Alan Rachins Passes On

Alan Rachins, who appeared on the shows L.A. Law, Dharma & Greg, and Rizzoli & Isles, died on November 2 2024 at the age of 72. The cause was heart failure.

Alan Rachins was born on on October 3 1942 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He grew up in Boston. He graduated from Brookline High School and then attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for two years before he moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting.

Alan Rachins made his debut on Broadway in 1967 in After the Rain. In the late Sixties he appeared on Broadway in Hadrian VII and Oh! Calcutta!. It was in 1972 that he became a fellow in the writing and directing programs at the American Film Institute (AFI). He was an AFI intern to director Arthur Penn on the movie Missouri Breaks (1976). He went onto direct an episode of the short-lived show Paris, and to write episodes of Hart to Hart and The Fall Guy.

Alan Rachins made his television debut in 1975 in the television movie Fear on Trial. In the late Seventies he guest starred on the shows The White Shadow, Barnaby Jones, Dallas, and Paris. He made his film debut in 1982 in the movie Time Walker. In the Eighties he appeared in the movies Alway (1985), Thunder Rain (1985), and Heart Condition (1990). It was in 1986 that he began his stint as Douglas Brackman, Jr. on the hit TV show L.A. Law. He guest starred on the show Brothers, D.C. Follies, J.J. Starbuck, and Ferris Bueller. He appeared in the TV movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer.

In the Nineties Alan Rachins continued to appear on L.A. Law. It was in 1997 that he began playing Larry Finkelstein on the sitcom Dharma & Greg. He played the Clock King on Batman: The Animated Series. He guest starred on the shows Ferris Bueller, The Golden Girls, Tales from the Crypt, Courthouse, The Outer Limits, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Diagnosis Murder, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Stargate SG-1, and Love Boat: The Next Wave. He appeared in the mini-series Lady Boss. He appeared in the movies North (1994), Terminal Voyage (1995), Showgirls (1995), Meet Wally Sparks (1997), Leave Ito  Beaver (1997), and Unwed Father (1997).

In the Naughts he continued to appear on Dharma & Greg. He was the voice of Norman Osborn on the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man. He guest starred on the shows The In-Laws, Just Shoot Me!, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Close to Home, Eli Stone, and Surviving Suburbia.

In the Teens Alan Rachins played Stanley on Rizzoli & Isles. He guest starred on the shows Happy Endings, Good Luck Charlie, The Crazy Ones, Mom, The Middle, General Hospital, and Grey's Anatomy. He was a voice in the movies  Answers to Nothing (2011) and Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace (2013). In the 2020s he guest starred on Young Sheldon and NCIS.

Alan Rachins was a remarkable character who could play a wide variety of characters. As Douglas Brackman, Jr., the Managing Partner of Mackenzie, Brackman, he was boorish, self-important, and pompous. Ageing hippie Larry Finkelstein couldn't be any further from Brackman. Larry believes in several different conspiracy theories (usually centred around Richard Nixon) and can generally clueless. Stanley on Rizzoli & Isles was different from either Brackman or Larry. Stanley is essentially a grumpy old man who is entirely devoted to Divisuon One Cafe at the Boston Police Department.  Alan Rachman had a knack for crafting a wide array of unusual characters, from lawyers to scientists to supervillains.