Michael Rossi (Peyton Place)

Last updated
Ed Nelson as Michael Rossi Ed Nelson.jpg
Ed Nelson as Michael Rossi

Michael Rossi is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Michael Rossi is a teacher and high school principal who had replaced Abner Firth, the preceding teacher and principal who had died of a heart attack. He becomes the love interest of Constance MacKenzie, a woman with a hidden past.

The character of Rossi originally was called Tomas Makris, bearing the name and description of a Laconia resident and co-worker of Metalious's school teacher husband. However, Makris sued for libel, winning an out-of-court settlement for $60,000. Makris was renamed Michael Rossi in later printings, and in the film and TV series which derived from the novel. In editions published in the United Kingdom, he was called Michael Kyros; in Return to Peyton Place , he was named Michael Rossi.

In the 1957 movie Peyton Place , Michael Rossi is played by Lee Philips.

In the TV series Peyton Place , which ran from 1964 to 1969, the character of Dr. Rossi was played by Ed Nelson. Rossi's profession was changed from high school principal to doctor. The former doctor, Matthew Swain, becomes the editor of the Peyton Place Clarion.

In the 1972-1974 daytime series Return to Peyton Place , the role of Dr. Rossi was played by Guy Stockwell.


Related Research Articles

Peyton Place may refer to:

<i>Welcome Back, Kotter</i> American sitcom (1975–1979)

Welcome Back, Kotter is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the series aired on ABC from September 9, 1975, through May 17, 1979. It provided John Travolta with his breakthrough role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Metalious</span> American-French writer (1924–1964)

Grace Metalious was an American author known for her novel Peyton Place, one of the best selling works in publishing history.

<i>Peyton Place</i> (TV series) American prime-time soap opera

Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera that aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964, to June 2, 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Chesterton</span> Character in the TV series Doctor Who

Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell and was one of the members of the programme's first regular cast, appearing in much of the first two seasons from 1963 to 1965. In a film adaptation of one of the serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), he was played by Roy Castle, but with a very different personality and backstory. Ian appeared in 16 stories and 77 episodes. He later returned for a cameo appearance, played once again by Russell, in the 2022 episode "The Power of the Doctor".

<i>Peyton Place</i> (novel) 1956 novel by Grace Metalious

Peyton Place is a 1956 novel by the American author Grace Metalious. Set in New England in the time periods before and after World War II, the novel tells the story of three women who are forced to come to terms with their identity, both as women and as sexual beings, in a small, conservative, gossipy town. Metalious included recurring themes of hypocrisy, social inequities and class privilege in a tale that also includes incest, abortion, adultery, lust and murder. The novel sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release, and it remained on The New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks.

<i>Peyton Place</i> (film) 1957 film by Mark Robson

Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film starring Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Diane Varsi, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, and Terry Moore. Directed by Mark Robson, it follows the residents of a small fictional New England mill town in the years surrounding World War II, where scandal, homicide, suicide, incest, and moral hypocrisy belie its tranquil façade. It is based on Grace Metalious's bestselling 1956 novel of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Nelson</span> American actor, AMPAs member; mayor (1928–2014)

Edwin Stafford Nelson was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series Peyton Place.

<i>Head of the Class</i> American sitcom television series

Head of the Class is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network.

<i>Return to Peyton Place</i> Book by Grace Metalious

Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel Peyton Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance MacKenzie</span> Fictional character

Constance MacKenzie is a fictional character in the 1956 novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone ; and in the daytime soap opera Return to Peyton Place, by Bettye Ackerman and later by Susan Brown.

Selena Cross is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, as well as its sequel, Return to Peyton Place and the films based on the novels.

Marion Partridge is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place and in the subsequent film adaptation. In the film, Marion was played by actress Peg Hillias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Anderson</span> Fictional character in the American 1956 novel Peyton Place

Betty Anderson is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, written by Grace Metalious, as well as the subsequent films and TV series based on the novel. In the film, she was played by actress Terry Moore; and in the TV series, she was portrayed by actress Barbara Parkins; in the short-lived daytime soap opera, she was played by actress Julie Parrish and later Lynn Loring. In a later TV movie, Murder in Peyton Place, Janet Margolin performed the role of Betty.

<i>Return to Peyton Place</i> (TV series) 1972 American TV series or program

Return to Peyton Place is an American daytime serial that aired on NBC from April 3, 1972 to January 4, 1974. The series was a spin-off of the prime time drama series Peyton Place, and not an adaptation of the 1959 novel by Grace Metalious or the 1961 film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Harrington</span> Soap opera character

Rodney "Rod" Harrington is a fictional character in the 1956 Grace Metalious novel Peyton Place, the 1957 film adaptation, and the 1960s television adaptation Peyton Place. He was portrayed by Barry Coe in the film, and by Ryan O'Neal in the TV series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Swain</span> Fictional Character in Peyton Place

Matthew Swain, M.D. is a fictional character in the novel Peyton Place, as well as the movie and TV series of the same name. In the movie, he was played by actor Lloyd Nolan and in the television series, he was played by actor Warner Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Welles</span> Soap opera character

Rachel Welles is a fictional character on the television drama Peyton Place. She was portrayed by actress Leigh Taylor-Young, between 1966 and 1967.

<i>Return to Peyton Place</i> (film) 1961 film by José Ferrer

Return to Peyton Place is a 1961 American drama film in color by De Luxe and CinemaScope, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by José Ferrer, and starring Carol Lynley, Tuesday Weld, Jeff Chandler, Eleanor Parker, Mary Astor, and Robert Sterling. The screenplay by Ronald Alexander is based on the 1959 novel Return to Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and is a sequel to their earlier film Peyton Place (1957).

Murder in Peyton Place is a 1977 American made-for-television mystery-drama film directed by Bruce Kessler. The film is based on the 1964–1969 TV series Peyton Place and it was billed as a reunion movie. It first aired on NBC Monday Night at the Movies on October 3, 1977. It focuses on the mysterious deaths of Rodney Harrington and Allison MacKenzie, as well as a diabolical plot of a powerful person to ruin the community.