Died at his Los Angeles home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Started working in films in the mid 1970s as a production assistant at
Cannon Films.
Father was born Morris Paul Schecter and was a local radio personality
in Cleveland in the 1950s known as the "Voice of Racing" because he
broadcast local horse races. He changed his name to Van Lane in 1950
after the radio station he was working for had a "Name the DJ" contest.
Mother died in a traffic accident when Alan was only 8 years
old.
Began training as a survivalist in high school and kept his apartment
full of emergency supplies including MREs, ammunition, tools, and even
suture kits.