Alan Rosenberg

Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American stage and screen actor. Rosenberg is perhaps best known for his character Eli Levinson which appeared in both the series Civil Wars and the popular L.A. Law. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.

Early life

Rosenberg was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey. He was raised in Conservative Judaism. Alan's late brother, Mark, was a political activist in the 1960s, later a film producer. Their first cousin, also from Passaic, is musician/songwriter Donald Fagen, co-founder of the group Steely Dan.

Alan's parents gave him money to apply to graduate school. Rosenberg said that upon graduating in 1972 from Case Western Reserve University, he found another passion, poker, and subsequently gambled away most of the money his parents sent him, leaving him only able to afford one application, to the Yale School of Drama. Rosenberg dropped out halfway through his second year at Yale. His "greatest influence and best friend" while there was classmate Meryl Streep.