Rich Man, Poor Man Book II

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977. A sequel to Rich Man, Poor Man that had aired the previous season, it focused on the further exploits and conflicts of the Jordache family.

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II
The main characters. Standing: Maggie Porter and Rudy Jordache. Seated: Wesley Jordache and Billy Abbott.
Based onCharacters created by Irwin Shaw
Written byAnn Beckett
Michael Gleason
Robert Hamilton
Millard Lampell
Robert Presnell, Jr.
Elizabeth Wilson
Directed byLou Antonio
Karen Arthur
Bill Bixby
Joan Darling
Harry Falk
David Friedkin
Jules Irving
Ted Post
Alex Segal
James Sheldon
Paul Stanley
StarringPeter Strauss
Gregg Henry
James Carroll Jordan
Theme music composerAlex North
Michael Isaacson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes21
Production
Executive producerMichael Gleason
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 21, 1976 (1976-09-21) –
March 8, 1977 (1977-03-08)
Related
Rich Man, Poor Man

Due to the popularity of the first series this was rushed out as the sequel before the author Irwin Shaw had even written a "Book 2" sequel.

Synopsis

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The series began shortly after the death of Tom Jordache. His son Wesley (Gregg Henry) is now in the care of Tom's brother Rudy (Peter Strauss), who was seeking a seat in the United States Senate. Also living in the household was Billy, Rudy's stepson, and much of the ongoing storyline concentrated on the tension between the two ambitious boys. Also crucial to the plot was Rudy's protracted battle with Charles Estep (Peter Haskell), the mysterious billionaire owner of Tricorp. Returning from the original series was Anthony Falconetti (William Smith), who had served time for the murder of Tom Jordache and was now free and intent on disposing of Rudy as well.

At the same time, Falconetti firmly intends to eliminate Rudy, Wesley and all the friends of the Jordache family and this time it will not be enough to ignore it to escape him.

Cast

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Davey Davison replaces Kim Darby as Virginia Calderwood. Peter Strauss, Susan Blakely, Herbert Jefferson Jr., Van Johnson, Kay Lenz, Tim McIntre, Ray Millard, Dick Sargent and William Smith reprise their roles from the original series.

Actor Role
Starring
Peter Strauss Rudy Jordache
Special guest star
Susan Blakely Julie Prescott
Introducing
Gregg Henry Wesley Jordache
James Carroll Jordan Billy Abbott
Guest stars
Dimitra Arliss Maria Falconetti
Davey Davison Virginia Calderwood
Herbert Jefferson Jr. Roy Dwyer
Van Johnson Marsh Goodwin
Kay Lenz Kate Jordache
Tim McIntire Brad Knight
Ray Milland Duncan Calderwood
Claudette Nevins Mrs. Martindale
William Redfield Mr. Martindale
Dick Sargent Eddie Heath
William Smith Anthony Falconetti
Susan Sullivan Maggie Porter
John Anderson John "Scotty" Scott
Sorrell Booke Phil Greenberg
Peter Haskell Charles Estep
Penny Peyser Ramona Scott
Larry Kert Danny Miller
Arlo Guthrie Himself
Cassie Yates Annie Adams
Kimberly Beck Diane Porter
Peter Donat Arthur Raymond
Laraine Stephens Claire Estep
Lynn Carlin Sarah Hunt
Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood Mrs. Hunt
Russell Johnson Detective
George Gaynes Max Vincent
Dennis James Telethon Host
G. D. Spradlin Senator Dillon
Barry Sullivan Senator Paxton
Philip Abbott John Franklin
Ken Swofford Al Barber
Richard McKenzie
David Sheiner
Nehemiah Persoff Charles Dietrich

Episode list

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Title Directed By Written By Runtime Original air date
1"Chapter I"Lou AntonioMillard Lampell48 min.September 21, 1976 (1976-09-21)
2"Chapter II"Alex SegalAnn Beckett48 min.September 28, 1976 (1976-09-28)
3"Chapter III"Bill BixbyRobert Presnell, Jr.48 min.October 5, 1976 (1976-10-05)
4"Chapter IV"David FriedkinMillard Lampell48 min.October 19, 1976 (1976-10-19)
5"Chapter V"Harry FalkAnn Beckett48 min.October 26, 1976 (1976-10-26)
6"Chapter VI"James SheldonMillard Lampell48 min.November 9, 1976 (1976-11-09)
7"Chapter VII"Harry FalkRobert Presnell, Jr.48 min.November 16, 1976 (1976-11-16)
8"Chapter VIII"Joan DarlingElizabeth Wilson48 min.November 23, 1976 (1976-11-23)
9"Chapter IX"Jules IrvingMillard Lampell48 min.November 30, 1976 (1976-11-30)
10"Chapter X"Karen ArthurElizabeth Wilson48 min.December 7, 1976 (1976-12-07)
11"Chapter XI"Jules IrvingAnn Beckett48 min.December 21, 1976 (1976-12-21)
12"Chapter XII"Ted PostMillard Lampell48 min.December 28, 1976 (1976-12-28)
13"Chapter XIII"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason48 min.January 4, 1977 (1977-01-04)
14"Chapter XIV"Ted PostElizabeth Wilson & Ann Beckett48 min.January 11, 1977 (1977-01-11)
15"Chapter XV"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason48 min.January 18, 1977 (1977-01-18)
16"Chapter XVI"Paul StanleyMichael Gleason48 min.February 1, 1977 (1977-02-01)
17"Chapter XVII"Jules IrvingAnn Beckett48 min.February 8, 1977 (1977-02-08)
18"Chapter XVIII"Bill BixbyMichael Gleason48 min.February 15, 1977 (1977-02-15)
19"Chapter XIX"Jules IrvingRobert Hamilton48 min.February 22, 1977 (1977-02-22)
20"Chapter XX"James SheldonAnn Beckett48 min.March 1, 1977 (1977-03-01)
21"Chapter XXI"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason48 min.March 8, 1977 (1977-03-08)

Reception

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Las Vegas and Aspen, playgrounds of the rich and famous and powerful, were two of the settings for the series. Filled with soap opera-like touches, it was far more melodramatic than the original and not as successful critically or in the ratings. The series maintained a popular following in the UK and Europe and was released on a 6-Disc DVD set by Universal-Playback on June 18, 2007. The US DVD set contained both the original mini-series and the weekly series and was released for the first time by A & E Home Video on September 28, 2010.

Awards and nominations

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Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Episode from a Television Series Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter XV") Nominated [1]
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series – Night Bill Bixby (for "Chapter III") Nominated [2]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series Susan Blakely (for "Chapter I") Nominated [3]
Outstanding Film Editing in a Drama Series Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter III") Nominated
TP de Oro Best Foreign Series 3rd Place [4]
Best Foreign Actor Peter Strauss Won
Most Popular Personage William Smith 2nd Place
Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Drama Millard Lampell Nominated [5]

References

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  1. ^ "Nominees/Winners". IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "29th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Rich Man, Poor Man Book II". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
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