Sunday, December 20, 2009

Poor Rodney Harrington


I have been ensconced in the DVDs of the first season of Peyton Place, the first nighttime TV soap. Back in 1964, Rodney Harrington, played by Ryan O'Neal, was a heartthrob. The rich, handsome playboy-college freshman, pursued by brunette Betty even as he pursues blonde Allison.

It's so strange and sad to see him as he was, and how he is now. I think it's more than just time that has taken its toll on O'Neal.

As a child, I was forbidden to watch Peyton Place, which means I snuck to friends' homes to catch it. I had a crush on Norman, the more sensitive second Harrington boy, played by Christopher Connelly and shown at the center of the photo. He didn't have a girlfriend in the first season, but I recall that he eventually married a girl named Rita from the other side of the tracks.

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