When American serial killer Rodney Alcala appeared on national TV he had already committed murder at least four times.
One of the most infamous serial killers in the country's history, he would eventually be arrested and sentenced to death in 1980 for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, but at the time the extent of his crimes wasn't known.
Alcala's body count is still not fully known, but police estimate he killed at least dozens of women, with some counts running as high as 130.
But in 1978, two years before the murder conviction, he managed to make an appearance on popular game show The Dating Game, despite a 1972 conviction for raping an eight-year-old girl.
Watching the clip today, knowing that he would go on to repeatedly choke his victims to unconsciousness and wait until they came to before killing them, everything he does says is terrifying...
At the beginning of the Dating Game episode, Lange asks Alcala to say hello so Bradshaw can hear his voice, Alcala tells her, "We're gonna have a great time together, Cheryl."
After host Jim Lange introduces "successful photographer" Alcala, Bradshaw asks him, "What's your best time?" "The best time is at night," he replies, smiling. "That's the only time there is. [Morning and afternoon] are okay, but night time is when it really gets good.
He also answers a question about what he would be called if he were a meal by stating, "I'm called 'The banana' and I look really good. Peel me."
Bradshaw recalled the experience in 2012, when she spoke to The Sunday Telegraph.
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Backstage after the show she realised that Alcala was far from her dream man. The couple won tennis lessons and a trip to Magic Mountain, but Bradshaw declined to go on the date.
"I started to feel ill. He was acting really creepy," she said. "I turned down his offer. I didn't want to see him again."
Alcala's death sentence in the Samsoe murder was overturned twice. But in 2010, he was once again sentenced to death for the murder of five women.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images