Woman of the Hour’s real-life Cheryl Bradshaw felt ‘ill’ after meeting serial killer Rodney Alcala on dating show

The real Cheryl Bradshaw felt “sick” after meeting serial killer Rodney Alcala on The Dating Game in September 1978 and refused to meet him again, in a move that likely saved her life.

Anna Kendrick plays Bradshaw in the new Netflix film Woman of the Hour, in which she takes on the role of a participant in The Dating Game, but although the film is based on a true story, some elements are fictionalized because the real woman is largely outside image remains. from the spotlight.

During a 2012 interview with The Sunday TelegraphBradshaw recalled her encounter with the serial killer as she chatted with him backstage on the television show after choosing him from three eligible bachelors to go on a date with.

Bradshaw explained to the publication: “I started feeling sick. He was acting really creepy. I declined his offer. I didn’t want to see him again,” before adding that he made her feel “uncomfortable.”

At the time he appeared on the show, Alcala had already murdered five women, attempted to kill an eight-year-old girl named Tali Shapiro, and was on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted fugitives.

At the time he appeared on the show, Alcala had already murdered five women and was on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted fugitives.

He had also served 34 months for Shapiro’s child molestation and then spent two and a half years in prison for giving drugs to a 13-year-old girl, but The Dating Game didn’t do a background check on him and he went on national television .

Alcala proved to be a hit with audiences and appeared as Bachelor No. 1 (in the film he appears as Bachelor No. 3) and was described as a “successful photographer” who enjoyed skydiving and motorcycle riding in his spare time.

During the real-life episode of The Dating Game, Bradshaw asked the men, “What’s your best time?” to which Alcala replied, “The best time is at night,” before adding that “when it gets really good.”

Bradshaw later asked, “I’m serving you for dinner.” What’s your name and what do you look like?’ and Alcala replied: ‘I’m called “the banana” and I look really good.’

When Bradshaw asked him to be more descriptive, he replied, “Peel me.”

After choosing him as her date, the couple would receive tennis lessons as part of their prize, followed by a trip to Magic Mountain, the Six Flags amusement park in California.

In the film, the duo were supposed to take a trip to Carmel together – but Kendrick’s character changes his mind after a very creepy encounter with the fictional Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto) in the parking lot after they go out for drinks with him. the recording of the TV program.

In a performance in 2021 op 20/20Ellen Metzger, participant coordinator for The Dating Game, recalled how Bradshaw’s excitement toward Alcala turned into a “pretty tepid togetherness” after their first in-person meeting.

Anna Kendrick plays Cheryl Bradshaw in Woman of the Hour, while serial killer Rodney Alcala is played by Daniel Zovatto

The film is based on the American serial killer Rodney Alcala, who is depicted here in court in 2013

Metzger recalled that Bradshaw called the show’s office the day after filming and expressed her concerns.

“She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t date this guy. He has strange feelings. He’s very strange. I don’t feel comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?’ And of course I said, ‘No.'”

Kendrick – who also directed the film – said of Bradshaw: “There is very little public information about the real person, so our Cheryl’s life before The Dating Game is basically an imagined version of a woman in the 1970s.

“And her story became central in uncovering the thematic elements of the pervasive gender issues that were rooted in that era and continue today.”