Alan Rachins, ‘L.A. Law’ and ‘Dharma & Greg’ Actor, Dead at 82

Emmy-nominated actor Alan Rachins has died at the age of 82.

His wife, actress Joanna Frank, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter, saying Rachins died in his sleep of heart failure in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 2, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Rachins was best known for his role as buttoned-up Douglas Brackman on L.A. Law, which ran from 1986 to 1994 and earned him both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. The NBC show was cocreated by his late brother-in-law Steven Bochco, a renowned TV writer-producer, who reportedly had Rachins in mind for the McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak cofounder.

Rachins’ wife and Bochco’s sister Joanna, 83, also played Brackman’s spouse, Sheila, on the long-running series.

“There was always mutual respect and everyone wanted to do their best,” Rachins told blog Straight 2 DVD in 2010 of being on the set of L.A. Law. “It was being part of a championship team. … For us it wasn’t just being on a hit show, but also a critically acclaimed show and audiences, the people we met in our daily lives, were enthused and appreciative. The quality of the work on the show and the attention and acclaim were deeply satisfying.”

Rachins also captured viewers’ hearts as the hippie-dippie dad of Dharma Finkelstein (Jenna Elfman), Larry, on the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg. He was on all 119 episodes of the show, which ran for five seasons, from 1997 to 2002.

“I love the idea of playing different characters and I wouldn’t want to be stuck doing the same thing all of the time,” Rachins told New Jersey Stage in 2003. “That’s one of the great things about Dharma & Greg, it really allowed me to do something different.”

Rachins went on to voice and portray characters on shows like Justice League Unlimited, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Rizzoli & Isles, Grey’s Anatomy, Young Sheldon and NCIS.

Rachins was born an only child in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1942. His father, Edward, ran a food manufacturing business that made ice cream toppings, flavored syrups and cake toppings. His mother, Ida, died when he was just 11. He graduated from Brookline High School and was enrolled at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania before ultimately dropping out and graduating from Empire State College in 1974.

He then moved to New York to study acting. He performed in a succession of plays, including the original Broadway productions of After the Rain (1967) and Hadrian VII (1979), as well as the 1969 original off-Broadway production of the controversial Oh! Calcutta!, in which he and other actors appeared in the nude.

In 1972, Rachins was accepted into the writing and directing programs at AFI in Los Angeles. He served as the AFI intern to director Arthur Penn on The Missouri Breaks (1976), wrote for such shows as Hart to Hart and The Fall Guy, and helmed an episode of the James Earl Jones-starring Paris, which Bochco — who died in 2018 at the age of 74 — created, as well.

He also appeared as Tony Moss, the cruel director of the topless dance revue at the Stardust Casino, in Paul Verhoeven’s film Showgirls (1995) and as Fred Rutherford in Leave It to Beaver (1997).

“Our sweet Alan Rachins… we will miss you. 💔,” his on-screen daughter Elfman, 53, wrote on Instagram November 3. “Thank you for being the PERFECT ‘Larry Finkelstein’ to my ‘Dharma’ and @mimikennedyla’s ‘Abby’. ✌🏼 Sending much love and condolences to Joanna and Robert.”

He is survived by Joanna and their son, Robert.