Biography of Alan Rachins

Born in Boston, Rachins pursued a rigorous academic schedule at the Wharton School of Finance before moving to New York to study acting with teachers William Ball, Warren Robertson, Kim Stanley and Harvey Lembeck, among others. Over the next decade, he performed in a succession of plays, including the original Broadway productions of "After the Rain" and "Hadrian the Seventh," as well as the original off-Broadway productions of "The Trojan Women" and "Oh! Calcutta."

In 1972, Rachins put his acting career on hold when he was accepted as a fellow in the writing and directing programs at the American Film Institute. After AFI, he joined a major studio as a script reader. His writing career soon took off and he went on to sell scripts to a variety of shows, including "Hill Street Blues," "Fall Guy," "Hart to Hart," "Knight Rider" and "Quincy." He also directed an episode of "Paris" with James Earl Jones, as well as an equity waiver play.

Despite his burgeoning successes as a writer and director, Rachins returned to his acting career with a leading role in Henry Jaglom's film, "Always." Playing opposite his real-life wife, Joanna Frank, Rachin's portrayal of a frustrated husband in the critically acclaimed film brought him wide-spread attention and ultimately led to his role on "L.A. Law." Once again, Rachins and Frank became fictional husband and wife as the series' Douglas and Sheila Brackman.

Rachins returned to the big screen for his co-starring role in the feature film, "Heart Condition," with Denzel Washington and Bob Hoskins. Additional film credits include "Starquest," "Showgirls," "Meet Wally Sparks," "Leave it to Beaver" and the short feature, "Taken."

On television, he has starred in the Jackie Collins miniseries, "Lady Boss," as well as in "Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Silent Singer." Other starring roles include the television movies, "She Says She's Innocent, "Single Women, Married Men" and "Tales From the Crypt." In addition to his work on "Dharma & Greg," he will be seen on ABC in the upcoming movie, "Unwed Father."

Rachins also hosted the premiere of PBS' "Nova," entitled "Sex, Lies and Toupee Tape," an informative and amusing look at pattern baldness and its effect on men and women. Additionally, he tackled the role of Albin, the flamboyant transvestite in the famed Jupiter Theater production of "La Cage Aux Folles," and was also seen in "Love Letters" with Swoosie Kurtz in Los Angeles. Recently, Rachins starred in the limited engagement production of "Promises, Promises" with Jason Alexander, Jean Smart and Alan Thicke.

Happily married, Alan and Joanna have a son, Robbie, and the couple has formed a production company, Allofit Productions, which has acquired books and original screenplays to develop for television and feature films.