# Rich Man, Poor Man Book II

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC 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.
Due to the popularity of the first series this was rushed out as the sequel before the author Irwin Shaw had even written a "Book 2" sequel.

## Synopsis

The series began shortly after the death of Tom Jordache. His son Wesley (Gregg Henry) 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), the mysterious billionaire 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

Davey Davison replaces Kim Darby as Virginia Calderwood. Peter Strauss, Susan Blakely, Herbert Jefferson Jr., Van Johnson, Kay Lenz, Tim McIntre, Ray Millard, Dick Sargent and William Smith reprise their roles from the original series.
| Actor | Role |
| Starring ||
| Peter Strauss | Rudy Jordache |
| Special guest star ||
| Susan Blakely | Julie Prescott |
| Introducing ||
| Gregg Henry | Wesley Jordache |
| James Carroll Jordan | Billy Abbott |
| Guest stars ||
| Dimitra Arliss | Maria Falconetti |
| Davey Davison | Virginia Calderwood |
| Herbert Jefferson Jr. | Roy Dwyer |
| Van Johnson | Marsh Goodwin |
| Kay Lenz | Kate Jordache |
| Tim McIntire | Brad Knight |
| Ray Milland | Duncan Calderwood |
| Claudette Nevins | Mrs. Martindale |
| William Redfield | Mr. Martindale |
| Dick Sargent | Eddie Heath |
| William Smith | Anthony Falconetti |
| Susan Sullivan | Maggie Porter |
| John Anderson | John "Scotty" Scott |
| Sorrell Booke | Phil Greenberg |
| Peter Haskell | Charles Estep |
| Penny Peyser | Ramona Scott |
| Larry Kert | Danny Miller |
| Arlo Guthrie | Himself |
| Cassie Yates | Annie Adams |
| Kimberly Beck | Diane Porter |
| Peter Donat | Arthur Raymond |
| Laraine Stephens | Claire Estep |
| Lynn Carlin | Sarah Hunt |
| Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood | Mrs. Hunt |
| Russell Johnson | Detective |
| George Gaynes | Max Vincent |
| Dennis James | Telethon Host |
| G. D. Spradlin | Senator Dillon |
| Barry Sullivan | Senator Paxton |
| Philip Abbott | John Franklin |
| Ken Swofford | Al Barber |
| Richard McKenzie | |
| David Sheiner | |
| Nehemiah Persoff | Charles Dietrich |

## Episode list

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Chapter I" | Lou Antonio | Millard Lampell | September 21, 1976 (1976-09-21) |
| 2 | "Chapter II" | Alex Segal | Ann Beckett | September 28, 1976 (1976-09-28) |
| 3 | "Chapter III" | Bill Bixby | Robert Presnell, Jr. | October 5, 1976 (1976-10-05) |
| 4 | "Chapter IV" | David Friedkin | Millard Lampell | October 19, 1976 (1976-10-19) |
| 5 | "Chapter V" | Harry Falk | Ann Beckett | October 26, 1976 (1976-10-26) |
| 6 | "Chapter VI" | James Sheldon | Millard Lampell | November 9, 1976 (1976-11-09) |
| 7 | "Chapter VII" | Harry Falk | Robert Presnell, Jr. | November 16, 1976 (1976-11-16) |
| 8 | "Chapter VIII" | Joan Darling | Elizabeth Wilson | November 23, 1976 (1976-11-23) |
| 9 | "Chapter IX" | Jules Irving | Millard Lampell | November 30, 1976 (1976-11-30) |
| 10 | "Chapter X" | Karen Arthur | Elizabeth Wilson | December 7, 1976 (1976-12-07) |
| 11 | "Chapter XI" | Jules Irving | Ann Beckett | December 21, 1976 (1976-12-21) |
| 12 | "Chapter XII" | Ted Post | Millard Lampell | December 28, 1976 (1976-12-28) |
| 13 | "Chapter XIII" | Jules Irving | Michael Gleason | January 4, 1977 (1977-01-04) |
| 14 | "Chapter XIV" | Ted Post | Elizabeth Wilson & Ann Beckett | January 11, 1977 (1977-01-11) |
| 15 | "Chapter XV" | Jules Irving | Michael Gleason | January 18, 1977 (1977-01-18) |
| 16 | "Chapter XVI" | Paul Stanley | Michael Gleason | February 1, 1977 (1977-02-01) |
| 17 | "Chapter XVII" | Jules Irving | Ann Beckett | February 8, 1977 (1977-02-08) |
| 18 | "Chapter XVIII" | Bill Bixby | Michael Gleason | February 15, 1977 (1977-02-15) |
| 19 | "Chapter XIX" | Jules Irving | Robert Hamilton | February 22, 1977 (1977-02-22) |
| 20 | "Chapter XX" | James Sheldon | Ann Beckett | March 1, 1977 (1977-03-01) |
| 21 | "Chapter XXI" | Jules Irving | Michael Gleason | March 8, 1977 (1977-03-08) |

## 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

| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Episode from a Television Series | Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter XV") | Nominated |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series – Night | Bill Bixby (for "Chapter III") | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series | Susan Blakely (for "Chapter I") | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Film Editing in a Drama Series | Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter III") | Nominated |
| TP de Oro | Best Foreign Series | Best Foreign Series | 3rd Place |
| TP de Oro | Best Foreign Actor | Peter Strauss | Won |
| TP de Oro | Most Popular Personage | William Smith | 2nd Place |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Episodic Drama | Millard Lampell | Nominated |