Alan Rosenberg

Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American actor who portrayed the character Eli Levinson in both the series Civil Wars and the popular L.A. Law. From 2005 to 2009, Rosenberg was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union. Early life and education Rosenberg was born on October 4, 1950, and raised in Passaic, New Jersey. He was raised in Conservative Judaism. Rosenberg'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. Rosenberg'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. Career In 1979, Rosenberg appeared in the movie The Wanderers, as Turkey. He is also well known for his character Ira Woodbine in the sitcom Cybill. More recently, he was seen in the legal drama The Guardian as Alvin Masterson.