Rich Man, Poor Man
Genre: Miniseries
Started: 1976
Country: United States of America
Starring: Nick Nolte, Peter Strauss, Kay Lenz, Susan Blakely, Van Johnson, Bill Bixby, Talia Shire, Lynda Day George, Gregg Henry, Dorothy McGuire, Ed Asner, Kim Darby, Gloria Grahame, James Carroll Jordan, Steve Allen, Craig Stevens
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 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.
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
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