classicera — 16 years ago(June 13, 2009 09:39 PM)

Some time in early 1990s and I believe it was between 1992-1994, my twin sister and I saw Claude Akins at Target Stores in Monrovia, California. My sister and I were finished shopping and we were at the check out line when we spotted him and recognized him. We've been fans of Claude Akins for years from his early tv appearances in the Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy and other films and TV. I was in my early 20s back then and my sister and I 111cloved classic tv and films at a very young age. I realize he must've heard us because he was smiling directly at us and was very congenial and I think he must've been surprised at the fact that two young fans actually recognized him. I recall my sister and I were whispering quite loudly that "that's Claude Akins from the TV shows" and we both were pleased to spot one of our favorite character actors. We were a bit shy in approaching him for an autograph and unfortunately we didn't. We wanted to talk to him but were a bit shy. I recall he was purchasing gifts for his grandchildren including baby bottles and seemed very proud of them. I was struck with the fact that he was nice to the people around him that recognized him and seemed to be a very nice gentleman. My sister and I regret we didn't tell him how much we enjoyed his work. We both still enjoy his tv and film work today. Just thought I shared this with his fans.