Know It All

Charles Van Doren (born 1926), son of poet Mark Van Doren, was involved in the quiz show scandal of 1958. Van Doren confessed that he had been given the answers to the questions when he was a contestant on “Twenty-One” (1956-1958). He won a total of $138,000.

***

Actor Ralph Fiennes (born 1962) portrayed Charles Van Doren in the 1994 movie “Quiz Show” about the quiz show scandal of 1958. Robert Redford (born 1937) directed the film.

***

The television game show “The Sixty-Four Thousand Dollar Question,” (1955-1958) was based on a radio game show from the 1940s. Do you know what the radio game show was called? See answer at end.

***

Dr. Joyce Brothers (1928-2013) was a contestant on “The Sixty-Four Thousand Dollar Question” and won the top prize. She correctly answered questions about boxing and won $64,000 in December of 1955.

***

The annual Gallup poll of the “most admired women” is based on telephone interviews with 1,000 randomly selected people. The poll was first conducted in 1946.

***

The 2011 Gallup poll of “most admired women living today” named Hillary Clinton (born 1947) as number one, and Oprah Winfrey (born 1954) as number two. The “most admired man” was Barack Obama (born 1961).

***

The Literary Digest magazine was founded in 1890. Using polling methods, the venerable publication had correctly predicted the winners of five consecutive presidential elections, from 1916 to 1932. In 1936, however, the year that the Gallup poll predicted the election correctly, Literary Digest got its prediction wrong.

***

Reader’s Digest became a public company in 1990. The company’s initial public offering price was $21.50 per share.

***

Dewitt Wallace (1889-1981) founded Reader’s Digest in 1922. He and his wife printed 5,000 copies of the first issue and sold them to subscribers for 25 cents.

***

The claymation character of Gumby made his first television appearance in 1956 on “The Howdy Doody Show.” Gumby was so popular with kids that there was a spin-off show the next year called “The Gumby Show,” which aired on Saturday mornings. Comedian Pinky Lee (1907-1993) was the host.

***

Mr. Bill made his television debut on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976. The accident-prone claymation character took the first place prize in Saturday Night Live’s home movie contest. Mr. Bill’s antics were a regular skit on the show for seven years.

***

Answer: The radio game show debuted in 1940 and was called “The $64 question.” Prior to 1950, the radio show was called “Take It or Leave It .” Contestants were asked a series of questions, the first question was worth $1, and the final question was worth $64. The television show gained popularity quickly, as it offered the largest prize to date. In 1955, $64,000 was equivalent to $400,000 in today’s dollars.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend edition of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 128.