Alan Rachins

Alan Lewis Rachins, born October 3, 1942, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was an American actor, comedian, and writer who died on November 2, 2024, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from heart failure. He was 82 years old. Rachins is best known for his television roles as Douglas Brackman on L.A. Law, which earned him both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, and as Larry, Dharma's hippie father, on Dharma & Greg.

Rachins grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, the only child of Edward and Ida Rachins. His father operated a family food manufacturing business called Snow Crest. His mother died when he was eleven, and his father's frequent absences for work left him largely on his own during his youth. As a teenager, seeing the film Rebel Without a Cause prompted him to pursue acting as a means of processing the loneliness and grief he experienced at home. After graduating from Brookline High School, he enrolled at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania with the intention of entering the family business, but he ultimately left school and relocated to New York to study acting. He later earned a degree from Empire State College in 1974.

His Broadway career spanned 1967 to 1969 and included the original productions of After the Rain and Hadrian VII, as well as the controversial Oh! Calcutta!, which originated as an off-Broadway production. In 1972, Rachins stepped away from performing when he was accepted as a fellow in the writing and directing programs at the American Film Institute. During this period he sold scripts to several television series, including Hill Street Blues, The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Quincy, and Hart to Hart. He returned to acting with a leading role in Henry Jaglom's independent film Always, which drew widespread critical attention and led directly to his casting on L.A. Law.

Beyond his television work, Rachins continued to appear in theater throughout his career. He played Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind at the Cape Playhouse, took the role of Albin in La Cage aux Folles at the Jupiter Theater, and appeared in Love Letters alongside Swoosie Kurtz at the Coronet Theatre in Beverly Hills. He starred in a revival of Promises, Promises with Jason Alexander, Jean Smart, and Alan Thicke at the Freud Theatre in Los Angeles, and appeared in the world premiere of Arthur Laurents' Attacks of the Heart at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In voice work, he provided the voice of the Clock King in two episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and one episode of Justice League Unlimited, and voiced Norman Osborn for two seasons on The Spectacular Spider-Man. His television appearances also included a recurring role on Rizzoli & Isles and a guest role on Eli Stone.

In his personal life, Rachins married actress Joanna Frank in 1978, and the couple had a son. Together they founded Allofit Productions, a company focused on acquiring books and original screenplays for development as television and film projects. Rachins was a member of Mensa International and supported Michael Dukakis during the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries.