Yahoo Lifestyle 'L.A. Law' Star Alan Rachins Dead at 82
Alan Rachins, the actor known for his roles on L.A. Law and Dharma & Greg, has died. He was 82.
Rachins’ wife, actress Joanna Frank, confirmed the news of his death with The Hollywood Reporter. Rachins died early on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The actor suffered heart failure and died in his sleep, his wife told the magazine.
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Rachins was known for playing Douglas Brackman, Jr., as part of the main cast on the popular NBC legal drama L.A. Law for its eight-season run in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s. Frank also occasionally appeared in the series alongside her husband, playing his TV wife Sheila Brackman. Rachins and Frank, who were married in 1978 and had one son together, also played spouses in the 1985 independent film Always.
A few years after L.A. Law, Rachins had a long-running role on the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg, playing the father of one of the main characters portrayed by Jenna Elfman. Rachins once described the drastic differences between his roles on L.A. Law and Dharma & Greg as being “like night and day,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to his larger acting roles, Rachins also made appearances in shows like The Golden Girls and Rizzoli & Isles, with his last TV appearance occurring just last year when he appeared in one episode of NCIS, according to TV Line. He appeared in several stage productions as well, and also had a role in 1995’s Showgirls.
Rachins was born in Cambridge, Mass., on Oct. 3, 1942. He moved to New York City after spending a couple of years studying at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and began his acting career with a role in the Broadway production of After the Rain in the mid-1960s.
