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The Claude Akins Story

Overview 

Known for his gruff, booming voice and burly appearance Claude Akins played mostly supporting roles in Westerns and war movies, with TV appearances including in 10 episodes of Gunsmoke and four episodes of Bonanza, among many others.  

Early Life
Born in the south and raised in the Midwest 

Claude Akins, part Cherokee, was born on May 25, 1926, in Nelson, Georgia to parents Maude, and Ernest, a police officer. Akins’ birth completed the family along with his older sister Hazel. Akins wasn’t a Southern boy for long. When he was 6-months-old, the family moved to Bedford, Indiana.  

During World War II, Akins joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and served in Burma and the Philippines. After his discharge, he attended Northwestern University, was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and graduated in 1949 with a degree in drama.   

Career
From Stage to Screen 

After college, the newly minted actor immediately made his mark on the stage, training at the Barter Theater in Virginia, and touring in popular plays including The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. In 1951, he made his Broadway debut in Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo, starring Maureen Stapleton and Eli Wallach. It was a small uncredited role, but it was Broadway.  

Hollywood beckoned. He signed with talent agent Meyer Mishkin and was soon a member of a squad of character actors known in the industry as “Mishkin’s Uglies.” He was in good company. Other “Uglies” included Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Michael Ansara and Chuck Connors. 

Though he was a trained Shakespearian actor, in the eyes of Hollywood agents and casting directors, Akins was not leading man material. He didn’t have the suave matinee idol look of Robert Redford or the charm of Tom Selleck. He was a big man with thick, dark, wavy hair and a deep, resonant voice. He was a commanding presence on any stage—and he was instantly typecast.  

“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.” Akins said.  

But Akins was an actor to the core. He took those character traits and built a career on them. He used them as opportunities as he honed his craft and navigated the often cutthroat and fickle world of show business.  

His film debut was as impressive as his Broadway debut—another small, uncredited role as Sgt. “Baldy” Dhom, in the 1953 Academy Award winning movie, From Here to Eternity, starring such Hollywood heavyweights as Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed, Deborah Kerr and Frank Sinatra. Being on set with that lineup might make a young actor new to film, a tad jittery. 

“My first scene on film was where I walk into the office and report Private Prewitt absent to Sergeant Warden, played by Burt Lancaster,” Akins said, “and I was scared to death. Burt was one of the big stars of that era, but still very nice.” 

Other major movie credits include The Caine Mutiny (1954) with Humphrey Bogart, The Sea Chase (1955) with John Wayne and James Arness, The Burning Hills (1956) with Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, Rio Bravo (1959) with John Wayne, Yellowstone Kelly (1959) with Clint Walker, Comanche Station (1960) with Randolph Scott, A Distant Trumpet (1964) with Troy Donahue, Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966) with Chuck Connors, and Concrete Cowboys (1979) with Tom Selleck.  

Akins called himself, “the highest-paid unknown” in Hollywood. In his impressive 41-year career as a character actor, he never lacked work, having roles in nearly 100 films, 50 of which were Westerns, and more than 180 TV episodes.  

On television, Akins had roles in Cheyenne, Wanted Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Bonanza, Laramie, Branded, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Laredo, and an extraordinary 10 appearances in Gunsmoke.  

Though he won no major Hollywood awards, Akins achieved something that eludes many Tinseltown actors with dreams of stardom—he made a great living as an actor. He was well-liked, well-respected, and well-known for his talent and skills.  

“I was very fortunate that I get paid for what I love to do,” Akins said, “I know a lot of good actors who simply can’t find work. Every time I get a job, I say to myself, ‘You’ve beaten the odds.’” 

A Real Family Man 

Akins was a private man. He kept his family life out of the limelight. In 1952, he married Therese Fairfield, and they remained devoted to each other for 42 years, until his death from stomach cancer in 1994. They had three children.  

A Legacy Beyond the Silver Screen 

In 1986, Akins was the guest speaker at the American Indian Exposition in Oklahoma where he received the Outstanding Indian/Native American of the Year Award. 

Akins was an avid golfer. Every year, over Labor Day Weekend, his hometown of Bedford, Indiana holds the Claude Akins Memorial Golf Classic.  

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