Actor Alan Rachins, who starred in the television shows “L.A. Law” and “Dharma & Greg,” passed away early on Saturday morning. He was eighty-two. Variety was informed by Mark Teitelbaum, Rachins’ manager, that he passed away in his sleep due to heart failure. During its eight-season run from 1986 to 1984, Rachins portrayed attorney Douglas Brackman Jr. on NBC’s “L.A. Law.” He also starred in the 2002 made-for-TV movie “L.A. Law: The Movie.” In 1988, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Douglas.
“In the pilot episode, there was nothing of the more flamboyant or bizarre side of Douglas; he was going to be the hard-line office manager, the penny pincher,” Rachins said in a 1990 interview with The New York Times. “It was kind of limited, and I didn’t know where it was going. But quickly it developed a lot more color and flamboyance.” In the ABC sitcom “Dharma & Greg,” which ran for five seasons from 1997 to 2002, Rachins played Larry Finkelstein, the hippie father of Jenna Elfman’s character Dharma, after his role in “L.A. Law.”
Born on October 3, 1942, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Alan Leonard Rachins grew up in Boston. He attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School for two years before relocating to New York to pursue acting. In 1967, he made his Broadway debut in the play “After the Rain.” Rachins also made an appearance in the naked in the musical revue “Oh! Calcutta!” which debuted at the Eden Theatre off Broadway in June 1969.
In addition to his guest appearances on a number of television shows, such as “Stargate SG-1,” “Dallas,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Brothers,” “D.C. Follies,” “The Golden Girls,” “The Outer Limits,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Good Luck Charlie,” “Young Sheldon,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Middle,” and “The Crazy Ones,” Rachins had recurring roles on “Rizzoli & Isles” and “General Hospital.” In addition to directing an episode of the James Earl Jones-led television series “Paris,” he wrote for television programs like “Hill Street Blues,” “Hart to Hart,” and “The Fall Guy.”
Tony Moss was played by Rachins in the 1995 movie “Showgirls.” “Time Walker” (1982), “Always” (1985), “Thunder Run” (1985), “Heart Condition” (1990), “Terminal Voyage” (1995), “Meet Wally Sparks” (1997), “Leave It to Beaver” (1997), “Any Day Now” (2012), and “Commencement” (2012) are some of his other film credits. Rachins is survived by wife Joanna Frank, who played his feuding spouse Sheila Brackman on “L.A. Law,” and son Robert.
or a specific category with our 
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.