‘A Son’s Promise’ a Heart-Tugger

Just when Terry O’Kelley thought nothing more could go wrong--something did.

O’Kelley’s story is told in “A Son’s Promise,” a real heart-tugger starring Rick Schroder that airs tonight at 9 o’clock on ABC.

It is one of those stories that no scriptwriter would dare make up, except it happens to be based on a true story.

Terry, at 15 the oldest of seven brothers living in rural Georgia, promises his dying mother that he will keep the family together.

He does, despite a drunken father, the death of his grandfather, the loss of their home by fire, the loss of his job through misunderstanding and the loss through another fire of what seemed like a possible good source of income, raising chickens.

This is a story of rural America, of old-fashioned values and of incredible adversity overcome. What makes it credible is another fine performance by Schroder, that cute little kid from “The Champ” and “Silver Spoons” who achieved real grown-up status in “Lonesome Dove.”

Schroder, who comes from New York City and admitted “it was a definite stretch for me to play a chicken farmer in Georgia,” met the real Terry O’Kelley during filming.

“He’s a real nice guy. He’s now about 22. The family doesn’t all live together now--they’re older, of course--but they still love each other and they’re still a family.

“I have a great family myself so I know if you don’t have a family you’ve got nothing. Nothing else can take the place of the family--not girlfriends or a career.”

For those who still associate Schroder with “Silver Spoons” and sitcoms, he said: “I don’t like doing movies that are meaningless or unrealistic. I like things with a lot of reality to them. I’m a pretty serious kind of person myself. Things affect me. Some people are numb to life and don’t feel anything, don’t care. . . . “