A serial killer hid in plain sight during a famous television appearance in the 1970s before going on to kill at least seven people. Rodney Alcala was already a registered sex offender when he won a date on “The Dating Game” in 1978. Unknown to producers at the time, Alcala would later be convicted of seven murders across California and New York. However, authorities believe his total victim count may be over 130 people.
While appearing charming on TV, Alcala’s dating contestant Cheryl Bradshaw had an unsettling feeling about him. Her intuition told her not to go on the planned date, which included tennis lessons and a trip to an amusement park. Bradshaw contacted show coordinators to cancel, saying “There’s weird vibes that are coming off him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable.” That decision likely saved her life, as Alcala is now considered one of America’s most prolific serial killers.
Investigators now know Alcala was actively preying on victims during his TV appearance. Without today’s standard background checks, producers unwittingly gave a platform to a dangerous predator.
After the show, Alcala fled to New York City under an alias. There, records show he worked for the same company as another notorious serial killer named Richard Cottingham. While the two murderers did not directly cross paths, it adds to the disturbing circumstances around Alcala’s crimes.
After a lengthy investigation and trial, Alcala was eventually sentenced to death in California for seven murders between 1977-1979. However, investigators link him to many more unsolved deaths across multiple states. When police searched Alcala’s storage unit, they found about 1,700 unidentified photos of women and girls, along with jewelry taken from victims. The full scope of his crimes may never be known.
The case reveals how even during a more “innocent” time in the 1970s, monsters could hide in open view on a popular TV show. It also proves the importance of listening to inner warnings, like the instincts that saved Cheryl Bradshaw’s life decades ago. Alcala’s TV appearance underscored how serial killers evolve to infiltrate all areas of public life, a lesson that still carries impact today.