Husky, masculine character player of stage, film and TV, adept at playing good (and bad) ol' southern boys, ambiguous lawmen and menacing villains. Akins began his film career as a heavy, beginning with his feature debut, "From Here to Eternity" (1953). He continued this trend to varying degrees in major productions like "The Caine Mutiny" (1954), "The Defiant Ones" (1958) and "Inherit the Wind" (1960). Akins also fared well portraying rednecks and assorted varmints in numerous Westerns (Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" 1959, "Commanche Station" 1960).TV tended to view the strapping actor in a more
