Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 28, 1994                   TAG: 9401280213
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ALTADENA, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Medium

ACTOR CLAUDE AKINS DIES CANCER TAKES TV'S SHERIFF LOBO

The actor, who once spent a season at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., early in his career, appeared in supporting roles in many classic films, including "From Here to Eternity," "The Caine Mutiny" and "Inherit the Wind."

He died with his family at his Akins side, said his publicist Julian Myers.

Last May, Akins lost half his stomach to cancer surgery.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Akins was a frequent supporting actor in Westerns and war films. They were outdoor and action movies that embraced his rugged appearance. Those films included "Rio Bravo" with John Wayne, "How the West Was Won" and "The Devil's Brigade."

In recent years, Akins became familiar to television and radio audiences as the pitch man for Aamco transmissions.

His television career, which flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, showcased his genial, down-home style.

From television, he was best known as the bumbling Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo in "B.J. and the Bear" and a spinoff series "Lobo," both of which ran from 1979-81. He also played a gypsy truck driver named Sonny Pruitt in the series "Movin' On," which ran from 1974-76.

Born in Nelson, Ga., and raised in Bedford, Ind., Akins' acting career began at age 5 in a church play. He was a talking robin.

His small-town upbringing made him yearn for success, Akins said in a 1974 TV Guide interview.

"When you're from a town of 12,000, you want to be somebody or something - but you don't know where to go or how," he said.

After majoring in speech and theater at Northwestern University, he worked as a salesman for a limestone company whose president, a theater fan, got him a season with the Barter Theatre.

After the season, Akins went to New York City, where he played in "The Rose Tattoo," starring Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton.

Akins went on to perform with various New York touring companies before making his movie debut in the 1953 film "From Here to Eternity" with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.