Rich Man, Poor Man 

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

Stars:

Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, Susan Blakely

Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter Strauss	...	Rudy Jordache 9 episodes, 1976
Nick Nolte	...	Tom Jordache 9 episodes, 1976
Susan Blakely	...	Julie Prescott 9 episodes, 1976
Dorothy McGuire	...	Mary Jordache 7 episodes, 1976
Tim McIntire	...	Brad Knight 6 episodes, 1976
Ray Milland	...	Duncan Calderwood 5 episodes, 1976
Robert Reed	...	Teddy Boylan 5 episodes, 1976
Bill Bixby	...	Willie Abbott 4 episodes, 1976
Norman Fell	...	Smitty 4 episodes, 1976
Lawrence Pressman	...	Bill Denton 4 episodes, 1976
Helen Craig	...	Martha 4 episodes, 1976
Kim Darby	...	Virginia Calderwood 3 episodes, 1976
Murray Hamilton	...	Sid Gossett 3 episodes, 1976
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Roy Dwyer 3 episodes, 1976
Van Johnson	...	Marsh Goodwin 3 episodes, 1976
William Smith	...	Falconetti 3 episodes, 1976
Talia Shire	...	Teresa Santoro 3 episodes, 1976
Edward Asner	...	Axel Jordache 2 episodes, 1976
Dorothy Malone	...	Irene Goodwin 2 episodes, 1976
Dick Sargent	...	Eddie Heath / ... 2 episodes, 1976
Eddie Barth	...	Papadakis 2 episodes, 1976
Craig Stevens	...	Asher Berg 2 episodes, 1976
Nate Esformes	...	Alsie 2 episodes, 1976
Jo Ann Harris	...	Gloria Bartley 2 episodes, 1976
Harvey Jason	...	Pinky 2 episodes, 1976
Charles Tyner	...	Matusik 2 episodes, 1976
Allen Price	...	Billy 2 episodes, 1976
Walter Lott	...	Mr. McKinley / ... 2 episodes, 1976
Anthony James	...	Wayne 2 episodes, 1976
George Brenlin	...	Barry 2 episodes, 1976
Terence Locke	...	O'Hara 2 episodes, 1976
W.T. Zacha	...	Third Mate 2 episodes, 1976
Bernie Kuby	...	Postman 2 episodes, 1976
Mike Evans	...	Arnold Simms 2 episodes, 1976
Eric Friedman	...	Billy Abbott 2 episodes, 1976

Storyline

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

---

Plot Keywords:

repetition in title | family relationships | tv mini series | johny falconetti | based on novel | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rich Man, Poor Man

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film that Tommy Jordache and Claude Tinker watched at the Port Phillip cinema on VE Night was Wake Island (1942)

---

Goofs

During Book One, Chapter Nine, Tom Jordache is on a ship in the New York Bay in 1962, in the background you can plainly see the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Center were in August, 1966.

---

Quotes

Mary Jordache: [to Tom] It takes a lot of pain and love to raise a boy, maybe I gave so much to Rudy, there wasn't enough left over for you.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1999)

User Reviews

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.