David Poltorak is an Australian television

game 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 Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

contestant and question writer. He became the grand champion of ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'' in 1986, setting a world record for winnings on a television game show at the time. He later worked as a question writer for ''Sale of the Century'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...

'' and ''

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''. He will appear as a chaser on ''

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'' in 2024.

Early life

Poltorak was a part-time taxi driver before he applied for ''Sale of the Century'' in 1986. He had a taxi license, which he gained in 1976. He has been interested in game shows since he was a child. He also co-wrote the 1985 film ''

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''.

''Sale of the Century''

Poltorak appeared on eight episodes of the Australian version of ''Sale of the Century'' in 1986, winning a grand total of A$376,200, including $244,000 in cash and $132,200 in prizes. His total winnings were a world record for a television game show at the time, surpassing the previous record held by

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 ...

on ''

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'' in 1984. Poltorak also set three records for ''Sale of the Century'' in Australia: * Highest number of questions answered correctly in one episode: 35 out of 55 (episode 1443). * Highest winning score: $200 (episode 1443). * Most number of questions answered correctly in 60 second fast money: 16 (episode 1443).

Question writing

In 1991, Poltorak replaced Fran Powell as the question writer and adjudicator for ''Sale of the Century'', after an offer from the game show's production company,

Grundy Television Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

. He remained in this role until the show's cancellation in 2001. He then joined the question writing team for ''

'', ''

'' in Australia, and later for its spin-off ''

''.

''The Chase Australia''

In October 2023, it was reported that Poltorak will debut as a new chaser nicknamed "The Professor" on ''

'' in 2024. Poltorak previously appeared as a contestant in the first series of ''Beat the Chasers Australia'' in 2020.

References

Australian television personalities Contestants on Australian game shows Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-tv-bio-stub