993) as William Clay, his last theatrical film. He was very prolific on TV as a regular on "Laredo" (1965) as Cotton Buckmeister; "Movin' On" (1974-76) as Sonny Pruitt; "B.J. and the Bear"; "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" (1979-81) as Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo and "Legmen" (1984) as Tom Bannon. He also appeared in TV movies and mini-series: "The Rhinemann Exchange" (1977) as Walter Kendall; "Celebrity" (1984) as Uncle Bun Luther and "Dream West" (1986) as Tom Fitzpatrick. He guest starred on hundreds of series including: "Yancey Derringer"; "Bonanza"; "Gunsmoke"; "The Big Valley"; "The Fugitive"; "Mannix"; "Cannon"; "Mission: Impossible"; "Rawhide"; "Combat!"; "Police Story"; "Murder She Wrote"; "Matlock" and "Eerie, Indiana." He married Theresa "Pie" Fairfield in 1952 and they had three children: Claude Marion Jr., Michele and Wendy. He often used his father's police revolver in some of his films and TV shows. He kept in contact with his high school Speech and Drama coach until her death in 1986. He was the antithesis of the nasty villains he played in films; a very likable and lovable soul. He died on January 27, 1994 in Altadena, California of cancer at the age of 67.
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