Alan Rachins, the actor known for playing Douglas Brackman Jr. on L.A. Law and Larry Finkelstein on Dharma & Greg, died on November 2, 2024, at age 82. His family’s memorial said he died peacefully in his sleep after a year of mounting health challenges. The Los Angeles Times, citing his family, reported that the cause was heart failure.
How did Alan Rachins die?
Rachins died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times, which attributed the report of heart failure to his family. His family’s memorial described his death as peaceful and said it followed a year of mounting health challenges. The family did not provide further details about those challenges in the memorial.
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What was Alan Rachins known for?
Rachins was best known on television for two contrasting roles: Douglas Brackman Jr., the ambitious managing partner on the legal drama L.A. Law, and Larry Finkelstein, the warm, conventional father of Dharma on the sitcom Dharma & Greg.
The Television Academy says he appeared in over 170 episodes of L.A. Law and just about 120 episodes of Dharma & Greg. Those are the Academy’s episode counts; its profile does not state a publication year. The Academy profile identifies him as Emmy-nominated, while the Los Angeles Times reports that his work on L.A. Law also brought a Golden Globe nomination.
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From Broadway to television writing and L.A. Law
Rachins’s career began on stage. The Los Angeles Times reports that he made his Broadway debut in After the Rain in 1967 and performed in the original off-Broadway production of Oh! Calcutta! in 1969.
During a career lull in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he turned to television writing, working on series including Knight Rider, Hill Street Blues and Hart to Hart. He returned to screen acting with a leading role in Henry Jaglom’s 1985 independent film Always, which led to his casting in L.A. Law. The series ran from 1986 to 1994.
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His later work
Rachins continued acting into his later years. His family said he had recently made guest appearances on NCIS and Young Sheldon, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. The family also thanked people for the affection and support they shared after his death.
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