Charles Van Doren

Charles Van Doren ( born February 12, 1926) became famous as the candidate of the American quiz show " Twenty-One".

He is the son of the poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Van Doren and the writer Dorothy Van Doren and distinguished himself from his youth as a versatile fogged intellectuals from. He earned a B. A. in English Literature at St. John 's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and received his doctorate in this field at New York's Columbia University, where he also earned an MA in astrophysics.

In 1956, he applied as a candidate for the television quiz show " Twenty-One". Their producers had to contend with declining ratings and decided to manipulate the results of the show and build van Doren star. In January 1957 his winning streak, which lasted until March 11 of the year began. On this day he lost to Vivienne Nearing, whose husband he had previously beaten. In the meantime, Van Doren gained national fame; his portrait graced on February 11, the cover of TIME magazine. Overall, his profits amounted to approximately $ 138,000.

Soon after the start of his winning streak came rumors that Van Doren got slipped the answers by the producers of the show, but he denied the allegations long. In November he admitted the manipulations before an investigative committee of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, who examined the so-called quiz show scandal.

Later he became an assistant professor at his alma mater, Columbia University, was editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica and published several books, of which " A History of Knowledge " was the best known being.

In 1994, Robert Redford filmed the story Van Doren in Quiz Show.