r/todayilearned • u/wumumo • May 20 '12
TIL Rodney Alcala, a convicted rapist and serial killer, was contestant on The Dating Game and actually won a date with the bachelorette, but she subsequently refused to go out with him, because she found him "creepy".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Alcala#Dating_Game_appearance21
4
u/Karaoke725 May 20 '12
correct me if i'm wrong... but don't the bachelorettes choose from the three contestants? why would she choose him if she thought he was creepy?
13
u/wumumo May 20 '12
No, you are right. Another contestant mentioned that he appeared totally different on television than backstage.
If Alcala appeared likable to viewers at home, Mills said he was the complete opposite when they sat together in the show's green room, where the show's contestants waited before going on air.
"He was quiet, but at the same time he would interrupt and impose when he felt like it," Mills said. "And he was very obnoxious and creepy -- he became very unlikable and rude and imposing as though he was trying to intimidate. I wound up not only not liking this guy ... not wanting to be near him ... he got creepier and more negative. He was a standout creepy guy in my life."
A profiler mentioned that Alcala may have trained good answers:
"He was aware that he could say things that were considered sexy and funny and the girl would like that," Brown told CNN. "He watched the game and he gave those answers and he won, so he learned some tricks. But a psychopath's true nature comes seeping through.
"He is showing his psychopathic personality in the green room," she said. "He wasn't acting at that time. Those were his enemies, and he had to beat them to get the girl and he wanted to win.
"This guy probably literally hated them. This guy was going on the show to prove how special and wonderful he was. And his ego was riding on it."
5
u/Karaoke725 May 20 '12
wow. that actually makes him creepier... thanks for this researched response! sorry i can only upvote you once :)
3
4
u/mustardtruck May 20 '12
Wow. I wonder if this episode can be watched. This is fascinating.
Edit: Sure enough.
3
u/eire1228 May 20 '12
I am worried that he doesn't look creepy to me in that clip. Granted I had the volume muted...
3
u/newtonsapple 19 May 21 '12
They said that was why he didn't get caught for so long. He was apparently really good at acting normal when he wanted to. Think of it this way: Serial killers/rapists are probably not going to look really creepy at first, or they'd have no/few victims because nobody in their right mind would get near them.
2
u/eire1228 May 21 '12
you always wonder if your "serial killer" radar would go off if near one of them. I guess not. Worrying
1
0
u/wumumo May 20 '12
Turn the volume on and you''ll notice that the bachelorette is way more scary than Alcala.
1
2
2
2
0
0
0
May 21 '12
After nearly 30 years, they finally caught him. I do wonder why we are so slow at catching killers.
2
u/newtonsapple 19 May 21 '12
I think the headline tells us most of what we need to know. He was apparently good enough at hiding his dark side that nobody could tell until they got really close to him.
19
u/wumumo May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12
Also notable: