Games - Quiz show scandals

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	Games - Quiz show scandals

The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were the result of the revelation that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposed competition.

Background

In the 1950s, television burst into the mainstream. While at the beginning of the decade only 9% of U.S. households had a television, over half had one by 1954, and 86% had them by the end of the decade. The medium proved to be a powerful influence on American society.

Over the same period, the United States was engaged in a technology race with the Soviet Union, as a component of the Cold War. American political and military dominance was bolstered by the nation's technologies that harnessed the power of the atom. This focus on technological superiority contributed to a national reverence of intelligence and knowledge.

It was against this backdrop that quiz shows became popular. Questions asked on these shows required substantial knowledge across a broad spectrum of cerebral topics. The spectacle of people achieving huge financial success through the exercise of brain power was riveting to a nation that revered intellectualism.

Prizes Grow

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling in that quiz shows were not a form of gambling paved the way for their introduction to television. The prizes of these new shows were astonishing in magnitude, and gave them an aura of significance that went well beyond mere entertainment. The $64,000 Question
's predecessor radio show was The $64 Question, and few prizes exceeded even $100. There was no gradual escalation; The $64,000 Question burst on the scene on June 7, 1955, with a top prize a hundred times bigger than the shows that had gone before. Note too that $64,000 in 1955 is equivalent to approximately $440,000 today; Teddy Nadler's $252,000 prize is worth more than $1.7 million today.

Sponsor Interference

In the 1950s, it was common practice for game shows and other shows to be sponsored solely by one company, even to the extent of having the company's name in the title of the show. Examples included Sylvania's Beat the Clock
, or Geritol's Twenty-One.

It was empirically determined by show sponsors and the networks that influencing the outcome of a game show could increase the dramatic value, and therefore its attraction to viewers. More viewers naturally increased the advertising exposure a sponsored company would receive.

Outcome influence came in many forms, some relatively benign. For example, contestants would be given stage directions on how to act while on camera. On The $64,000 Question, contestants were placed in an "isolation booth" when answering questions, presumably to prevent them from receiving any help from the audience. To heighten the drama, the ventilating fans in the isolation booth were turned off after the question was asked. Under the hot stage lights, the temperature rose quickly, causing the contestant to sweat visibly. This would lead contestants to mop their brows before answering the question.

Other forms of influence were less benign. More popular contestants would be asked questions within their areas of expertise, or even provided the answers to upcoming questions. Less popular contestants would be given more difficult questions in areas outside their expected knowledge.

Sponsor interference wasn't foolproof. Though Dr. Joyce Brothers was disliked by Charles Revson, whose Revlon cosmetics firm was the sponsor of Question, and was therefore given difficult questions about boxing, she managed to answer without help and won legitimately against her coached opponent.

The most notorious participants in this deception were Charles Van Doren and Herb Stempel, leading competitors on Twenty-One. Both were heavily coached by the show's producers.

The Story is Revealed

After Stempel's scripted loss to the more-popular Van Doren in on December 5, 1956, he blew the whistle on the operation. Initially, he was dismissed as a sore loser. It wasn't until August 1958 that his credibility was bolstered. Ed Hilgemeyer, a contestant on Dotto
, announced that he had found a notebook containing the very answers contestant Marie Winn was delivering on stage. But the final stroke came from Twenty-One contestant James Snodgrass, who sent registered letters to himself containing the advance answers. Such evidence was irrefutable.

By October, the story was everywhere, and the quiz shows' ratings were dropping. The networks denied everything and canceled the now-suspicious shows. Meanwhile, New York prosecutor Joseph Stone convened a grand jury to investigate the charges. Many of the coached contestants, who had become celebrities due to their quiz show success, were afraid of the social repercussions. They were unwilling to confess, even to the point of committing perjury. The judge sealed the grand jury report.

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