Charles Van Doren Finally Comes Clean, 50 Years On
In an article in this week’s New Yorker, Charles Van Doren, the man at the center of the great game show fixing scandal of the 1950’s and subject of the movie Quiz Show, finally comes clean about his side of the story, fifty years on. This is kind of a big deal.
In the article, he recounts in great detail the conversations he had with the producers of the show, his lack of awareness that game shows were anything other than fixed (the TV game show format was still in its infancy at the time, and Van Doren didn’t even own a television himself when they asked him to be on the show; he rationalized the deception at first by comparing game shows to Shakespearian theater), the arguments he had with his wife over whether to go through with it, and the atmosphere in the studio, with him, Herb Stempel, the returning champion he was brought on specifically to beat, and host Jack Barry, and the long aftermath after his run on the show, where he at first perjures himself and then slowly comes clean over the ensuing decades, wrestling with the decisions he made then right up to this day.
It’s detailed and doesn’t flinch at some of the more unsavory bits. It’s well worth the read. Ultimately, everyone seems to have learned their lesson and made out okay: Herb Stempel is still teaching part-time in New York, Jack Barry eventually made it back to hosting shows such as The Joker’s Wild and Tic Tac Dough, and Van Doren never stopped teaching, even as he tried, with some success, to fade away into obscurity.
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