Rich Man, Poor Man - ABC - February 1, 1976 - March 12, 1976

Rich Man, Poor Man was a 1976 American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT on Monday night for twelve weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced by Universal Television and was the first time programming of this nature had been attempted. It proved to be a critical and ratings success and was the forerunner for similar projects based on literary works, such as Roots and Brideshead Revisited.
Based on the best-selling 1970 novel by Irwin Shaw, it spanned the period from 1945 through the late 1960s and followed the divergent career courses of the impoverished German immigrant Jordache brothers. Rudy was the rich man of the title, a well-educated and very ambitious entrepreneur who triumphed over his background and constructed a corporate and political empire. Poor man Tom 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.
Dean Riesner wrote all twelve episodes, and direction was shared by Bill Bixby, David Greene, and Boris Sagal. The musical score was composed by Alex North, who was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
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 in May and June 1977. It has been released on videotape and DVD.
Primary castPeter Strauss . . . Rudy Jordache
Nick Nolte . . . Tom Jordache
Susan Blakely . . . Julie Prescott
Edward Asner . . . Axel Jordache
Dorothy McGuire . . . Mary Jordache
Robert Reed . . . Teddy Boylan
Gloria Grahame . . . Sue Prescott
Kim Darby . . . Virginia Calderwood
Bill Bixby . . . Willie Abbott
Fionnula Flanagan . . . Clothilde
Tim McIntire . . . Brad Knight
Ray Milland . . . Duncan Calderwood
Lawrence Pressman . . . Bill Denton
Talia Shire . . . Teresa Santoro
Craig Stevens . . . Asher Berg
Norman Fell . . . Smitty
Lynda Day George . . . Linda Quales
George Maharis . . . Joey Quales
Murray Hamilton . . . Sid Gossett
Van Johnson . . . Marsh Goodwin
Dorothy Malone . . . Irene Goodwin
Andrew Duggan . . . Col. Deiner
Herbert Jefferson, Jr. . . . Roy Dwyer
Kay Lenz . . . Kate
Leigh McCloskey . . . Billy Abbott
Gavan O'Herlihy . . . Phil McGee
Josette Banzet . . . Miss Lenaut
William Smith . . . Anthony Falconetti
Dick Sargent . . . Eddie Heath
Dennis Dugan . . . Claude Tinker
Michael Morgan . . . Wesley Jordache
Dick Butkus . . . Al Fanducci