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Monday, February 1, 2021

This Day in TV History: Big(foot) night for ABC

On this night 45 years ago, after dispensing with an episode of Swiss Family Robinson, ABC presents a night of spectaculars.  First up, part 1 of The Six Million Dollar Man's fabled Bigfoot episode. "The Secret of Bigfoot" features Stefanie Powers, Severn Darden, and even a cameo by Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers.  Of course the incomparable Andre the Giant plays Bigfoot, who returns in several other episodes in the series' run.

After Bigfoot, it's a big event as ABC debuts epic miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. The 12-parter with Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, and Ed Asner is an adaptation of a 1969 Irwin Shaw novel.  The series goes on to be a smash for the network, picking up awards as well as viewers and paving the way for the miniseries boom that included Roots. A sequel titled Book II premieres in September of that same year:



Other BOTNS favorites in the huge cast: Robert Reed, Norman Fell, and Bill Bixby. Dick Sargent has a role, but not Dick York (see last week's Mailbag episode)..



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