Alan Rachins: Mourning the loss of the “LA Law” star

He turned 82 on October 30th. A few days later the sad news: The American actor Alan Rachins (1942-2024) is dead. His wife, the actress Joanna Frank (83), confirmed this to the “Hollywood Reporter” on November 2nd. Her husband suffered from heart failure and died in his sleep early Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Rachins has appeared in numerous series, including “LA Law – Star Lawyers, Tricks, Trials” and “Dharma & Greg”. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Boston. He later moved to New York City to become an actor. He played his best-known role in the legal drama “LA Law” from 1986. He portrayed lawyer Douglas Brackman Jr. for almost a decade until the series ended in 1994.

The series was of great importance to Rachins both on screen and in his personal life, as he met his wife while working on the series. With her he had his son Robert. Joanna Frank played his series wife Sheila Brackman. Additionally, the series was created by Rachins’ late younger brother, television writer and producer Steven Bochco.

Rachins was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1988 for his work in the legal series. Although it didn’t win either award, the series won a total of four Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991.

He then switched from drama to comedy: in the sitcom “Dharma & Greg” he played Lawrence “Larry” Finkelstein, the hippie father of Jenna Elfman’s (53) character Dharma. He appeared in all nearly 200 episodes of the series, which aired for five seasons from 1997 to 2002.

He then appeared in films such as “Showgirls”. In the 2000s, Rachins starred in “LA Law: The Movie” before taking on smaller roles on television series such as “Rizzoli & Isles,” “General Hospital” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” He also worked as a voice actor and appeared in productions on Broadway. His last uncredited role was in the 2023 short film “The Lights Above,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.