Born in New York and worked as a nightclub comic and TV actor. In his
early TV days, also worked behind the scenes on
Captain Kangaroo (1955). Directed episodes for more than
80 different TV series over four decades, stretching from the
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) to cable-ACE award-winning stint
as director on It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986).
His great-nephew is Jonah Hill (Jonah's grandmother was Alan's sister, Claire).
His parents, Tillie (Bernstein) and Victor Rafkin, were Russian Jewish immigrants.
As an inside joke, the producers of Too Close for Comfort (1980) used the name" Rafkin" as the
transvestite neighbor.