The “La Law” actor was 82 years old

Alan Rachinsactor known for his work on the series “Los Angeles Law” and “Dharma & Greg” is dead. He was 82 years old.

Rachins died in his sleep of heart failure, his manager Mark Teitelbaum confirmed Diversity.

Rachins played lawyer Douglas Brackman Jr. on the NBC series “LA Law” for its entire eight seasons from 1986 to 1984, and in the 2002 made-for-TV movie “LA Law: The Movie.” For his portrayal of Douglas in 1988, he received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

“There was nothing of Douglas’s more flamboyant and outlandish side in the pilot episode; he was supposed to be a hard-headed office manager, a penny-pincher” – Rachins he said in a 1990 interview New York Times. “It was kind of limited and I didn’t know where it was going. But it quickly became much more colorful and extravagant.”

After graduating from law school in Los Angeles, Rachins portrayed Larry Finkelstein, the hippie father of Jenna Elfman’s Dharma, on the ABC series Dharma & Greg, which ran for five seasons from 1997 to 2002.

Alan Leonard Rachins was born on October 3, 1942 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and raised in Boston. After two years at Penn’s Wharton School, he moved to New York to pursue acting, and in 1967 he made his Broadway debut in “After the Rain.”

Rachins also appeared nude in the theater revue “Oh! Calcutta!”, which premiered off-Broadway at the Eden Theater in June 1969.

Rachins has had recurring roles on “Rizzoli & Isles” and “General Hospital” and has guest-starred on several series including “Stargate SG-1,” “Dallas,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Brothers,” “DC Follies,” “The Golden Girls”, “The Outer Limits”, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, “Good Luck Charlie”, “Young Sheldon”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “The Middle” and “Crazy”. He has written for shows such as “Hill Street Blues,” “Hart to Hart” and “The Fall Guy,” and directed an episode of the James Earl Jones-hosted series “Paris.”

Rachins played Tony Moss in the 1995 film “Showgirls.” His other films include: “The Time Walker” (1982), “Forever” (1985), “Lightning Run” (1985), “State of the Heart” (1990), “Terminal Journey” (1995), “Meet Wally” Sparks” (1997), “Leave it to Beaver” (1997), “Any Day Now” (2012)” and “Get Started”.

Rachins is survived by his wife Joanna Frank, who played his feuding wife Sheila Brackman on “LA Law,” and his son Robert.