1959: The Quiz Show That Was Rigged All Along: Charles Van Doren Confesses to America
Charles Van Doren had been one of American television’s most beloved figures, a telegenic young academic whose winning streak on the quiz show 21 made him a household name and a symbol of brains over brawn. The adoration was built on a lie: producers had been feeding him questions and answers in advance, scripting his hesitations and furrowed brows to maximise suspense.
On this day in 1959, Van Doren admitted the truth before a congressional hearing, confessing that the contest had been fixed from the start. The admission shattered public faith in the new medium of television and triggered prosecutions of the producers and network figures behind the deception, some of whom later served time in prison.
Van Doren himself was convicted of perjury for earlier denials but received a suspended sentence, his once-golden reputation left in ruins.
