His first play, bury the dead 1936, has become an antiwar classic. With peter strauss, nick nolte, susan blakely, dorothy mcguire. His role was so popular, he would also reprise it in the weekly series that. Who was the actor that played falcon eddie on rich man. I must have been only a kid when this stirring tv drama hit the screens, featuring a smouldering young nick nolte in his odd, cutoff trainingtop as the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, and that guy, cant think of his name, refuse to goggle it, ill get it, the dark, smouldering. Even in 1976, television was considered by many movie actors as a step down, but rich man, poor man attracted them for its groundbreaking distinction and popularity of shaws novel. Making money entails a lot more than predicting which way the stock or. Finally out on dvd, rich man, poor man is the epitome of the. I totally enjoyed the books far better than the miniseries and when i saw them in ebooks i jumped on the chance to add them to my e.
As played by william smith, the evil falconetti is one of the most memorable villains in television history. With the story spanning ages 16 to 50, the 35yearold nolte. Rich man, poor man tv miniseries 1976 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. They seem as different as, well, a rich man and a poor man, but even peter takes a swig out of the bottle as they dash to face mom in the hospital.
Irwin shaw 191984 was an acclaimed, awardwinning author who grew up in new york city and graduated from brooklyn college in 1934. Rich man, poor man by irwin shaw overdrive rakuten. It begins with rudy jordache apprehending the man who killed his brother, falconetti. Rich man, poor man, he portrayed anthony falconetti. Abc promo rich man, poor man book ii 1977 duration. Gretchen, the oldest, rudolph, the responsible one, and thomas, the troublemaker. Oh, the rich man gets a lawyer and the lawyer pleads his case, while the poor man asks for sympathy but of that there is now trace. It was made into one of the first primetime tv miniseries, and starred nick. Compared to the young lions, rich man, poor man is a major disappointment. Rich man, poor man is a 1976 american television miniseries based on the 1969 novel of the. Smith has been described as the greatest badguy character actor of our time. Rich man, poor man was notable for its cameo roles by classicera movie stars, including dorothy mcguire, van johnson, ray milland, gloria grahame and barry sullivan. Outstanding lead actress for a single appearance in a drama or comedy.
My favorite tv screen villain would be falconetti from the rich man poor man miniseries and rich man poor man book ii. Falconetti from rich man, poor man one of the evillest bad guys. A memorable novel by one of americas greatest twentiethcentury authors, rich man, poor man offers a gripping ride through america between the second world war and vietnam. Mov00007 rich man poor man, william smith, falconetti youtube. Book i of rich man, poor man follows the ups and downs of the jordache. Actor william smith the official website the poetic. I have had dozens of requests to run this piece again or for permission to reprint it for various business organizations. I really enjoyed working with nick nolte and peter strauss. Returning from the original series was anthony falconetti william smith, who. Rich man, poor man is a 1976 american television miniseries based on the 1969 novel of the same name by irwin shaw that aired on abc in one or twohour episodes mostly on monday nights over seven weeks, beginning february 1. The poetic works of william smith is a collection of his poetry, photos spanning his life and films, his filmography and a biography of one of the. The miniseries was a cultural phenomenon on late 70s and early 80s television. Rich man poor man, believe it was the first mini series ever on. Dorothy mcguire has made it through all of rich man, poor man, including the weird character transformation, and she certainly deserves the hospital deathbed scene you knew was coming the.
It ended with cable television and the internet pulling away focus, but thats a story for 1995 or so, not 1976. He went on to write several more plays, more than a dozen screenplays, two works of nonfiction, dozens of short stories for which he won two o. Rich man, poor man was the first hugely successful tv miniseries that was adapted from a novel and broadcast on tv over several weeks time. What starts off as absurdly salacious trash a young virgin must choose between getting tagteamed by horny soldiers and becoming a middleaged mans mistress. Peter strauss is now a silver fox i was in lust with him during rich man and i would still do him today photo linked dated november 20. Overview of the actors in the series rich man, poor man. Based on irwin shaws bestselling novel and featuring an allstar cast including edward asner, bill bixby, susan blakely, and robert reed, the series focuses in particular on. It was produced by universal television and was the second time programming of this nature had been attempted. Nick nolte and peter strauss as the jordache brothers in the tv miniseries rich man, poor man, based on irwin shaws novel.
An examination of the trials and tribulations of the jordache family, from. The actor, william smith, who played falconetti in rich man poor man and appeared in any which way you can, laredo, conan the barbarian, and red. Now available for the first time on dvd, rich man, poor man. William smiths role as the evil falconetti, and peter strauss as his nemesis rudy jordache. Rich man, poor man by richard russell the most popular piece ive published in 40 years of writing these letters was entitled, rich man, poor man. Oh, the rich man gets acquitted while the poor man gets the rope. Robert reed played himself in rich man, poor man a closeted gay man in lust with a younger man. So if youre rich dont worry but the poor must give up hope. The dramatic conclusion of rich man, poor man book 1 as it is now called after the success of this miniseries, a weekl. Watch rich man, poor man season 1, episode 12 chapter 12. Rich man, poor man 1976 chapter 12the end and insights. Rich man, poor man is a 1976 american television miniseries based on the 1969 novel of the same name by irwin shaw that aired on abc in one or twohour epis. I actually read both books rich man, poor man and beggarman, thief in hard back many years ago before the 2 books were made into a tv miniseries.
Oh, the rich man gets an apology while the poor man gets ten years. During book one, chapter nine, tom jordache is on a ship in the new york bay in 1962, in the. William smith is one of the most prolific and popular cult actors of our time and is considered one of the screens alltime great actors. Rich man, poor man book ii is an american television miniseries that aired on abc. With the massive success of rich man, poor man followed by the even more popular roots a year later, it became a rite of passage for television executives to find a thick book and a match it with a classy cast for a rating bonanza. The rich man poor man beggar man thief everyone claim that them are the chief the rich man buy the poor mans life. Later, another important character appears, the dangerous and eccentric falconetti. Smith was 89 years old when he died on march 20, 2018 born september 18. William smith is probably best known for his portrayal as falconetti in rich man, poor man 1976. In 1976, rich man, poor man was staggeringly new, full of vivacity and emotion, setting rules for an entire genre no one knew would necessarily follow.
Its success opened the door for other literary works that were to massive for a two hour movie adaptation to be offered to mass audiences in a. But it was in 1976 that bill would fully secure his place in the villain hall of fame with his terrifying portrayal of the evil falconetti in the landmark television miniseries rich man, poor man. Falconetti so dominates memories of the miniseries that its hard to believe he only appeared in 3 of the 12 onehour episodes which originally ran in febmarch of 1976. Peter strauss and susan blakely in rich man, poor man 1976 nick nolte and dorothy mcguire in rich man.
Mov00007 rich man poor man, william smith, falconetti. Us actor william smith laredo, red dawn is 85 years old born march 24, 1933. Rich man, poor man may not have been the first miniseries, but its success in 1976 gave the format legs and set the template for many that followed. Rich man, poor man 1976 chapter 10 miniseries marathon. At the time, rich man, poor man was the absolute cutting edge of technology, if you will, in presenting televised drama, and its appearance created a tsunami in the nielsens thats difficult to comprehend in todays tv world with just twelve episodes in february and march of 1976, rich man, poor man still managed to come in as the secondmost. Chapter iii trailer billy moves in with wes and rudy in whitby, and wes begins work at rudys new electronics plant, where he. Rich man, poor man by eddie james and tommy woodard what this skit is about two strangers who meet at an airport just before thanksgiving. Rich man poor man 1976 tv series sign in to like videos, comment, and subscribe. Falconettia character who made such an impression that the actor was harassed. The complete collection brings together all 34 episodes from book i and ii of this classic 70s series. It seems like one has it all while the other has nothing, but in the end we see that their roles may be reversed.