Claude Akins

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.

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, He was Cherokee. 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.

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.

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."

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 The Lonely Man (1957) as Blackburn Joe Dakota (1957) as Aaron Grant The Defiant Ones (1958) as Mack Onionhead (1958) as Poznicki Rio Bravo (1959) as Joe Burdette Bat Masterson (1959) as Jack Fontana Porgy and Bess (1959) as Detective Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) as Lieutenant Commander Farber Hound-Dog Man (1959) as Hog Peyson Yellowstone Kelly (1959) as Sergeant Comanche Station (1960) as Ben Lane Inherit the Wind (1960) as Reverend Jeremiah Brown Claudelle Inglish (1961) as S.T. Crawford Merrill's Marauders (1962) as Sergeant Kolowicz Black Gold (1962) 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 First to Fight (1967) as Captain Mason Waterhole #3 (1967) as Sergeant Henry Foggers The Devil's Brigade (1968) as Private Rocky Rockman The Great Bank Robbery (1969) as Slade A Man Called Sledge (1970) as Hooker Flap (1970) as Lobo Jackson The Night Stalker (1972) as Sheriff Butcher Skyjacked (1972) as Sergeant Ben Puzo Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) as General Aldo The Death Squad (1974, TV Movie) as Connie Brennan Timber Tramps (1975) as Matt Eric (1975)' Tentacoli (1977) as Sheriff Robards Killer on Board (1977) as Oscar Billingham Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977) as Bert Springer Concrete Cowboys (1979) as Woody Stone The Baron and the Kid (1984) as Harley Battle of the Monster Trucks (1985) Monster in the Closet (1986) as Sheriff Sam Ketchem Manhunt for Claude Dallas (1986) as Bill Pogue The Curse (1987) as Nathan Pushed Too Far (1988) as Sheriff Jim Forrest The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991, TV Movie) as President Theodore Roosevelt Incident at Victoria Falls (1991, TV Movie) as Theodore Roosevelt Where Evil Lives (1991) as Jack Devlin Falling from Grace (1992) as Speck Parks Seasons of the Heart (1993) as Pastor William Clay Twisted Fear (1994) as Detective Lucky Douglas

Television

Dragnet - episode "The Big Drink" - Ellis (1954); episode "The Big Mistress" - Sergeant Jack McCreadie (1954) Gunsmoke - 10 episodes - various (1955–1972) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) (Season 1 Episode 22: "Place of Shadows") - Cop The Adventures of Superman - episode "Peril by Sea" - Ace Miller (1956) I Love Lucy - episode "Desert Island" - (1956) The Adventures of Jim Bowie - episode "Land Jumpers" - a settler (1956); episode "A Grave for Jim Bowie" - Miciah "Big" Hart (1958) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (Season 3 Episode 6: "Reward to Finder") - Cop Sheriff of Cochise - episode "Manhunt" - Harry Clegg (1957) Have Gun – Will Travel - episode "The Great Mojave Case" - Dever (1957) The Restless Gun - episode "Trail to Sunset" - West Flagler (1957) The Restless Gun - episode "Thicker Than Water" - Mr. Marlowe (1957) The Restless Gun - episode "The Gold Buckle" - Lex Springer (1957) The Adventures of McGraw - episode "Mojave" - Jim Bennett (1957) Wagon Train - episode "The John Cameron Story" - Rich Tacker (1957) Tales of Wells Fargo - 5 episodes - various (1957–1961) Cheyenne - episode "The Long Search" - Sheriff Bob Walters (1958) Wagon Train - episode "The Monty Britton Story" - Garth Redmond (1958) Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 26: "The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife" (1958) Maverick - Episode "Burial Ground of the Gods" - Paisley Briggs (1958) The Rifleman - episode "The Safe Guard" - Floyd Doniger (1958) Yancy Derringer - episodes "Gallatin Street" and "Collectors Item" - Toby Cook (1958–1959) 77 Sunset Strip - episode "Lovely Alibi" - Ed Bird (1959) The Restless Gun - episode "Melany" (1959) Steve Canyon - (1959) - Sergeant Brecker - Season 1/Episode 25: "The Sergeant" Bat Masterson - episode "The Death of Bat Masterson" - Jack Fontana (1959) Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre - episode "Ransom" - "Simmy" the Comanchero (1960) The Untouchables- episodes The Unhired Assassin part 1 as Jake "Dodo" Ryan (1960), The Monkey Wrench as Karl Hansa (1962), The Spoiler as Vince Majesky (1963) Pony Express - episode "The Story of Juiesberg" (1960) Overland Trail - episode "Fire in the Hole" - Jumbo (1960) Wanted: Dead or Alive - episode "Prison Trail" - Jack Kelly (1960) The Rebel – episode "The Waiting" – Tom Hall (1960) Wagon Train - episode "The Roger Bigelow Story" - Wes Varney (1960) Riverboat - episode "Duel on the River" - Beaudry Rawlins (1960) Rawhide (1960) – Jim Lark in S2:E13, "Incident of the Druid Curse" Bonanza - episodes "Desert Justice" (1960) as Marshal Emmett Dowd, "The Mill" (1960) as Ezekiel (1960), "Sam Hill" (1961) as Sam Hill and "The Deserter" (1962) as Colonel Edward J. Dunwoody The Twilight Zone - episodes "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" as Steve Brand (1960) and "The Little People" as Commander Fletcher (1962) Wagon Train - episode "The Selena Hartnell Story" - Will Cotrell (1961) Rawhide (1961) – Clete Manson in S3:E24, "Incident of the Lost Idol" Rawhide (1961) – Karse in S4:E2, "The Sendoff" Rawhide (1962) – Gus Marsdon in S5:E6, "Incident of the Four Horsemen" Rawhide (1962) – Sergeant Parker in S5:E13, "Incident at Quivira" The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) (Season 1 Episode 10: "Day of Reckoning") - Sheriff Jordan Laramie - 4 episodes - various (1960–1963) The Fugitive - Season 1 Episode 27 - Ralph Simmons (1964) Rawhide (1964) – Aloysius Claybank in S5:E6, "Incident of the Rusty Shotgun" Rawhide (1965) – Jerry Boggs in S8:E4, "Walk into Terror" Daniel Boone (1965) - as Toka in S1:E17 · "A Place of 1,000 Spirits" Gunsmoke - "Bad Lady From Brookline" - as Sy (1965) The F.B.I. - episode "How to Murder an Iron Horse" - Ben Gambriella (1965) The Big Valley - "The Brawlers" - (1965) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - "The Very Important Zombie Affair" - El Supremo (1965) A Man Called Shenandoah - episode "Obion-1866" - Frody Brown (1965) Branded - episode "Vindicator" - Ned Travis (1965) Hazel - episode "But Is It Art?" - Milwaukee Ames (1966) Combat! - episodes "Ask Me No Questions" as Mastin, "Ollie Joe" as Charlie Pelton and "Nightmare on the Red Ball Run" as Rosie (1966–1967) Laredo - episodes "Limit of the Law", "The Treasure of San Diablo", "Hey Diddle Diddle", "A Question of Guilt", and "Walk Softly" - Cotton Buckmeister (1966–1967) The Guns of Will Sonnett - episode "Ride the Long Trail" - Turnbaugh (1967) Hondo - episode "Hondo and the Gladiators" - Brock (1967) The Lucy Show - episode "Lucy Meets the Law" (1967) The F.B.I. - episode "Dark Journey" - Jason Peale (1972) McMillan & Wife - episode "The Face of Murder" - Freddie O'Neal (1972) The Rookies - episode "Margin For Error" - Officer Buck Sanborn (1972) The Streets of San Francisco - episode "A String of Puppets" - Bob Mason (1972) Cannon - episode 3x05, "Target in the Mirror" - Lieutenant Bill Blaine (1973) Barnaby Jones - episode "Murder-Go-Round" - Eli Rile (1973) Mission: Impossible - episode "Speed" - Sam Hibbling (1973) Police Story - 3 episodes - various (1973–1978) The Norliss Tapes - TV movie - Sheriff Tom Hartley (1973) In Tandem - TV movie (pilot for Movin' On) - Sonny Pruitt (1974) Movin' On - 45 episodes - Sonny Pruitt (1974–1976) Eric as father of Eric Lund (1975) McCloud - episode "The Colorado Cattle Caper" (1974) Mannix - episode "Mask for a Charade" - Sergeant Al Reardon (1974) The Rhinemann Exchange (1977) (TV miniseries) as Walter Kendall B. J. and the Bear - at least 5 episodes - Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo (1978–1979) The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo - 38 episodes - Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo - (1978–1979) Concrete Cowboys - episode "Concrete Cowboys" - Woody Stone (1979) Fantasy Island - episode "Lillian Russell/The Lagoon" - Calvin Pearson (1981) Darkroom - episode "Uncle George" - Bert Haskell (1981) The Master - episode "Max" - Mr. Trumball (January 20, 1984) Murder, She Wrote - 4 episodes - Ethan Cragg (1984) Tall Tales & Legends - episode "Pecos Bill" - Grandpa/Narrator (1986) Dream West - TV mini-series - Tom Fitzpatrick (1986) Matlock - episode "The Thoroughbred" - Sam Taylor (1989) Hunter - episode "The Legion" - Andy (1990) In the Heat of the Night - episode "An Eye for an Eye" - Benjamin Sloan (1991) Eerie, Indiana - episode "The Hole in the Wall Gang" - Grungy Bill (1992)