ANNA Kendrick’s powerful movie Woman of the Hour shows the horrifying true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala.
What is even more shocking about the Netflix film is that the murderer was allowed to appear on The Dating Game. Here’s the story of the man who sat next to him on the show, Jed Mills AKA Bachelor No.2.
Serial killer Alcala took part on the show alongside Jed[/caption]
In September 1978, serial killer Rodney Alcala competed on The Dating Game.
The murderer’s appearance on the show, unbeknown to the producers, was right in midst of his killing spree.
Hosted by the late Jim Lange, The Dating Game was hugely popular across the States and ran from 1965 until 1999.
The matchmaking series saw a single woman ask questions to three potential dates, who were hidden behind a screen.
She then picked a man depending on which answers to her questions she liked the most.
On Alcala’s episode of The Dating Game, Cheryl Bradshaw was the single woman, asking the questions – and she picked him.
However, after a “creepy” encounter with him backstage, she pulled out of the date.
This decision probably saved her life, as he was convicted of being a serial killer just one year later.
Seat from hell
One person who knows this story all too well, is Jed Mills.
At the time, he was an actor looking for work, so he signed up to the show and was Bachelor No.2.
This meant he was sat in the middle of the trio of men, and was also next to killer Alcala.
In an interview with ABC’s 20/20 in 2021, he described Alcala as “creepy” and said he had “bizarre views.”
“I was really surprised he won,” recalled Jed. “I didn’t believe his smile. I didn’t believe his charm and I didn’t like him.”
He went on: “I was surprised that I wasn’t picked because I know the other guy didn’t do well, and I didn’t like what Rodney did.”
Rodney was kind of quiet. I remember him because I told my brother about this one guy who was kind of good-looking but kind of creepy.
Jed Mills
Jed said he spent more than two hours with Alcala sitting in ABC’s green room, where he traded stories with him and the other bachelor.
However, he recalled how Alcala was a “man of few words”.
“Rodney was kind of quiet,” he said. “I remember him because I told my brother about this one guy who was kind of good-looking but kind of creepy.”
Jed added: “He was always looking down and not making eye contact.
“Every once in awhile he would spit out things then go back to his aloofness. He was a kind of a creepy guy.”
Cheryl Bradshaw chose Alcala to be her suitor after the episode but called off their date when she got creeped out[/caption]
Anna Kendrick plays the role of Cheryl in her film, Woman of the Hour[/caption]
Woman of the Hour
Jed’s story features in Anna Kendrick‘s directorial debut, Netflix‘s movie Woman of the Hour.
In the film, he is played by Jedidiah Goodacre, and scenes show him talking to Alcala backstage and being visibly creeped out by him.
In the film, actress Anna portrays Cheryl Bradshaw, whose encounter with danger is immortalized in the unsettling episode of The Dating Game.
In the Netflix movie, Jed is seen talking to Alcala in the green room, about who’s going to get to “win” a date Cheryl.
Alcala ends the conversation by saying, “I always get the girl,” in a disturbing remark.
This eerie scene actually happened in real life and is based on an interview that Jed gave with ABC’s 20/20.
Evil Rodney Alcala’s victims
During his reign of terror between 1968 to 1978 it is strongly believed Rodney Alcala murdered over a 100 people.
However the serial killer was only convicted of eight murders.
Alcala’s victims were:
- Cornelia Crilley – Alcala’s killing spree started with Cornelia Crilley, a 23-year-old flight attendant living in New York.
- Jill Barcomb – On November 9, 1977, Alcala brutally murdered Jill when she was just 18-years-old.
- Charlotte Lamb – On June 24, 1978, the 31-year-old legal secretary from Santa Monica, was found dead in the laundry room of the apartment complex.
- Jill Parenteau – The 21-year-old was killed in her Burbank apartment in 1979.
- Robin Samsoe – Robin was just 12-years-old when she was murdered on June 20, 1979.
- Ellen Jane Hover – Ellen was just 23-years-old when she disappeared without a trace on July 15, 1977 and murdered by Alcala.
- Georgia Wixted – On December 16, 1977, 27-year-old nurse Georgia was discovered dead in her Malibu apartment.
The people who were attacked by Alcala and survived are:
- Tali Shapiro was rescued by bystander Donald Haines in 1968.
- Monique Hoyt – Monique was 15-years-old when she was attacked by Alcala on Valentines Day in February 1979 – luckily she managed to escape.
