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Rich Man, Poor Man is a 1976 American television miniseries based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw that aired on ABC in one or two-hour episodes mostly on Monday nights over seven weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced by Universal Television and was the second time programming of this nature had been attempted. The first TV miniseries, QB VII, had aired — also on ABC — in 1974. These projects proved to be a critical and ratings success and were the forerunner for similar projects based on literary works, such as Roots and Shōgun. The miniseries stars Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte and Susan Blakely.
| Rich Man, Poor Man | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Dean Riesner |
| Directed by | David Greene Boris Sagal |
| Starring | Peter Strauss Nick Nolte Susan Blakely Ed Asner Dorothy McGuire Robert Reed |
| Theme music composer | Alex North |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Harve Bennett |
| Producers | Jon Epstein Frank Price |
| Editors | Richard Bracken Douglas Stewart |
| Production companies | Harve Bennett Productions Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | February 1 – March 15, 1976 |
| Related | |
| Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | |
It spawned the sequel Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, which aired from September 1976 through March 1977. The network repeated the original series Tuesday nights at 9:00pm from May to June 1977.[1]
Based on the best-selling 1969 novel by Irwin Shaw, it spans the period 1945 through the late 1960s and follows the divergent career courses of the impoverished German American Jordache brothers. Rudy (Peter Strauss) is the titular rich man, a well-educated and very ambitious entrepreneur who triumphs over his background and constructs a corporate and political empire. Poor man Tom (Nick Nolte) is a rebel who eventually turns to boxing to support himself. Axel and Mary are their parents, and Julie Prescott is Rudy's lifelong sweetheart who eventually marries him.
Later, another important character appears: the dangerous and eccentric Falconetti, lifelong nemesis of the Jordache Brothers, who is intent on killing them.
The first series spans a twenty-year period between 1945 and 1965; the second series begins in 1968. The series became a huge success in the countries that aired it.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Starring | |
| Peter Strauss | Rudy Jordache |
| Nick Nolte | Tom Jordache |
| Susan Blakely | Julie Prescott |
| Guest stars | |
| Steve Allen | Bayard Nichols |
| Edward Asner | Axel Jordache |
| Bill Bixby | Willie Abbott |
| Dick Butkus | Al Fanducci |
| Kim Darby | Virginia Calderwood |
| Andrew Duggan | Col. Deiner |
| Mike Evans | Arnold Simms |
| Norman Fell | Smitty |
| Fionnula Flanagan | Clothilde |
| Lynda Day George | Linda Quayles |
| Gloria Grahame | Sue Prescott |
| Murray Hamilton | Sid Gossett |
| Herbert Jefferson Jr. | Roy Dwyer |
| Van Johnson | Marsh Goodwin |
| Kay Lenz | Kate Jordache |
| George Maharis | Joey Quayles |
| Dorothy Malone | Irene Goodwin |
| Dorothy McGuire | Mary Jordache |
| Tim McIntire | Brad Knight |
| Ray Milland | Duncan Calderwood |
| Lawrence Pressman | Bill Denton |
| Robert Reed | Teddy Boylan |
| Dick Sargent | Eddie Heath |
| Talia Shire | Teresa Santoro |
| William Smith | Anthony Falconetti |
| Craig Stevens | Asher Berg |
| Nº | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Runtime | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part I: Chapters 1 and 2" | David Greene | Dean Riesner | 96 min. | February 1, 1976 |
| 2 | "Part II: Chapters 3 and 4" | David Greene | Dean Riesner | 95 min. | February 2, 1976 |
| 3 | "Part III: Chapter 5" | Boris Sagal | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | February 9, 1976 |
| 4 | "Part IV: Chapter 6" | Boris Sagal | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | February 16, 1976 |
| 5 | "Part V: Chapter 7" | Boris Sagal | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | February 23, 1976 |
| 6 | "Part VI: Chapter 8" | Boris Sagal | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | March 1, 1976 |
| 7 | "Part VII: Chapter 9" | David Greene | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | March 8, 1976 |
| 8 | "Part VII: Chapter 10" | David Greene | Dean Riesner | 48 min. | March 8, 1976 |
| 9 | "Part VIII: Chapters 11 and 12" | David Greene | Dean Riesner | 98 min. | March 15, 1976 |
Dean Riesner wrote all twelve episodes, and direction was shared by David Greene and Boris Sagal. The musical score was composed by Alex North.
A&E Home Video released an edited version of Rich Man, Poor Man: The Complete Collection on Region 1 DVD in the United States on September 28, 2010.
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