''Rich Man, Poor Man Book II'' is an American television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977. A sequel to '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' that had aired the previous season, it focused on the further exploits and conflicts of the Jordache family.

Synopsis

The series began shortly after the death of Tom Jordache. His son Wesley (

Gregg Henry Gregg Lee Henry (born May 6, 1952) is an American character actor and rock, blues and country musician. He is best known for his performance as serial killer Dennis Rader in the made-for-television film '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and for ...

) is now in the care of Tom's brother Rudy ( Peter Strauss), who was seeking a seat in the United States Senate. Also living in the household was Billy, Rudy's stepson, and much of the ongoing storyline concentrated on the tension between the two ambitious boys. Also crucial to the plot was Rudy's protracted battle with Charles Estep (

Peter Haskell Peter Abraham Haskell (October 15, 1934 – April 12, 2010) was an American actor who worked primarily in television. Early years Haskell was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Rose (née Golden) and geophysicist Norman Haskell. He att ...

), the mysterious

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

owner of Tricorp. Returning from the original series was Anthony Falconetti ( William Smith), who had served time for the murder of Tom Jordache and was now free and intent on disposing of Rudy as well. At the same time, Falconetti firmly intends to eliminate Rudy, Wesley and all the friends of the Jordache family and this time it will not be enough to ignore it to escape him. CAST SIMILARITIES AND CHANGES: Gregg Henry, as Wesley Jordache, the son of slain Tom Jorache (Nick Nolte) replaced Nick Nolte's character-type, being content with having nothing but still trying to survive while Bill Bixby and Susan Blakely's son Billy, played by James Carroll Jordan, the son-in-law of Peter Strauss's Rudy Jordache, is desperately trying to become rich, like Rudy did in the original (but without much success). William Smith as the infamous Anthony Falconetti, who appeared in the last four episodes of the original miniseries' 12 total, is not only one of two (including corporate tycoon Peter Haskell) primary antagonists, but is one of the main characters this time. Susan Blakely, the ingenue in the original series, dies early in this sequel, and her leading lady role is shared by Wesley's working class girlfriend Romana, played by Penny Peyser, and Cassie Yates as Annie Adams, a Janis Joplin type up-and-coming singer who Billy is involved with (while he's also secretly involved with Ramona). Meanwhile Peter Strauss's Rudy has two love interests: assertive, progressive lawyer Maggie Porter, played by Susan Sullivan (whose underage daughter Jenny Beck becomes involved with Wesley), and, returning from the original, Nick Nolte's widow Kate, played by Kay Lenz. So while Peter Strauss as Rudy Jordache is the central character, the titular "Rich Man Poor Man" premise has him overseeing the new young characters, somewhat filling in the shoes of wealthy Strauss and struggling Nolte.

Primary cast

* Peter Strauss . . . Senator Rudy Jordache *

. . . Wesley Jordache * Susan Blakely . . . as Julie Prescott * James Carroll Jordan . . . Billy Abbott * William Smith . . . as Anthony Falconetti *

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. . . Roy Dwyer * Kay Lenz . . . Kate Jordache *

. . . Charles Estep * Susan Sullivan . . . Maggie Porter * Kimberly Beck . . . Diane Porter *

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

. . . Senator Paxton *

Laraine Stephens Laraine Stephens is an American actress. Stephens was born in Oakland, California. She studied at both Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles. A coloratura soprano, Stephens performed in operas before moving in ...

. . . Claire Estep *

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

. . . John Scott *

Penny Peyser Penelope Allison "Penny" Peyser is an American actress, writer, and filmmaker. Early life Peyser was born in Irvington, New York, and attended Irvington High School, where she starred in student musical theatre productions. She is the daughter ...

. . . Ramona Scott * Van Johnson . . . Marsh Goodwin *

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

. . . Duncan Calderwood * Tim McIntire . . . Brad Knight *

Davey Davison Davey Davison (born May 19, 1943 as Lillian M. Davis) is a retired American actress. She appeared in the following television series: ''Route 66'', '' Shannon'', '' The New Breed'', '' The Eleventh Hour'', ''Empire'', ''General Hospital'', ''P ...

. . . Virginia Calderwood * Dick Sargent . . . Eddie Heath * Dimitra Arliss . . . Marie Falconetti *

Cassie Yates Cassandra Yates (born March 2, 1951) is an American actress known for her performances on television. Early years Yates was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. Her mother named her after the character Cassandra portrayed by Betty Field in '' ...

. . . Annie Adams * Sorrell Booke . . . Phil Greenberg * Colleen Camp . . . Vickie St. John * Peter Donat . . . Arthur Raymond *

G.D. Spradlin Gervase Duan Spradlin (August 31, 1920 – July 24, 2011) was an American actor, attorney, and businessman. Known for his distinctive accent and voice, he often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film pro ...

. . . Senator Dillon *

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz ...

. . . Senator Jones * Jason Kincaid . . . Ken Catani * Ken Swofford . . . Al Barber * Lynne Randall . . . Lucy * Larry Kert . . . Danny Miller * Arlo Guthrie . . . Himself * Willie Aames . . . Wesley Jordache (Age 13)

Episode list

Reception

Las Vegas and Aspen, playgrounds of the rich and famous and powerful, were two of the settings for the series. Filled with soap opera-like touches, it was far more melodramatic than the original and not as successful critically or in the ratings. The series maintained a popular following in the UK and Europe and was released on a 6-Disc DVD set by Universal-Playback on June 18, 2007. The US DVD set contained both the original mini-series and the weekly series and was released for the first time by A & E Home Video on September 28, 2010.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *{{epguides, id=RichManPoorManBookII 1976 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming 1970s American drama television series 1970s American television miniseries Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Michigan