Emmy-nominated actor Alan Rachins dead at 82
Alan Rachins, the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor best known for his role as Douglas Brackman Jr in the NBC legal drama LA Law, has died at 82.
Rachins died in his sleep of heart failure in the early hours of November 2nd at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He leaves behind his wife, fellow actor Joanna Frank – whom he married in 1978 after meeting in an acting class – and their son, Robert.
Rachins was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 3rd, 1942, to Edward and Ida Rachins. His father was in the food manufacturing business, and tragically, his mother died when he was 11. After graduating from High School, Rachins enrolled at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania before dropping out. He then moved to New York to study acting.
In 1967, he began his Broadway career with his debut in After the Rain. He later appeared in Hadrian the Seventh and off-Broadway productions such as the controversial Oh! Calcutta!, the avant-garde revue from British critic Kenneth Tynan. He was in the latter for roughly 18 months, and his role involved getting naked. Famously, sketches for the show were written by the likes of Beatles leader John Lennon, Samuel Beckett, and Sam Shepard.
“We went through a very intense monthlong rehearsal before that day came when we actually took off the robes together,” he explained during a 2020 LA Law reunion. He recalled that he frequently heard the line, “I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.”
He said: “That was the supposed joke I must have heard 30 times, and I was getting less and less and less pleasant about it [each time].”
In 1972, Rachins halted his acting career after being accepted as a fellow in the writing and directing programs at the American Film Institute. He sold scripts to shows including The Fall Guy, Hill Street Blues, Knight Rider, and Quincy.
He later returned to acting. After starring in Henry Jaglom’s hit 1985 independent film Always alongside wife Joanna, he landed his most famous role as Douglas Backman Jr in LA Law, the legal drama that ran for eight seasons on NBC between 1986 and 1994. The show boasted an ensemble cast who would also go onto big things, including Don Cheadle, Kathy Bates, David Schwimmer, William H Macy, Carrie-Ann Moss, and even the controversial Kevin Spacey. It was celebrated for exploring real-life social and cultural issues of its era, such as HIV/AIDS, capital punishment and racism.
Rachins’ character, the arrogant but foolish Brackman Jr, who was constantly at war with his wife Sheila – played by Joanna – was a managing partner and interim senior partner at the fictional Los Angeles law firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. He starred in all but one of its 172 episodes across the eight seasons. He also earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his acclaimed performances as Brackman in 1988.
The other most famous role of Rachins’ career was as Larry Finkelstein, the outlandish hippie father of Dharma Montgomery, in ABC’s hit sitcom Dharma & Greg, starring Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson in the title roles. He was in all 199 episodes of the show on its five-season run between 1997 and 2002.
Alan Rachins would also feature in Batman: The Animated Series, Showgirls, Stargate SG-1, Rugrats, American Dad!, Grey’s Anatomy, Young Sheldon and NCIS.
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