Rich Man, Poor Man is a 1976 American televisionminiseries based on the1969 novel of the same name byIrwin Shaw that aired onABC in one or two-hour episodes mostly on Monday nights over seven weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced byUniversal 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 asRoots andShōgun. The miniseries starsPeter Strauss,Nick Nolte andSusan Blakely.

It spawned the sequelRich Man, Poor Man Book II, which aired from September 1976 through March 1977. The network repeated the original series Tuesday nights at 9:00pm from May to June 1977.^[1]

Based on thebest-selling 1969 novel byIrwin Shaw, it spans the period 1945 through the late 1960s and follows the divergent career courses of the impoverishedGerman American Jordache brothers. Rudy (Peter Strauss) is the titular rich man, a well-educated and very ambitiousentrepreneur who triumphs over his background and constructs a corporate and political empire. Poor man Tom (Nick Nolte) is a rebel who eventually turns toboxing to support himself. Axel and Mary are their parents, and Julie Prescott is Rudy's lifelong sweetheart who eventually marries him.

Later, another important character appears: the dangerous and eccentric Falconetti, lifelong nemesis of the Jordache Brothers, who is intent on killing them.

The first series spans a twenty-year period between 1945 and 1965; the second series begins in 1968. The series became a huge success in the countries that aired it.

Dean Riesner wrote all twelve episodes, and direction was shared byDavid Greene andBoris Sagal. The musical score was composed byAlex North.

A&E Home Video released an edited version ofRich Man, Poor Man: The Complete Collection on Region 1 DVD in the United States on September 28, 2010.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRich Man, Poor Man (TV miniseries).

• Rich Man, Poor Man atIMDb

• 1976 American television series debuts
• 1976 American television series endings
• 1970s American television miniseries
• Best Drama Series Golden Globe winners
• Television shows based on American novels
• Television series by Universal Television
• American Broadcasting Company television dramas

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2024
• Commons category link is on Wikidata