Rodney Alcala, the serial murderer who became known as the “Dating Game Killer” because of his 1978 appearance on the game show, died July 24 at a hospital near California’s Corcoran state prison at the age of 77.
Alcala’s chilling story provided an early glimpse of how the growth of unscripted television with everyday people would inevitably have a dark side. He appeared on the 1970s syndicated series, but the “bachelorette” that he chose wound up refusing to go out with him, telling producers after the taping that she got “weird vibes coming off him,” according to ABC News.
Just two years after his “Dating Game” appearance, Alcala was sentenced to death row in California for the 1979 murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe. In 2010, he was convicted of five counts of first degree murder for Samsoe’s death as well as the 1977 deaths of 18-year-old Jill Barcomb and 27-year-old Georgia Wixted; the 1978 death of 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb,...
Alcala’s chilling story provided an early glimpse of how the growth of unscripted television with everyday people would inevitably have a dark side. He appeared on the 1970s syndicated series, but the “bachelorette” that he chose wound up refusing to go out with him, telling producers after the taping that she got “weird vibes coming off him,” according to ABC News.
Just two years after his “Dating Game” appearance, Alcala was sentenced to death row in California for the 1979 murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe. In 2010, he was convicted of five counts of first degree murder for Samsoe’s death as well as the 1977 deaths of 18-year-old Jill Barcomb and 27-year-old Georgia Wixted; the 1978 death of 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb,...
- 7/24/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
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