CLAUDE AKINS

'Claude Marion Akins' was an American actor (born May 25, 1926, in Nelson, Georgia - died January 27, 1994, in Altadena, California). Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever (or less than clever) tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and later ''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'', a spinoff series.
In movies, Akins portrayed prisoner Joe Berdett in the movie ''Rio Bravo'' (which also starred John Wayne and Angie Dickinson), Naval Lt. Commander Farber in ''Don't Give Up The Ship'' (starring Jerry Lewis), Sgt Kolowicz in Merrill's Marauders (film), Rockwell W. "Rocky" Rockman in ''The Devil's Brigade'', the Reverend Jeremiah Brown in the 1960 movie ''Inherit the Wind'', outlaw Ben Lane in ''Comanche Station'' that same year, and later the gorilla leader Aldo in ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'', the last original ''Apes'' movie in 1973.
In television, Akins had an early appearance in ''Adventures of Superman'' (episode number 69, "Peril by Sea"), playing a villainous co-conspirator. He had numerous roles in Western series, including ''Wagon Train'', the Big Valley, ''Death Valley Days'', ''Zane Grey Theater'', ''The Rifleman'' and ''Bonanza'', and featured roles on the original ''The Twilight Zone'' ("The Little People", "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street") and ''The Untouchables''.
Before his signature character Lobo, he appeared as trucker Sonny Pruett in NBC's ''Movin' On'', from 1974 to 1976. He also appeared in TV commercials for PoliGrip and Aamco. He guest-starred on an episode of CBS's ''I Love Lucy'', playing himself.
Akins found work in the late 1980s lending his inimitable voice talents to the work safety instructional video series ''Safety Shorts''. In these videos Akins was able to expound the virtues of workplace safety to thousands of industrial employees, offering valuable lessons on the importance of Lockout/tagout procedures, personal protective equipment, and the ever popular MSDS documentation process.

Contents

External links

External links

★

★ ''Safety Shorts''