From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TV miniseries
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
Sh?gun
. The miniseries stars
Peter Strauss
,
Nick Nolte
and
Susan Blakely
.
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]
Plot
[
edit
]
Based on the
best-selling 1969 novel
by
Irwin Shaw
, it spanned the period from 1945 through the late 1960s and followed the divergent career courses of the impoverished
German American
Jordache brothers. Rudy (
Peter Strauss
) was the titular rich man, a well-educated and very ambitious
entrepreneur
who triumphed over his background and constructed a corporate and political empire. Poor man Tom (
Nick Nolte
) was a rebel who eventually turned to
boxing
to support himself. Axel and Mary were their parents, and Julie Prescott was Rudy's lifelong sweetheart who eventually married him.
Later, another important character appears, the dangerous and eccentric Falconetti, lifelong nemesis of the Jordache Brothers, who is intent on killing them.
While 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.
Cast
[
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]
Episode list
[
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]
Production notes
[
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]
Dean Riesner
wrote all twelve episodes, and direction was shared by
David Greene
and
Boris Sagal
. The musical score was composed by
Alex North
.
Awards and nominations
[
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]
Home media
[
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]
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.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007-10-17).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
(9 ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 1152.
ISBN
978-0-345-49773-4
.
- ^
"Rich Man, Poor Man ? Golden Globes"
.
HFPA
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"1976 Grammy Award Winners"
. Grammy.com
. Retrieved
May 1,
2011
.
- ^
"Television Hall of Fame: Productions"
.
Online Film & Television Association
. Retrieved
May 15,
2021
.
- ^
"Rich Man, Poor Man"
.
Emmys.com
.
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Tim Brooks
; Earle Marsh (1988).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
.
New York City
:
Ballantine Books
. p.
662
.
ISBN
0-345-35610-1
.
External links
[
edit
]
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