A dashing, light-haired, leading man, mostly in TV-movies and miniseries and often playing characters with an upper-crust air, Peter Strauss rose to fame as Rudy Jordache, the immigrant's son destined to fulfill the American dream in one of the first miniseries, "Rich Man, Poor Man" (ABC, 1976). He resumed his Emmy-nominated role as Senator Jordache in the year-long sequel, "Rich Man, Poor Man--Book II" (ABC, 1976-77).

Born in New York City and raised in the upscale suburb of Croton-on-the-Hudson, Strauss was focused on acting from an early age and appeared in productions of "As You Like It"