![Twenty-One-Barry-Van-Doren-1957](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Twenty-One-Barry-Van-Doren-1957.jpg)
The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the
producers and contestants of several popular American
television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the shows’ outcomes while still attempting to deceive the public into believing that these shows were objective and fair competitions. Producers fixed the shows sometimes with the free consent of contestants and out of various motives: improving
ratings, greed, and the lack of regulations prohibiting such conspiracy in game show productions.
The scandals took place at a time when television was still emerging as a medium and had yet to become the established cultural force in American society that it is today. When the behavior of the producers and contestants was exposed, the public reacted with shock. Many expressed concern about the potential for the young medium of television to influence society in negative ways.
In response to the scandals, the government was widely pressured to impose stricter regulations on broadcasters. As a direct consequence,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
amended the
Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit networks from prearranging the outcomes of quiz shows. In the United States, it has since become standard industry practice for game show producers to monitor their own shows closely for cheating and to ensure fairness in play and compliance with broadcasting law to the highest degree possible.
Background
The popularity of radio
quiz shows
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities ...
between 1938 and 1956 led to the creation of television quiz shows, which became the successors to their radio antecedents. In 1954, the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled that radio and television quiz shows could give prizes to contestants, provided that they did not contribute any of their own money.
In September 1956, the
Jack Barry-hosted game show ''
Twenty-One'' premiered on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, its first show being played legitimately with no manipulation of the game by the producers at all. That initial broadcast was, in the words of co-producer
Dan Enright
Daniel Enright (né Ehrenreich; August 30, 1917 – May 22, 1992) was an American television producer, primarily of game shows. Enright worked with Jack Barry from the 1940s until Barry's death in 1984. They were partners in creating programs for ...
, "a dismal failure", as the two contestants were so lacking in the required knowledge that they answered a large number of the questions incorrectly. Show sponsor
Geritol
Geritol is a United States trademarked name for various dietary supplements, past and present. Geritol is a brand name for several vitamin complexes plus iron or multimineral products in both liquid form and tablets, containing from 9.5 to 18&nb ...
, upon seeing this opening-night performance, reportedly became furious with the results and said in no uncertain terms that they did not want to see a repeat performance.
Three months into its run, ''Twenty-One'' featured a contestant,
Herb Stempel
Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged ...
, who had been coached by Enright to allow his opponent,
Charles Van Doren
Charles Lincoln Van Doren (February 12, 1926 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the corr ...
, to win the game. Stempel took the fall as requested. A year later, Stempel told the ''
New York Journal-American
:''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal''
The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
''s
Jack O'Brian
John Dennis Patrick O'Brian (August 16, 1914 – November 5, 2000) was an entertainment journalist best known for his longtime role as a television critic for ''New York Journal American''.
Career
After the death of Dorothy Kilgallen, his co ...
that his winning run as champion on the series had been choreographed to his advantage, and that the show's producer then ordered him to purposely lose his championship to Van Doren. With no proof, an article was never printed.
Stempel's statements gained more credibility when fixing in another game, ''
Dotto
''Dotto'' was a 1958 American television game show that was a combination of a general knowledge quiz and the children's game connect the dots. Jack Narz served as the program's host, with Colgate-Palmolive as its presenting sponsor. ''Dotto'' ...
,'' was publicized in August 1958. Quiz show ratings across the networks plummeted and several were cancelled amid allegations of fixing. The revelations were sufficient to initiate a nine-month long
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
.
[ No indictments were handed down, and the findings of the grand jury were sealed by judge's order. A formal congressional subcommittee investigation began in August 1959. Enright was revealed to have rigged ''Twenty-One''; Van Doren also eventually came forth with revelations about how he was persuaded to accept specific answers during his time on the show.][Gross, L. S. (2013). ''Electronic Media: An Introduction''. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.]
In 1960, Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
amended the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the fixing of quiz shows. As a result of that action, many networks canceled their existing quiz shows and replaced them with a higher number of public service
A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
programs.[
]
Integrity questioned (1957–1958)
''Twenty-One''
In late 1956, Herb Stempel, a contestant on NBC's ''Twenty-One'', was coached by Enright. While Stempel was in the midst of his winning streak, both of the $64,000 quiz shows (''The $64,000 Question
''The $64,000 Question'' was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...
'' and its spin-off, ''The $64,000 Challenge'') were in the top-ten rated programs but ''Twenty-One'' did not have the same popularity. Enright and his partner, Albert Freedman, were searching for a new champion to replace Stempel to boost ratings. They soon found what they were looking for in Van Doren, an English teacher at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. Van Doren decided to try out for the NBC quiz show ''Tic-Tac-Dough
''Tic-Tac-Dough'' is an American television game show based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, ''X'' or ''O'', on the board. Three versions were produc ...
.'' Enright, who produced both ''Tic-Tac-Dough'' and ''Twenty-One,'' saw his tryout and was familiar with his prestigious family background that included multiple Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning authors and highly respected professors at Columbia. As a result, Enright felt that Van Doren would be perfect as the new face of ''Twenty-One.''
After achieving winnings of $69,500, Stempel's scripted loss to the more popular Van Doren occurred on December 5, 1956. One of the questions Stempel answered incorrectly involved the winner of the 1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Motion Picture. The correct answer was '' Marty,'' one of Stempel's favorite movies. As instructed by Enright, however, he gave the incorrect answer ''On the Waterfront
''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut. ...
,'' which had won the previous year. Although the manipulation of the contestants helped the producers maintain viewer interest and ratings, the producers had not anticipated the extent of Stempel's resentment at being required to lose the contest against Van Doren.[Anderson, K. (1978). ''Television Fraud: The history and Implications of the Quiz Show Scandals''. Westport and London: Greenwood Press.]
''The Big Surprise''
In December 1956, Dale Logue, a contestant on NBC's ''The Big Surprise
''The Big Surprise'' is a television quiz show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8, 1955, to June 9, 1956, and from September 18, 1956, to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the ratings success of '' Th ...
'', filed a lawsuit against the show's production company, Entertainment Productions, Inc., seeking either $103,000 in damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
or reinstatement on the show as a contestant. Her claim was that, after being asked a question she did not know in a "warm-up" session, that she was asked the same question again during the televised show. Her assertion was that this was done intentionally with the express purpose of eliminating her as a contestant. At the time Logue's lawsuit was filed, Steve Carlin, executive producer of Entertainment Productions, Inc., called her claim "ridiculous and hopeless". Assertions that Logue had been offered $10,000 to settle
Settle or SETTLE may refer to:
Places
* Settle, Kentucky, United States
* Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England
** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district
Music
* Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania
* ''S ...
in January 1957 were called baseless. Charles Revson
Charles Haskell Revson (October 11, 1906 – August 24, 1975) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created the first pigment-based nail polish and founded and managed R ...
, head of Revlon
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...
and ''The Big Surprise's'' primary sponsor, asked the producers if Logue's accusation was true, and was told that it was not.
In April 1957, ''Time'' magazine published an article detailing the depths to which producers managed game shows, just short of involving the contestants themselves. This was followed by the August 20, 1957, ''Look'' magazine article "Are TV Quiz Shows Fixed?", which concluded "it may be more accurate to say they are controlled or partially controlled."[
]
''Dotto''
In August 1958, Stempel and Logue's credibility was bolstered when Edward Hilgemeier, Jr, a stand-by contestant on ''Dotto'' three months earlier, sent an affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
to the FCC claiming that while backstage, he had found a notebook on set containing the answers contestant Marie Winn
Marie Winn (née Wienerová; 1936) is a journalist, author, and bird-watcher. She is known for her books and articles on the wildlife of Central Park and her ''Wall Street Journal'' Leisure & Arts column. She appears in Frederic Lilien's documentar ...
was to deliver.
Backlash
The American public's reaction was swift and dramatic when the fraud became public; between 87% and 95% knew about the scandals as measured by industry-sponsored polls.[Boddy, W.(1990). Fifties Television: The Industry and Its Critics. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.] Through late 1958 and early 1959, quiz shows implicated by the scandal were quickly cancelled. Among them, with their last-aired dates, were:
* ''Dotto'' (August 15, 1958)
* ''The $64,000 Challenge'' (September 7)
* ''Twenty-One'' (October 16)
* ''The $64,000 Question'' (November 2)
* ''Tic-Tac-Dough,'' primetime edition (December 29)
* ''For Love or Money'' (January 30, 1959)
In late August 1958, New York prosecutor Joseph Stone convened a grand jury to investigate the allegations of the fixing of quiz shows. At the time of the empaneling, neither being a party to a fixed game show nor fixing a game show in the first place were crimes in their own right. Some witnesses in the grand jury acknowledged their role in a fixed show, while others denied it, directly contradicting one another. Many of the coached contestants, who had become celebrities due to their quiz-show success, were so afraid of the social repercussions of admitting the fraud that they were unwilling to confess to having been coached, even to the point of perjuring themselves to avoid backlash. Producers who had legally rigged the games to increase ratings, but did not want to implicate themselves, their sponsors, or the networks in doing so, categorically denied the allegations. After the 9-month grand jury, no indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
s were handed down and the judge sealed the grand jury report in August 1959.[ In October 1959, the ]House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight
The House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight was a special subcommittee of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, responsible for the oversight of federal regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission. Dur ...
, under Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
Oren Harris
Oren Harris (December 20, 1903 – February 5, 1997) was a United States representative from Arkansas and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court ...
's chairmanship, began to hold hearings to investigate the scandal. Stempel, Snodgrass, and Hilgemeier all testified.
The expansion of the probe led CBS president Frank Stanton to immediately announce cancellation of three more of its large-prize quiz shows between October 16 and October 19, 1959: ''Top Dollar'', ''The Big Payoff
''The Big Payoff'' is a daytime and primetime game show that premiered on NBC in 1951, and ended its network run on CBS in 1959. It had a brief syndication revival in 1962. NBC used ''The Big Payoff'' to replace the 15-minute show ''Miss Susan'' st ...
'', and ''Name That Tune
''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...
,'' explaining that this decision was made "because of the impossibility of guarding against dishonest practice". On November 2 when Van Doren said to the Committee in a nationally televised session that, "I was involved, deeply involved, in a deception. The fact that I, too, was very much deceived cannot keep me from being the principal victim of that deception, because I was its principal symbol."
Aftermath
Law and politics
All of the regulations regarding television in the late 1950s were defined under the Communications Act of 1934, which dealt with the advertising, fair competition, and labeling of broadcast stations. The act and regulations written by the FCC were indefinite in regard to fixed television programs. Because no specific laws existed regarding the fraudulent behavior in the quiz shows, whether the producers or contestants alike did anything illegal is debatable. Instead, one inference could be that the medium was ill-used.[ After concluding the Harris Commission investigation, Congress amended the Communications Act to prohibit the fixing of televised contests of intellectual knowledge or skill.
]President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
signed the bill into law on September 13, 1960. The legislation allowed the FCC to require license renewals of less than the legally required three years if the agency believes it would be in the public interest, prohibited gifts to FCC members, and declared illegal any contest or game with intent to deceive the audience.[
]
Contestants
Many quiz-show contestants' reputations were ruined, including:
* Charles Van Doren
Charles Lincoln Van Doren (February 12, 1926 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the corr ...
, who had become a regular on NBC's ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'', lost his job in the television industry. He was also forced to resign his professorship at Columbia University. Van Doren took a job as an editor at ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' and continued working as an editor and writer until his retirement in 1982. He refused requests for interviews for more than three decades and chose not to participate in the production of ''The Quiz Show Scandal,'' a 1992 one-hour documentary aired on PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
. He later turned down an offer of $100,000 to act as a consultant on the 1994 Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
-directed feature film ''Quiz Show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
'' (in which Stempel played a minor role, but not as himself) after discussing the matter with family members, who with the exception of his son John, were against his participation.[Van Doren, Charles]
"All the Answers : The quiz-show scandals—and the aftermath"
The New Yorker, July 28, 2008 In 2008, Van Doren broke his silence, describing his quiz show experience in an essay-length memoir published in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
.'' Van Doren died on April 9, 2019. Stempel, who was his opposing contestant on Twenty-One, died a year later almost to the day.
* Teddy Nadler, whose $264,000 haul on ''The $64,000 Challenge'' stood as a record for two decades, resorted to applying for a temporary job with the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
when his prize money started running short; he failed the civil service exam. In 1970, producers exonerated Nadler, stating that they had shown him questions beforehand but that he already knew the answers and did not need them given to him. Nadler died on May 24, 1984.
* Leonard Ross
Leonard "Lenny" M. Ross, (July 7, 1945 – May 1, 1985) was an American teacher, lawyer, and government official who was famous for his celebrity as a child prodigy and television game show contestant. Ross's game show winnings, totaling $164,000 ...
, who at age 10 won a combined $164,000 on ''The Big Surprise'' and ''The $64,000 Challenge'', had major mental-health issues, including depression and attention deficit disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise Development ...
, which limited his ability to work as an author and attorney in adulthood; most of his work was completed by other co-authors. After an unsuccessful cingulotomy
Bilateral cingulotomy is a form of psychosurgery, introduced in 1948 as an alternative to lobotomy. Today, it is mainly used in the treatment of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the early years of the twenty-first century, it was ...
, Ross died by suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
on May 1, 1985, at age 39.
Hosts and producers
In September 1958, a New York grand jury called producers who had coached contestants to appear in testimony. A prosecutor on the case later estimated that of the 150 sworn witnesses before the panel, only 50 told the truth.
Other producers met the same fate as Barry and Enright, but were unable to redeem themselves afterwards unlike those two. One of the more notable is Cooper, whose ''Dotto'' ended up being his longest-running and most popular game. Hosts such as Jack Narz and Hal March continued to work on television after the scandals. March died in January 1970 from lung cancer. Narz, who passed a lie-detector test at the time of the ''Dotto'' affair, had an extensive career as a game-show host after the incident (which also allowed him to help his brother, James, who later took on the name Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to:
Politics
*Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21
* Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...
, break into the television business.) Sonny Fox
Irwin "Sonny" Fox (June 17, 1925 – January 24, 2021) was an American television host and broadcaster who was the host of the children's television program, ''Wonderama''. Through his career, he had hosted other children's educational and ent ...
, the original host of ''The $64,000 Challenge,'' left long before it could become tainted and became a popular children's host in the northeast, remembered best as the suave, genial host of the Sunday-morning learn-and-laugh marathon ''Wonderama
''Wonderama'' is a children's television program that originally appeared on the Metromedia-owned stations from 1955 to 1977. The show was revived from 1980 to 1987, and again in 2016.
Hosts
*Al Hodge (as Captain Video 1955–1956)
*Jon Gnagy ...
.'' (Fox later stated that his unintentional "predilection for asking the answers" was a factor in his decision to only rarely host game shows after the scandals.)
Television
The quiz-show scandals exhibited the necessity for stronger network control over programming and production. Quiz-show scandals also justified and accelerated the growth of the networks' power over television advertisers concerning licensing, scheduling, and sponsorship of programs. The networks claimed to be ignorant, and victims of the scandals. The NBC president at the time stated, "NBC was just as much a victim of the quiz-show frauds as was the public."
A quiz for big money did not return until ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
premiered '' 100 Grand'' in 1963. It went off the air after three shows, never awarding its top prize. Quiz shows still held a stigma throughout much of the 1960s, which was eventually eased by the success of the lower-stakes and fully legitimate answer-and-question game ''Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' in 1964, which ran until 1975. A revival was launched in 1984 that still airs to this day, with a rule that limited winning contestants to five consecutive appearances in effect from 1984 to 2003.
Big money quiz shows would not enjoy widespread popularity in the United States again until the late 1990s. In 1999, ABC launched the American adaptation of the British game show franchise, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' to both enormous critical success and high ratings. Around the turn of 21st century, other American television networks launched similar quiz shows offering large sums of money, including Fox with ''Greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...
'' and NBC, who adapted the British game show, ''The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
.'' In 2003, Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
changed the rules on ''Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' to allow players to win until they are defeated. At the end of Season 20 in July 2004, contestant Ken Jennings
Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,70 ...
won over one million dollars after his thirtieth win in the first season of the rule. He won 74 games over two seasons, and only one other player (James Holzhauer
James Holzhauer (born August 6, 1984) is an American game show contestant and professional sports gambler. He is the third-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time and is best known for his 32-game winning streak as champion ...
) won over one million dollars during the Alex Trebek era (until January 7, 2021). In 2008, Sony added the Australian version's Million Dollar wedge to ''Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'' where a player can win a huge sum by landing on the wedge and meeting a series of standards. Today, numerous high-stakes game shows and reality competition shows continue to air on broadcast American television.
See also
* 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal
* 2007 British television phone-in scandal
A quiz channel (also known as a participation television channel) is a television Television channel, channel that focuses on phone-in quizzes. The quizzes usually focus on puzzles, such as filling in blanks, identifying subjects, or other forms ...
* American game show winnings records
A game show is a type of radio, television, or internet program in which contestants, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering trivia questions or solving puzzles, usually for prize ...
* ''College Bowl
''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl'' ...
''
* Martin Flood
* Charles Ingram
Charles William Ingram (born 6 August 1963) is an English novelist and former British Army major who gained notoriety for his appearance on the ITV television game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. In episodes recorded in September 200 ...
** ''R v Ingram, C., Ingram, D. and Whittock, T.
''R v Ingram, C., Ingram, D. and Whittock, T.'' was a 2003 English Crown Court fraud case in which Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock were found guilty of procuring the execution of a valuable security b ...
''
* Jay Jackson
* ''Manhunt
Manhunt may refer to:
Search processes
* Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive
* Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies
Social organisations
* Manhun ...
'' (2001) and '' Our Little Genius'' (2010), later game shows that were pulled due to manipulation
* Michael Larson
Paul Michael Larson (May 10, 1949 – February 16, 1999) was an American television game show contestant from Ohio who appeared on the CBS program ''Press Your Luck'' in 1984. Larson is notable for winning US$110,237 () in cash and prizes, at the ...
* Quizbowl
* ''Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...
''
* ''Quiz Show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
''
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External sources
NPR Article on Radio Quiz Shows
The Quiz Show Scandal
* Walter Karp
Walter Bernard Karp (May 14, 1934 – July 19, 1989) was an American journalist, historian, and writer who published in magazines such as ''American Heritage (magazine), American Heritage'' and ''Horizon (U.S. magazine), Horizon'', and was a ...
The Quiz-Show Scandal
in American Heritage American Heritage may refer to:
* ''American Heritage'' (magazine)
* ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''
* American Heritage Rivers
* American Heritage School (disambiguation)
See also
*National Register of Historic Place ...
, May/June 1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiz Show Scandals
1950s in American television
*
Entertainment scandals
Scandals in the United States
Television controversies in the United States
Match fixing