Beggarman, Thief
Beggarman, Thief is a 1977 novel written by Irwin Shaw. It was a sequel to his 1970 bestseller Rich Man, Poor Man and focuses on the surviving Jordache siblings, Gretchen and Rudolph; their deceased brother Thomas' teenage son Wesley Jordache; and Gretchen's adult son Billy Abbott.
The miniseries adapted from the original novel had a 1976-77 sequel entitled Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, broadcast prior to the publication of Beggarman, Thief and was not based on the second novel.
Adaptation
A 3-hour television adaptation of Beggarman, Thief followed in 1979 on NBC, with different actors playing the same roles as the original ABC miniseries of Rich Man, Poor Man.;Starring
- Jean Simmons as Gretchen Burke, Tom's sister
- Glenn Ford as David Donnelly, Gretchen's producer
- Tovah Feldshuh as Monika Wolner, Billy's lover
- and Andrew Stevens as Billy Abbott, Gretchen's son, replacing James Carroll Jordan from the original miniseries sequel
- Lynn Redgrave as Kate Jordache, Tom's widow, replacing Kay Lenz from the original miniseries
- Bo Hopkins as Bunny Dwyer, Tom's first mate
- and introducing Tom Nolan as Wesley Jordache, Tom's son, replacing Gregg Henry from the original miniseries sequel