Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Claude Marion Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television. 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 spin-off series, with Ben Cooper appea...
Known For
Complete Filmography

The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
2019
as Steve Brand (archive footage)
Six episodes of the original series, restored and on the big screen for the first time, and a special retrospective documentary encompass this Fathom ...

Twisted Fear
1994
as Detective Lucky Douglas
When accomplished businessman Steve (Bob Poole) meets ambitious medical student Tina (Kim Kilway), who's half his age, he's immediately smitten. Tina ...

Seasons of the Heart
1993
as Pastor William Clay
Martha and Jed Richards live in Oregon in 1862. They and their two daughters moved there to make a new life, but the daughters died of cholera along t...

Grass Roots
1992
as Sheriff Cox
This sequel to the 1983 miniseries, "Chiefs," continues the saga of the Lee family with Will Lee, an ambitious Georgia lawyer running for the U.S. Sen...

Falling from Grace
1992
as Speck Parks
Rock singer John Mellencamp makes his screen and directorial debut in this story by "Lonesome Dove" author, Larry McMurtry. The story, not too separat...

Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls
1992
as Theodore Roosevelt
King Edward asks Sherlock Holmes to perform one more task before his retirement: to safeguard the Star of Africa on a trip to Cape Town. Soon the fabl...
Computeritis: The High-Tech Hazard
1992
as Narrator
American Industrial Film covering the hazards of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Gambler: The Luck Of The Draw
1991
as President Theodore Roosevelt
Hawkes, Jones and Cassidy are on their way to the biggest poker game in history. But a few folks want to see them fold before they even get there.

Where Evil Lives
1991
as Jack Devlin
A gripping tale of horror, murder, and revenge unfolds as Jack Devlin (Claude Akins in his final screen appearance), caretaker of the Spencer House St...

Mothers, Daughters and Lovers
1989
as Kibby
A single mother struggles to raise two teenage daughters in a small town in America.
Pushed Too Far
1988
as Sheriff Jim Forrest
A small town martial arts teacher (Herb Johnson) clashes with a crazed former pro wrestler. When the ex grappler kills Johnson's wife, the peace lovin...

The Curse
1987
as Nathan Crane
Nathan Hayes is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm pr...

Manhunt for Claude Dallas
1986
as Bill Pogue
This is the story is based on an actual incident. Claude Dallas is a man who loves to be free, so he lives in the mountains where he hunts for his foo...

Monster in the Closet
1986
as Sheriff Sam Ketchem
After several people and a dog are found dead in their closets a "mild-mannered" reporter, a college professor, her son and a befuddled professor band...

Pecos Bill
1986
as Grandpa / Narrator
Steve Guttenberg portrays Pecos Bill, the "King of the Cowboys," in this rootin' tootin' epic. Raised by coyotes, Bill puts the "wild" in the Wild Wes...

Master Ninja
1985
as Mr. Trumbull
Aging skilled master ninja, John Peter McAllister, and his young apprentice search for John's long lost daughter, all the while his old enemies try to...

The Baron and the Kid
1984
as Harley Medford
Johnny Cash heads the cast in this sentimental drama, which follows a famed pool hustler (Cash) whose reunion with his long-lost son (Greg Webb) sets ...

Desperate Intruder
1983
as Carl
A blind woman living at a lonely beach house gives sanctuary to an escaped convict whose ruthless partner is on the way.

Bus Stop
1982
as Sheriff Will
The story is set in a diner in rural Kansas, about 25 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri during a snowstorm from which bus passengers must take shelt...

Concrete Cowboys
1979
as Woody Stone
Two Montana saddletramps head to Nashville to open up a detective agency. At first, the agency begins on a lark but, soon, they get involved in a case...

Ebony, Ivory and Jade
1979
as Joe Blair
In this prospective pilot, Mick Jade, a tennis bum-turned-Las Vegas-song-and-dance man, doubles as a private eye with two female dancers, Ebony and Iv...

Murder in Music City
1979
as Billy West
A brash songwriter who buys a detective agency as a tax shelter finds himself and his photographer's model bride involved in a puzzling murder, when a...

B.J. and the Bear
1978
as Sheriff Lobo
In this pilot film, B.J. McKay, a guitar-playing independent trucker who travels with a fun-loving chimpanzee named Bear, finds himself caught up with...

Little Mo
1978
as Gus Berste
Biopic about tennis great Maureen Connolly who, as a teenager, was the first woman to win the Grand Slam of Tennis, became world-renowned as "Little M...

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
1977
as Bert Springer
An airplane carring coffee beans from South America has some unpleasant stowaways: a hoard of tarantulas which overcome the pilots as the airplane is ...

Killer on Board
1977
as Oscar Billingham
The passengers on a cruise ship are seized by panic when a deadly virus begins killing off passengers and crew.

Tentacles
1977
as Robards
Several people disappear from and at the sea. Their bodies are found gnawed to the skeleton, even the marrow is missing. The scientists have no idea w...

Yesterday's Child
1977
as Cliff Henley
A young couple's three-year-old daughter is kidnapped and no trace is ever found of her. Fourteen years later, a young woman claiming to be that girl ...

Kiss Me, Kill Me
1976
as Harry Grant
A female investigator in the district attorney's office sets out to track down the person who murdered a young schoolteacher.

Timber Tramps
1975
as Matt
A tough, hard-drinking Alaska logging foreman likes fighting only slightly less than working.

Eric
1975
as Stanley 'Stan' Swenson
The disease: incurable. The odds: insurmountable. But Eric will not surrender! An unforgettable true drama of a young man's fight for hope, for love, ...

Medical Story
1975
as Dr. Matthews
A young intern goes up against three older surgeons as to whether or not a young actress should get a hysterectomy.

In Tandem
1974
as Sonny Pruitt
Gypsy truckers -- a tough veteran driver and his young college-educated partner -- come to the aid of embattled citrus growers in this pilot for the 1...

Shadow of Fear
1974
as Styran
A rich woman, an industrialist's wife, finds her home nearly destroyed and with menacing phrases painted on the walls. Besides calling the police, her...

The Death Squad
1974
as Connie Brennan
When petty criminals start turning up murdered, a detective discovers they are being killed by a group of his fellow officers who think the criminals ...

Battle for the Planet of the Apes
1973
as Aldo
The fifth and final episode in the Planet of the Apes series. After the collapse of human civilization, a community of intelligent apes led by Caesar ...

The Norliss Tapes
1973
as Sheriff Tom Hartley
A newspaper publisher listens to the personal tapes of investigative reporter David Norliss, who has disappeared during an investigation. The tapes te...

Skyjacked
1972
as Sgt. Ben Puzo
A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 and demands to be taken to Russia.

The Night Stalker
1972
as Sheriff Warren A. Butcher
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy a...

River of Mystery
1971
as Ernie Dorata
A couple of freelance explosives experts find jungle adventure while being stalked by a revolutionary leader and a diamond hunter.

Lock, Stock and Barrel
1971
as Punch Logan
A young frontier couple elope, are chased by the girl's father and brothers, join up with an escaped convict and get mixed up with a charlatan preache...

A Man Called Sledge
1970
as Hooker
James Garner is Luther Sledge, the leader of a pack of rebels who are planning to steal a stash of gold. But after the thieves actually manage to get ...

Flap
1970
as Lobo Jackson
Comedy based on the plight of modern Native Americans living on reservations.

The Great Bank Robbery
1969
as Slade
A motley group of phony church leaders attempts to rob a bank controlled by brothers in 1880's Texas.

The Devil's Brigade
1968
as Pvt. Rocky Rockman
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite C...

Waterhole #3
1967
as Sgt. Henry Foggers
After a professional gambler kills a Confederate soldier, he finds a map pinpointing the location in the desert where stolen army gold bullion is buri...

First to Fight
1967
as Captain Mason
Jack is the sole survivor of a Japanese attack on his squad at Guadalcanal. Because of his heroism and the fact that he is still alive, he becomes a M...

Return of the Seven
1966
as Frank
Chico, one of the remaining members of The Magnificent Seven, now lives in the town that they (The Seven) helped. One day someone comes and takes most...

Incident at Phantom Hill
1966
as Krausman
At the end of the Civil War, a major shipment of Union gold has been stolen and buried in the desert. Only one man knows the whereabouts of gold and t...

Ride Beyond Vengeance
1966
as Elwood Coates
Jonas Trapp falls in love with the beautiful Jessie, a wealthy girl out of his humble class. Against the wishes of her snobbish aunt, she marries him,...

The Killers
1964
as Earl Sylvester
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.

A Distant Trumpet
1964
as Seely Jones
In 1883, US Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from West Point, is assigned to isolated Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of Arizona...

The Solid Gold Girl
1964
as Deputy Sheriff Rafe Collins
While searching for the man who framed him for a crime he didn't commit, Harrison Destry (John Gavin) stumbles into a town where an old cell mate of h...

How the West Was Won
1962
as Man (uncredited)
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one ...

Black Gold
1962
as Chick Carrington
Two friends join together to strike oil, court women, and battle an unscrupulous oilman politician during the Oklahoma oil boom of the 1920s.

Merrill's Marauders
1962
as Sgt. Kolowicz
Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill leads the 3,000 American volunteers of his 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), aka "Merrill's Marauders", behind J...

Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
as Rake
Feature-length Western based on the hit TV show 'Tales of Wells Fargo,' about a Wells Fargo Company troubleshooter who becomes the target of an outlaw...

Claudelle Inglish
1961
as S.T. Crawford
A young daughter of poor farmers is forced by her mother to ditch her young boyfriend in order to marry an old rich neighbor but the girl rebels by be...

Inherit the Wind
1960
as Rev. Jeremiah Brown
Schoolteacher Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the ne...

Comanche Station
1960
as Ben Lane
A white man trades with the Comanche for the release of a female stranger and the pair cross paths with three outlaws who have their eyes on the hands...

Yellowstone Kelly
1959
as Sergeant
A fur-trapper named Kelly, who once saved the life of a Sioux chief, is allowed to set his traps in Sioux territory during the late 1870s. Reluctantly...

Hound-Dog Man
1959
as Hog Peyson
A rustic drama set in the early 20th century, Hound Dog Man is the simple story of a young man, Spud Kinney constantly in hot water for disobeying his...

Don't Give Up the Ship
1959
as Lt. Cmdr. Farber
The Navy expects a veteran to pay for the ship he commanded, as they have no record of its return.

Porgy and Bess
1959
as Detective
In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy...

Rio Bravo
1959
as Joe Burdette
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the broth...

Frontier Rangers
1959
as Caleb Brandt
A pastiche of three episodes from the 1958 TV series Northwest Passage, stitched together as a feature and released theatrically in Europe.

Onionhead
1958
as Poznicki
An irresponsible student enlists in the Coast Guard expecting to sit out World War II.

The Defiant Ones
1958
as Mack
Two convicts—a white racist and an angry black man—escape while chained to each other.

Joe Dakota
1957
as Aaron Grant
A stranger rides into town and says he is looking for a local Indian. Told he left town, the truth everyone has been hiding comes out including the st...

The Lonely Man
1957
as Blackburn
Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies have other plans for him. Gunslinger Jacob Wade finds his...

The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm
1957
as Pete Logan
Ma and Pa do their bit to hook lumberman Brad Johnson up with spoiled socialite Sally Flemming. Ma teaches Sally how to behave like a hick so she'll b...

Hot Summer Night
1957
as Truck Driver
An out-of-work reporter (Leslie Nielsen) seeks out a bank robber, and his bride (Colleen Miller) has to rescue him.

The Sharkfighters
1956
as Chief 'Gordy' Gordon
Landing on a small island not far from Havana, Cuba, Lt. Cmdr. Ben Staves joins a Navy scientific project engaged in finding an effective shark repell...

The Burning Hills
1956
as Ben Hindeman
When Trace Jordan's brother is murdered by members of the land-grabbing Sutton family, he vows to report this injustice to the nearest Army fort.

Johnny Concho
1956
as Lem
In Johnny Concho, Frank Sinatra plays a man who goes from the town bully to town coward!

The Proud and Profane
1956
as Big soldier
In this romantic drama, beautiful Red Cross volunteer Lee Ashley arrives on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia to learn more about the circumst...
Johnny Moccasin
1956
as Bill Ames
Johnny Moccasin a white teenage boy is raised by an Indian tribe after his parents are killed in a wagon train massacre.

Battle Stations
1956
as Marty Brennan
The crew of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II goes into battle against the Japanese fleet.

Man with the Gun
1955
as Jim Reedy (uncredited)
A stranger comes to town looking for his estranged wife. He finds her running the local girls. He also finds a town and sheriff afraid of their own sh...

The Sea Chase
1955
as Winkler
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrli...

The Human Jungle
1954
as George Mandy
Danforth is assigned to take over the police department in a section of a large city saddled with juvenile delinquency, petty crimes, graft and also a...

Down Three Dark Streets
1954
as Matty Pavelich
An FBI Agent takes on the three unrelated cases of a dead agent to track down his killer.

Shield for Murder
1954
as Fat Michaels
A crooked detective masterminds a robbery then fights to keep his money.

The Raid
1954
as Lt. Ramsey (uncredited)
A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont. To get the lie ...

The Caine Mutiny
1954
as Horrible
When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardize his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial ...

Witness to Murder
1954
as Police Officer (uncredited)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.

Bitter Creek
1954
as Vance Morgan - Henchman
"Wild" Bill Elliott is a cowboy who goes in search of the man who killed his brother, and finds himself in the small town of Bitter Creek.

From Here to Eternity
1953
as Sgt. 'Baldy' Dhom (uncredited)
In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.