"Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976) TV mini-series

Directors:

Bill Bixby
David Greene

Writers:

Dean Riesner (writer)
Irwin Shaw (novel)

Release Date:

1 February 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An examination of the trials and tribulations of the Jordache family, from the period following World War II to the late 1960s.

Plot Keywords:

Johny Falconetti | TV Mini-Series | Family Relationships | Based On Novel

Awards:

Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Peter Strauss	...	Rudy Jordache
Nick Nolte	...	Tom Jordache
Susan Blakely	...	Julie Prescott
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 Quales
Gloria Grahame	...	Sue Prescott
Murray Hamilton	...	Sid Gossett

Also Known As:

Rich Man, Poor Man - Book I

Runtime:

720 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

In Italy, this mini series was broadcast with three different titles on three different channels in subsequent years: "Il sogno americano dei Jordache" (The Jordaches' American Dream) in 1977, "Il sogno americano" (The American Dream) in 1982 and "Il ricco e il povero" (literal translation) in 1984.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the fight with Tom Jordache, Falconetti is taken off the ship with his left eye bandaged up. When we see him later he has his right eye covered with the black patch.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Terrific mini series

Arguably the best mini series ever. I was in high school when ABC was airing RMPM and I definitely didn't miss any of the episodes. I guess most high school kids, well boys anyway, could relate to Tom Jordache. All you want to do is get the heck out of school and move on. As for the series itself the diamonds in the rough were Ed Asner as Axel Jordache and Bill Bixby as Willie Abbott. Asner did a great job getting away from the Lou Grant persona and becoming the brutish Jordache and everybody knew Bill Bixby as the nice guy dad on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father". Bixby did a great job playing the role of the lazy, irresponsible Willie Abbott. For eye candy there was Lynda Day George playing the wife of one of Tommy's boxing rivals. She was really a knockout in that bathing suit. And Susan Blakely wasn't too bad either. Another surprise was William Smith as Falconetti the bad guy. Hey, I was used to seeing him as one of the good guy Texas Rangers on "Laredo" back in the mid 60s. At any rate I wish they'd pull both RMPM parts 1 and 2 out of the archives for another generation.