3.100. The Dating Game Killer: The Chilling Case of Rodney Alcala.
- KRIS CALVERT
- Mar 23, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 19
From 1968 until his final arrest in 1979, Rodney Alcala would lure his victims––usually by telling them he wanted to take their photograph—before beating, raping and strangling them until they lost consciousness. He’d then wait for them to revive, only to do it all over again before finally committing murder. It will take decades before he is brought to justice, and many believe for the 12 solved murders attributed to him, there are over a hundred others that remain in cold case files.
Rodney Alcala, the Dating Game Killer was a combination of charm, deception, and brutality. Dubbed “The Dating Game Killer” for his infamous appearance on the popular TV show decades before his crimes fully came to light, Alcala’s story is one of disturbing duality: a man who seemed harmless—an intelligent, charismatic photographer—yet privately harbored one of the darkest killing streaks in modern times.
A Life of Deception
Rodney Alcala was born on August 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas. After his father abandoned the family, his mother moved Rodney and his siblings to Los Angeles. Alcala’s life appeared unremarkable at first—he joined the U.S. Army at 17 but was discharged after a nervous breakdown. This fissure seemed to foreshadow the violence that would soon define his existence.
Alcala pursued photography and even studied film under Hollywood’s Roman Polanski. To many around him, Alcala was charismatic, intelligent, and ambitious. Beneath that surface, however, bubbled predatory tendencies that would leave countless lives shattered.
A Trail of Victims
In 1968, Alcala’s first known crime shook Los Angeles. He lured an eight-year-old girl into his apartment and assaulted her. Though the child survived, Alcala initially escaped severe punishment and fled town. Authorities placed him on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, but he managed to slip through the cracks at multiple points in his early offenses.
What followed through the 1970s and early 1980s was a series of brutal murders targeting young women and girls across California, New York, and potentially beyond. Alcala’s modus operandi often involved tricking women into modeling sessions under the guise of his photography work. Once he lured them in, he would attack, strangle, and sometimes revive them before killing them—sadistically toying with his victims’ lives in ways that prosecutors later described as “a killing game.”
The Dating Game Appearance
In 1978, while already an unidentified predator on the loose, Rodney Alcala made a televised appearance that would later cement his infamy. He was featured as “Bachelor Number One” on the popular TV program The Dating Game.Viewers were none the wiser: here was a man in a fashionable suit, cracking jokes, his demeanor polished, smooth, and even charming. Alcala ended up winning the contest, securing a date with the selected bachelorette. Chillingly, she later refused to go out with him, reportedly finding him “creepy.” That split-second decision may have saved her life.
The fact that a serial predator sat smiling on America’s television screens, fooling audiences, casts Alcala as one of the most disturbing examples of a murderer hiding in plain sight.
Capture and Convictions
By 1979, Alcala’s downfall came with the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, a case that finally brought together the threads of his predation. His conviction was a long legal battle—his first two death sentences were overturned—but in 2010 Alcala was sentenced to death once again after being convicted of multiple murders.
Investigators later connected Alcala to at least seven victims, but experts believe his true toll may number much higher. More than 100 chilling photographs found in his possession depicted unidentified women and girls. Some of those photographed have come forward alive, relieved to have survived encounters with him; others remain unidentified, leading to speculation that his “official” count of murders may barely scratch the surface.
A Monster Behind a Mask
Rodney Alcala’s case remains infamous not only for the brutality of his crimes but for his ability to wear a mask of civility. A highly intelligent man with a 160 IQ, Alcala exploited his charm to disarm victims, employers, and even television producers. He exemplified the frightening truth of serial predators: they often look like anyone else.
Alcala spent his final years on California’s death row at San Quentin State Prison, living long enough to become a dark figure in true crime history. He died in July 2021 at the age of 77.
The Lasting Legacy of The Dating Game Killer
The story of Rodney Alcala forces us to confront unsettling questions: How many lives did he truly take? How did he slip through the system so many times? And most haunting of all—how many predators like him remain undetected, smiling in public while hiding violence behind closed doors?
Alcala left behind not just a horrific legacy of violence, but also a reminder of vigilance. His victims’ families continue to fight for recognition, ensuring that behind the sensationalism of his “Dating Game” title, the focus remains where it should: on the innocent lives stolen by a man who hid in plain sight.
Sources used for this podcast.
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