1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class as a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 1: a show that reveals a little bit more about history 4 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking at 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: the rise and fall of Charles Van Doren, an up 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: and coming young educator who traded his good name for 7 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: a shot at fame and fabulous prizes. The day was 8 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: November two nine. Charles Van Doren admitted that his winning 9 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: streak on a popular TV quiz show had been rigged 10 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: by the show's producers. He made his confession while testifying 11 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: before a Congressional committee in Washington, d c. Van Doren 12 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: had maintained his innocence for years amidst growing suspicions of 13 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: game show cheating, and when Congress began investigating the scandal, 14 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: he even offered to come testify in person, but when 15 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: the committee took him up on that and issued a subpoena, 16 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: the pressure of appearing before Congress caused Van Doren to 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: crack and finally come clean. He admitted that during his 18 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: fourteen appearances on the quiz show twenty one, he had 19 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: been told the questions he would be asked in advance 20 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: Van Doren, along with seventeen other contestants, were subsequently convicted 21 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: of lying to a grand jury and issued suspended sentences 22 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: for the crime. His central role in that scandal later 23 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: inspired the Robert Redford movie Quiz Show and shined a 24 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: light on the staged nature of early TV competitions. By 25 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen fifties, the exciting new medium of television 26 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: had already begun attracting unprecedented investments from advertisers. One of 27 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: the most notable sponsorships of the era came in nineteen 28 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: fifty five, when the Revlon Cosmetics company agreed to sponsor 29 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: the first prime time network quiz show, the sixty four 30 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: thousand Dollar Question on CBS. That hefty investment paid off 31 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: for Revlon, as over the next four years, the company's 32 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: average net profits soared from one point to million dollars 33 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: all the way to eleven million. Pretty soon, other networks 34 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: and advertisers were scrambling to replicate the success with their 35 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: own TV quiz shows. When the format peaked in ninety eight, 36 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: there were twenty four different prime time quiz shows on 37 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: the air, and one of the genre's most popular programs 38 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: was twenty one that NBC show was loosely based on 39 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: the card game Blackjack, and featured two contestants facing off 40 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: in a trivia contest to see who could score twenty 41 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: one points. Each contestant was held in a soundproof isolation 42 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: booth while the other contestant answered a series of questions 43 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: of increasing difficulty. At the end of the two sessions, 44 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,519 Speaker 1: whoever was closest to twenty one points was declared the winner. 45 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: Prior to his appearance on twenty one, no one would 46 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: have pegged thirty year old Charles Van Doren as a 47 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: breakout t V star. In fact, he didn't even own 48 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: a television. He happened into the role, however, after bumping 49 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: into t V producer Albert Friedman at a friend's house party. 50 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 1: At the time, the producers of twenty one were on 51 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: the hunt for a way to boost the show's sagging ratings, 52 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,679 Speaker 1: and in Van Doren, Freedman saw the kind of charming, 53 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: amiable winner who could recapture the public's interest. Van Doren 54 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: wasn't in love with the idea at first, but after 55 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: a friend who had appeared on a different game show 56 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: told him of all the money to be made, he 57 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: quickly changed his tune. And applied to be a contestant. 58 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: Once Van Doren was chosen for the show, he was 59 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: made privy to one of the most wide scaled deceptions 60 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: of his time. The winners of twenty one were actually 61 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: all chosen in advance. The contestants were given the questions 62 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: and answers ahead of the show's broadcast, and were even 63 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: coached on how to be more entertaining as they answered. 64 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: Every gesture, stammer, and nervous tick was carefully choreographed to 65 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: make it all seem like the contestants were truly grappling 66 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: with off the cuff questions, when in reality they already 67 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: knew all the answers. To be clear, twenty one hadn't 68 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 1: started out as a rigged show, but it was turned 69 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: into one in order to keep it on the air. 70 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: Van Doren was uncomfortable with the idea of deceiving viewers, 71 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: but Albert Friedman persuaded him to go along with the scam, 72 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: telling him that quiz shows were a form of entertainment, 73 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: just like a scripted drama, and that fixing the outcome 74 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: was a common practice in the industry. That was certainly true, 75 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: but of course it didn't make it right. The irony 76 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: was that Charles Van Doren didn't need to pretend to 77 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: be an academic. He really was one, and so was 78 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: the rest of his family. His father was a renowned 79 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: scholar and Pulitzurprise winning poet, his mother was an accomplished 80 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: writer and novelist, and his uncle was a distinguished historian 81 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: who had written a well received biography of Benjamin Franklin. 82 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: As for Van Doren himself, he was a polymath, having 83 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: earned a master's degree in mathematics and a doctorate in English. 84 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: In fact, he was working as an English professor at 85 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: Columbia University, his alma mater, when he agreed to appear 86 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: on twenty one. The fact that he was a tall, lanky, 87 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: but still telegenic professor is what attracted the producers to 88 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: him in the first place. He looked like someone who 89 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: would really know the answers to their questions, and in 90 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: many cases he probably did, But the producers weren't willing 91 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: to take that chance. They didn't want to risk losing 92 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: such a bankable star by accidentally stumping him too soon, 93 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: so they made sure he knew the answers before the 94 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:58,720 Speaker 1: cameras began to roll. At first, producers maximized the tension 95 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: by scripting a few eyes between Van Doren and the 96 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: then reigning champion, Herb Stemple. Then, on December five, nineteen 97 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: fifty six, it was finally Professor van Doren's time to shine. 98 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: He unseated Stemple that evening by rattling off the answers 99 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: to ridiculously obscure questions such as name the second, third, fourth, 100 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: and fifth wives of Henry the Eighth and describe their 101 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: fates with a hot nude champion. The show's ratings immediately 102 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: began to rise. Van Doren went on a winning streak 103 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: for the next four months, vanquishing thirteen competitors and earning 104 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: a staggering one hundred and twenty nine thousand dollars along 105 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: the way, the equivalent of well over one point two 106 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: million dollars today. Sometimes Van Doren gave wrong answers on purpose, 107 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: just to make the show seem more real, but by 108 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: the end of each episode his score was inevitably the highest. Eventually, 109 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: though even the unbeatable Van Doren began to lose his luster. 110 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: It was time for him to take a dive, just 111 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: as Temple had before him, and the woman chosen to 112 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: be his undoing was a New York lawyer named Vivian Nearing. 113 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: She and Van Dorn squared off for several evenings, with 114 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: each match ending in a tie, the same act the 115 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: producers had used when setting Van Doren up for his 116 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: eventual victory. Finally, during their fourth contest, Nearing beat Van 117 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: Doren when he intentionally misnamed the King of Belgium. By 118 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: the time of his defeat, Van Doren was the best 119 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: known game show contestant in history, so while his quiz 120 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: show reign had ended, his national fame did not. In 121 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: April of that year, he signed a lucrative three year 122 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: contract with NBC to come on as a commentator and 123 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: recurring guest on their most popular shows. However, those golden 124 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: days wouldn't last long. By the following year, rumors of 125 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: game show rigging had captured the public's attention, with several 126 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: former contestants of shows like Tick Tack, Dough and High 127 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: Low willing to speak on record. Congress quickly stepped in 128 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: to investigate the claims. Grand Juries were formed, and the 129 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce began holding hearings. 130 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: Not long after, twenty one came under fire when former 131 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: contestant James Snodgrass, provided the committee with hard evidence the 132 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: show had been fixed. He handed over registered letters from 133 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: the show's producers that contained all the questions and correct 134 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: answers for each episode he appeared on. When the scandal 135 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: broke in ninety nine, Van Doren insisted he was innocent 136 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: and had never received answers in advance. He repeated that 137 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: lie in front of a grand jury, and even tried 138 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: to spin the controversy as a judgment on viewers. He 139 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: told the press, quote, it's silly and distressing to think 140 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: that people don't have more faith in quiz shows. Van 141 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: Doren went to such great lengths to assert his innocence 142 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: that he actually volunteered to testify in front of Congress. 143 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: He eventually did so on November two nine, but by 144 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: then all the public scrutiny had taken its toll. Reading 145 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: from a prepared statement, the visibly shaken professor finally decided 146 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: to tell the truth. His confession began quote, I would 147 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: give almost anything I have to reverse the course of 148 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: my life in the last three years. He went on 149 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,359 Speaker 1: to say, I was involved, deeply involved in a deception. 150 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 1: I have deceived my friends and I had millions of them. 151 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: Over the course of the next ninety minutes, Van Doren 152 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: recounted his early meetings with the show's producers and explained 153 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: how Albert Friedman had convinced him to go along with 154 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: the rigging. Van Doren said that what had really persuaded 155 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: him was the idea that his success would encourage young 156 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: viewers to pursue knowledge in their own lives. I was 157 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: almost able to convince myself. He said that it did 158 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: not matter what I was doing because it was having 159 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: such a good effect on the national attitude to teachers, education, 160 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: and the intellectual life. But I realized that I was 161 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,559 Speaker 1: really giving a wrong impression of education. True education does 162 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: not mean the knowledge of facts exclusively. I wrote articles 163 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: trying to express this feeling, but few were interested. Instead, 164 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 1: I was referred to as a quiz whiz, a human 165 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: book of knowledge, a walking encyclopedia. I wanted to be 166 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: a writer and a teacher of literature. I seemed to 167 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: be moving farther and farther away from that aim. In 168 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: light of his confession, NBC ended its contract with Van Doren, 169 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:46,199 Speaker 1: and he tendered his resignation at Columbia University. Shortly after 170 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty two, Van Doren and a host of 171 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 1: other game show contestants pled guilty to lying to a 172 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: grand jury that had investigated the quiz show scandal. Their 173 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: sentences were suspended, however, because the judge felt that being 174 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: shamed in front of the nation was punishment enough. Almost 175 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: all of the quiz shows had been pulled off the 176 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: air by that point, and most of the producers involved 177 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: were fired and unofficially blacklisted. For many years afterward, Charles 178 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: van Doren wrote several fiction and nonfiction books under a 179 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: pen name. He also joined the editorial staff of Encyclopedia Britannica, 180 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 1: and later returned to teaching as an English professor at 181 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: the University of Connecticut. He and his family lived in 182 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: semi seclusion for several decades, refusing interviews and declining to 183 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: participate in a movie version of the scandal made in 184 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: the early nineteen nineties. At the press conference following his 185 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: testimony in nineteen fifty nine, Van Doren said that he 186 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: had been quote living in dread for almost three years. 187 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: His confession likely helped ease that burden, at least at 188 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: the time, but as the years went by, Van Doren 189 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,319 Speaker 1: found it difficult to put his rocky pass behind him. 190 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,200 Speaker 1: In two thousand in eight, he provided his first public 191 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: comment in years, at the age of eighty two, when 192 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: he wrote a lengthy first person essay for The New Yorker. 193 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: There's nothing revelatory about his account, but it is a 194 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: sobering reminder of how past misdeeds can sometimes linger long 195 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: into the future, affecting us and the way we're seen 196 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: by others in ways we never would have guessed. Van 197 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: Doren reflected on that harsh truth himself, writing quote, people say, 198 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 1: aren't you Charles Van Doren, Well, that's my name, I 199 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 1: say to myself, but I'm not who you think I am, 200 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: or at least I don't want to be. I'm gay, 201 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: bluesier And hopefully you now know a little more about 202 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 203 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 204 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,679 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I h C Show, and if 205 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 206 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: them my way at this day at I heart media 207 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 208 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 209 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day. In history class