Lyle Trachtenberg Biography

Born on January 1, 1956, in Los Angeles, California, USA, Lyle Trachtenberg was interested in acting since he was a child. Following his high-school graduation, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1976, and earned his degree in 1980.

After Lyle Trachtenberg completed his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, he joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees , which serves as a labour union for more than a hundred thousand technicians, craftspersons, artisans active in the various aspects of the entertainment industry, including theatre, films, TV projects, and trade shows.

In time, he became a powerful and influential organiser for the union and gained some notoriety for his work on various sets as a union representative. According to a Variety article published in July 1995, Lyle Trachtenberg caused some problems for indie filmmaker Allison Anders and her producers during the filming of her 1996 movie Grace of My Heart. For the $5 million project, she and her producers, Ruth Charny and Dan Hassid, had managed to rehire several of the same non-union crew members that she had worked with on her previous low-budget efforts. In the second week after the filming began, Trachtenberg came during lunch. When he was denied entry to the set, he stationed himself outside by the catering truck and began listing the benefits of becoming a member of the IATSE. By the time lunch ended, IATSE had 25 new members. The situation had become quite tense, and there were talks of a makeshift strike. Eventually, the producers reached an agreement with the union and the filming started again.

In his Los Angeles Times column in January 1996, producer Lawrence Bender wrote about his own experience of dealing with Lyle Trachtenberg and the union. During the shooting of White Man’s Burden (1995), a film he produced, the union stopped the production, resulting in a significant amount of monetary damage and delay. Later, Bender listed some solutions to the problems of making low-budget pictures in conjunction with the unions in an interview with the L. A. Times. In response, Trachtenberg sarcastically advised him to waive his own fees for the movies with under $3 million budget in which union stipulation would be disregarded. According to Bender, this was simply an attempt to circumvent the issue and not a permanent productive solution.

Despite his initial aspirations, Lyle Trachtenberg never found much success as an actor. In 1996, he appeared as himself in Robert Rodriguez’s action-horror From Dusk Till Dawn. In 1998, he portrayed a character credited as the Husky Guy in writer/director John Quinn’s comedy film Beach Movie. He has also received “special thanks” for his involvement in films like Girl Fever (2002), Keeping Up with the Steins (2006), and Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015).

Lyle Trachtenberg continues to be an active member of the IATSE and takes part in various demonstrations.

Lyle Trachtenberg tied the knot with Whoopi Goldberg on October 1, 1994. The marriage was shortlived and they got divorced in 1995.

After his divorce from Goldberg, Trachtenberg exchanged wedding vows with Canadian-born Adrianna Belan. They have two daughters together, Gabriella and Natasha. Belan is a former actress.