[2] Although film reference books gave his age at death as 75, Akins' son said his father was born in 1926,[3] which is supported by public records.

[10] He portrayed prisoner Joe Burdette in Rio Bravo (starring John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, and Angie Dickinson).

Akins appeared in Porgy and Bess (1959) and went on to portray Rockwell W. "Rocky" Rockman in The Devil's Brigade, the Reverend Jeremiah Brown in the movie Inherit the Wind (1960), outlaw Ben Lane in Comanche Station that same year.

He was featured in Sam Fuller's 1962 film Merrill's Marauders, receiving critical acclaim for his performance as a hard-bitten, weary soldier, especially for a scene in which his unit rests for a short while in a Burmese village.

In a 1987 interview, Akins called his film career "disappointing," and said that his biggest regret was that he lost the role of "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967) to George Kennedy, who went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

[10] Akins was cast in myriad television series, including The Adventures of Superman (episode number 69, "Peril by Sea"), in which he plays a villainous conspirator, Crusader, and I Love Lucy in which he portrays himself.

He appeared once on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Empire, Laredo ("The Treasure of San Diablo"), the syndicated series, Pony Express (in "The Story of Julesburg" with Sebastian Cabot and James Best), and The Oregon Trail, with Rod Taylor.

He was cast as Jarret Sutton in "Escape to Memphis" (1959) and as Beaudry Rawlins in Duel on the River (1960) on Darren McGavin's NBC series, Riverboat.

Among Akins's four appearances on NBC's Laramie with series stars John Smith and Robert Fuller was the role of former Sheriff Jim Dark in the episode "Queen of Diamonds" (September 20, 1960).

Akins was featured in two episodes of the original CBS series The Twilight Zone ("The Little People" and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street").

He appeared on Rod Cameron's early syndicated series, City Detective, Meet McGraw with Frank Lovejoy, the ABC/WB drama, The Roaring 20's, and Police Story.

Akins's other early appearances included a role as a policeman on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in "Place of Shadows" (1956) and "Reward to Finder" (1957).

He played another television cop, good-natured Sheriff's Detective Phillip Dix, in the first season of the Perry Mason in "The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife" (episode 1-26) that aired March 15, 1958.

Before his signature character Sheriff Lobo, Akins appeared as owner-operator trucker Sonny Pruitt in NBC's Movin' On, from 1974 to 1976, with Frank Converse.